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LIVES 

OP 

THE    LORD    CHANCELLORS 

AND 

KEEPERS    OF    THE    GREAT    SEAL 

OF  ENGLAND. 
VOL.  I. 


London : 
Spottiswoodk  and  Shaw, 
New-street- Square. 


THE 

LIVES 


THE    LORD    CHANCELLORS 


KEEPERS  OF  THE  GREAT  SEAL 


ENGLAND, 


FROM    THE    EARLIEST    TIMES    TILL    THE    REIGN    OF 
KING    GEORGE    IV. 


BY 

JOHN   LORD   CAMPBELL,    LL.D.   F.R.S.E. 


IN    SEVEN   VOLUMES. 

VOL.  L 


THIRD      EDITION. 


LONDON: 
JOHN  MURRAY,  ALBEMARLE  STREET. 

1848. 


\J.\      - 


THE    HONORABLE 

WILLIAM    FREDERICK    CAMPBELL. 


My  dear  Son, 

As  you  are  not  to  inherit  from  me  great  posses- 
sions, or  a  name  illustrated  by  long  official  career, 
I  inscribe  this  work  to  you,  in  the  hope  that  it  may 
prove  to  you  a  lesson  of  true  labour. 

I  have  hitherto  had  much  reason  to  rejoice  in  the 
progress  of  your  studies ;  and  when  you  return  from 
viewing  foreign  cities  and  manners,  I  shall  hope  to 
see  you  struggling  to  confer  benefits  on  your  country, 
while  you  lay  the  foundation  of  a  lasting  reputation  for 
yourself.  Thus  I  shall  be  more  gratified  than  by 
any  power  or  distinction  I  myself  could  have  ac- 
quired, and  you  will  render  contented  and  happy  the 
declining  years  of  — 

Your  ever  affectionate  Father, 

CAMPBELL. 

Nov.  1.  18-15. 


A   3 


PREFACE 


THE    THIRD    EDITION. 


In  preparing  a  New  Edition  of  the  Lives  op  the  Chan- 
cellors, I  have  availed  myself  of  the  numerous  obliging 
communications  which  I  have  recently  received  suggesting 
corrections  and  additions; — and  from  the  careful  revision  which 
the  work  has  undergone,  I  hope  it  may  now  be  found  not 
unworthy  of  the  public  patronage  with  which  it  has  been 
honoured. 


Stratheden  House, 
April  10    1848. 


PREFACE 


THE     FIRST     EDITION. 


When  suddenly  freed,  in  the  autumn  of  1841,  from  pro- 
fessional and  official  occupations,  I  revelled  for  a  while  in  the 
resumption  of  my  classical  studies,  and  in  the  miscellaneous 
perusal  of  modern  authors.  By  degrees  I  began  to  perceive 
the  want  of  a  definite  object :  I  recollected  what  Lord  Coke 
and  Lord  Bacon  say  of  the  debt  due  from  every  successful 
lawyer  to  his  profession ;  and  I  felt  within  me  a  revival  of 
the  aspiration  after  literary  fame,  which,  in  my  most  busy 
days,  I  was  never  able  entirely  to  extinguish.  Having 
amused  myself  with  revising  for  the  press  "  a  Selection  of 
my  Speeches  at  the  Bar  and  in  the  House  of  Commons,"  I 
resolved  to  write  "  The  Lives  of  the  Chancellors." 

It  is  for  others  to  judge  how  this  work  is  executed,  but  I 
am  more  and  more  convinced  that  the  subject  is  happily 
chosen.  "  Histories,"  says  Lord  Bacon,  "  do  rather  set 
forth  the  pomp  of  business  than  the  true  and  inward  resorts 
thereof.  But  Lives,  if  they  be  well  written,  propounding 
to  themselves  a  person  to  represent,  in  whom  actions  both 
greater  and  smaller,  public  and  private,  have  a  commixture, 
must  of  necessity  contain  a  more  true,  native,  and  lively  re- 
presentation."* In  writing  the  lives  of  those  who  have  suc- 
cessively filled  a  great  office  there  is  unity  of  design  as  well 
as  variety  of  character  and  incident,  and  there  is  no  office  in 
the  history  of  any  nation  that  has  been  filled  with  such  a 
long  succession  of  distinguished  and  interesting  men  as  the 

*   Advancement  of  Learning. 


PREFACE    TO    THE    FIRST    EDITION. 

oflSce  of  Lord  Chancellor  or  Lord  Keeper  of  the  Great  Seal 
of  England.  It  has  existed  from  the  foundation  of  the 
monarchy;  and  although  mediocrity  has  sometimes  been 
the  recommendation  for  it,  —  generally  speaking,  the  most 
eminent  men  of  the  age,  if  not  the  most  virtuous,  have  been 
selected  to  adorn  it.  To  an  English  statesman  as  well  as  an 
English  lawyer  the  narrative  ought  to  be  particularly  in- 
structive, for  the  history  of  the  holders  of  the  Great  Seal  is 
the  liistory  of  our  constitution  as  well  as  of  our  jurisprudence. 
There  is  even  a  sort  of  romance  belonging  to  the  true  tale  of 
many  of  those  who  are  to  be  delineated,  and  the  strange 
vicissitudes  of  their  career  are  not  exceeded  by  the  fictions  of 
novelists  or  dramatists. 

I  foresaw  the  difiiculties  that  would  beset  me  —  some- 
times from  the  want,  and  sometimes  from  the  superfluity  of 
materials.  Struggling  with  these,  I  have  attempted  to  present 
to  the  reader  a  clear  and  authentic  account  of  all  who  have 
held  the  Great  Seal  of  England  from  the  earliest  times  — 
adapting  the  scale  of  my  narrative  to  the  varying  importance 
of  what  is  to  be  told,  and  trying  as  I  proceed  to  give  a 
glimpse  of  the  most  important  historical  events,  and  of  the 
manners  of  the  age. 

If  I  have  failed,  it  will  not  have  been  for  the  want  of 
generous  assistance.  I  wish  to  speak  with  the  most  heart- 
felt gratitude  of  the  kindness  which  I  have  experienced.  I 
have  been  treated  like  a  shipwrecked  mariner  cast  on  a 
friendly  shore  —  every  one  eagerly  desirous  to  comfort  and 
to  cherish  him.  In  not  one  single  instance  since  I  entered 
on  the  undertaking,  when  I  have  applied  for  assistance, 
have  I  met  with  a  rebuff;  on  the  contrary,  the  most  eager 
and  disinterested  disposition  has  been  evinced  to  oblige  me. 
Such  good  offices  I  have  to  boast  of,  not  less  from  political 
opponents  than  from  political  associates,  and  my  thanks  are 
peculiarly  due  to  many  clergymen  of  the  Church  of  England 
to  whom  I  was  personally  unknown,  and  who  have  devoted 
much  time  and  trouble  in  furnishing  me  with  extracts  from 


PREFACE   TO   THE   FIKST   EDITION.  XI 

parish   registers,    copies    of    epitaphs,   and   other   local    in- 
formation. 

I  must  be  allowed  publicly  to  express  my  thanks  by  name 
to  Lord  Langdale,  for  the  use  of  his  valuable  collection  of 
Extracts  from  the  Close  Roll,  respecting  the  transfer  of  the 
Great  Seal ;  —  to  Earl  Fortescue,  for  the  pardon  under  the 
Great  Seal  of  his  ancestor  by  Edward  IV. ;  —  to  Lord 
Francis  Egerton,  for  many  original  documents  of  great  in-  ^ 

terest  relating  to  Lord  Chancellor  Ellesmere ;  —  to  Lord 
Hatherton,  for  an  original  mandate  under  the  hand  and  seal 
of  his  kinsman.  Lord  Keeper  Littleton,  for  raising  money  to 
carry  on  the  war  against  the  Long  Parliament ;  —  to  Mr. 
DufFus  Hardy,  for  many  important  writs,  proclamations,  and 
letters,  never  before  published,  which  he  has  discovered  for 
me  in  the  Tower  of  London ;  —  to  Sir  Francis  Palgrave, 
acquainted  with  the  Anglo-Saxon  times  more  familiarly  than 
most  men  are  with  the  reign  of  George  III.,  for  the  direc- 
tion which  he  has  given  to  my  inquiries  whenever  I  have 
been  at  fault ;  —  to  Mr.  M'Queen,  author  of  "  The  Practice 
of  the  House  of  Lords,"  for  some  difficult  researches  made  by 
him  on  my  account  into  the  antiquities  of  Equity  Practice  ; 
—  to  Mr.  Payne  Collier,  the  learned  Editor  of  Shakspeare, 
for  various  ballads  and  handbills  published  at  the  death  of 
Lord  Chancellor  Jeffreys  ;  —  to  Mr.  Foss,  Editor  of  "'The 
Grandeur  of  the  Law,"  who  has  amassed  a  noble  collection 
respecting  all  English  lawyers  in  all  ages,  for  helping  me 
out  with  dates  and  facts  respecting  some  of  the  early  Chan- 
cellors ;  —  to  Mr.  Spence,  of  the  Chancery  Bar,  for  his 
communication  to  me  of  a  large  portion  of  his  materials  for 
the  important  work  in  which  he  is  engaged'  on  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  the  Court  of  Chancery  ;  —  to  Mr.  Parkes,  author  of 
"  The  History  of  the  Court  of  Chancery,"  for  the  loan  of  his 
large  assortment  of  tracts  on  English  jurisprudence ;  —  to 
Mr.  Purton  Cooper,  Q.  C,  one  of  the  Record  Commissioners, 
for  several  unpublished  MS.  treatises  on  the  Practice  of  the 
Court  of  Chancery  in  early  times ;  —  to  Mr.  Panizzi,  for 


xn  PREFACE  TO   THE   FIRST   EDITION. 

the  good-humour  and  intelligence  which  have  laid  open  to  me 
all  the  treasures  of  the  British  Museum ;  —  and  to  my  friend 
and  pupil,  Mr.  David  Dundas,  for  his  assistance  in  gleaning 
materials  for  some  lives  that  have  become  obscure,  but  which 
ought  to  be  known  to  mankind  —  particularly  that  of  Lord 
Chancellor  John  Russell. 

In  rapidly  travelling  through  a  period  of  above  a  thousand 
years,  I  am  well  aware  that  I  must  have  committed  many 
mistakes,  and  have  passed  by,  without  discovering,  much  in- 
teresting matter.  I  shall  receive  very  thankfully  any  inform- 
ation with  which  I  may  be  favoured,  either  privately  or  in 
print,  to  enable  me  to  correct  errors  and  to  supply  omissions. 

I  hope  that  I  have  shown  myself  free  from  any  party  or  sec- 
tarian bias.  The  great  principles  of  civil  and  religious  liberty 
I  ever  wish  boldly  to  avow,  and  resolutely  to  maintain; 
but  I  believe  that  I  have  fairly  appreciated  the  acts  and 
characters  of  those  whose  Lives  I  have  had  in  hand,  without 
being  swayed  by  the  consideration  whether  they  were  Roman 
Catholics  or  Protestants — Whigs  or  Tories.  I  must  request 
the  candid  reader  not  to  judge  by  any  particular  expression, 
or  any  particular  Life,  but  by  the  whole  scope  and  tendency 
of  the  work. 

Horace  Walpole  seeks  to  deter  all  who  have  ever  touched 
a  Great  Seal  from  engaging  in  such  a  task,  by  observing, 
after  his  criticisms  on  the  historical  labours  of  Sir  Thomas 
More,  Lord  Bacon,  and  Lord  Clarendon,  "  It  is  hoped  no 
more  Chancellors  will  write  our  story  till  they  can  divest 
themselves  of  that  habit  of  their  profession  —  apologising 
for  a  bad  cause."*  My  object  has  been  uniformly  to  re- 
probate violence  and  fraud,  and  to  hold  up  integrity  and 
consistency  for  applause  and  imitation. 

I  regret  the  length  into  which  I  have  been  drawn ;  but, 
after  a  careful  revision,  I  have  found  nothing  that  I  could 
omit  without  injury  to  my  design ;  and  when  due  regard  is 

*  Historic  Doubts. 


PREFACE    TO    THE    FIRST    EDITION.  ^" 

had  to  the  number  of  persons  whose  history  was  to  be  nar- 
rated, and  to  the  multitudinous  facts  to  be  introduced,  I  am 
not  without  hopes  that  I  may  receive  some  little  credit  for 
condensation. 

It  Avill  be  seen  that  this  "  First  Series"  comes  down  to  the 
Revolution  of  1688.  I  was  advised  to  begin  with  the  Chan- 
cellors during  the  eighteenth  century,  and  to  travel  back,  after 
the  precedent  of  Hume.  Such  a  plan  would  have  had  ad- 
vantages, the  recent  Lives  being  generally  considered  the 
most  interesting ;  but  as  I  profess  to  give  the  history  of  our 
jurisprudence,  I  thought  that  I  should  best  succeed  by  start- 
ing from  its  sources,  and  following  the  course  which  it  has 
run. 

I  calculate  that  the  work  will  be  completed  in  two  ad- 
ditional volumes,  for  which  I  have  already  made  considerable 
preparations,  and  which,  if  my  life  and  strength  be  preserved 
to  me,  I  shall  ere  long  lay  before  the  public.  Little  inter- 
ruption to  study  is  offered  by  the^  political  business  of  the 
House  of  Lords,  and  although  I  resolve  still  regularly  to  attend 
the  hearing  of  Appeals  and  Writs  of  Error  there,  and  the 
meetings  of  the  Judicial  Committee  of  the  Privy  Council,  a 
considerable  portion  of  the  year  is  left  entirely  under  my  own 
control.  That  the  "  Second  Series"  may  be  less  defective,  I 
earnestly  request  the  communication  of  any  scarce  tracts  or 
unpublished  MSS.  which  are  likely  to  be  of  service  to  me. 

If  the  work  should  be  worthily  finished,  my  ambition  is, 
that  it  may  amuse  the  general  reader ;  that  it  may  afford 
some  instruction  to  those  who  wish  to  become  well  acquainted 
with  our  constitutional  history ;  and  above  all,  that  it  may 
excite  the  young  student  of  the  law  to  emulation  and  indus- 
try, and  confirm  in  his  mind  the  liberal  and  honourable 
maxims  which  ought  ever  to  govern  the  conduct  of  an 
English  Barrister. 

Stratheden  House, 
Not.  1.  1845. 


PREFACE 


THE     SECOND     EDITION. 


In  presenting  to  the  public  a  Second  Edition  of  my  First 
Series  of  the  "  Lives  of  the  Lord  Chancelloes  of 
England,"  I  would  rather  expose  myself  to  the  imputation 
of  vanity  than  of  ingratitude ;  and  I  must  therefore  express 
my  warm  thanks  for  the  favour  with  which  the  book  has 
been  received.  I  may  truly  say,  that  within  a  few  weeks 
after  its  publication  "  it  was  on  every  table,  and  almost  on 
every  toilette."  Though  founded  on  historical  records,  and 
having  solid  instruction  for  its  object,  it  has  been  as  generally 
read  as  popular  works  of  fiction,  aiming  at  nothing  beyond 
amusement. 

I  must  especially  return  my  thanks  for  the  kind  manner  in 
which,  without  regard  to  politics,  the  book  has  been  treated 
in  periodical  publications  —  quarterly,  monthly,  weekly,  and 
daily.  Gentlemen  who  have  written  these  criticisms  have 
done  ample  justice  to  any  merits  which  they  discovered,  and 
have  forborne  to  dwell  upon  mistakes  which  could  not  have 
escaped  them. 

This  edition  will  be  found  not  only  more  correct,  but 
enriched  with  several  interesting  documents  which  have  re- 
cently been  communicated  to  me,  —  particularly  a  congratu- 
latory Epistle  to  John  de  Langton  on  his  appointment  as 
Chancellor  by  Edward  I,  ;  Richard  III.'s  Letter  to  Lord 
Chancellor   John   Russell   respecting  the    marriage  of  the 


XYl  PREFACE    TO  THE    SECOND   EDITION. 

Solicitor  General  with  Jane  Shore ;  a  letter  to  negotiate  a 
marriage  between  the  daughter  of  Lord  Chancellor  Audley 
and  the  son  of  Sir  Anthony  Denny ;  the  courtship  of  young 
Edward  Trafford  and  Margaret  Boothe  under  the  decree  of 
Lord  Keeper  Sir  Nicholas  Bacon ;  Lord  Chancellor  Hatton's 
address  to  the  Bar  on  a  call  of  Serjeants  ;  Lord  EUesmere's 
decree  to  punish  the  prolixity  of  an  equity  draughtsman ; 
two  letters  of  Lord  Keeper  Williams,  and  a  very  curious 
letter  to  JeiFreys  when  Recorder  of  London,  showing  the 
detestation  in  which  he  was  held  even  in  that  period  of  his 
career.  I  earnestly  implore  that  errors  and  omissions  may 
still  be  pointed  out  to  me. 

I  have  made  considerable  progress  with  my  Second 
Series  ;  and  I  trust  that  Volumes  IV.  and  V.  will  be  pub- 
lished before  the  end  of  the  present  year.  These  will  bring 
down  the  Chancellors  to  the  death  of  Lord  Thurlow.  A 
supplemental  Volume,  including  Lord  Loughborough,  Lord 
Erskine,  and  Lord  Eldon,  will  complete  the  work.  I  then 
propose  (life  and  health  being  preserved  to  me)  to  proceed 
with  the  "  Lives  of  the  Lord  Chancellors  of  Ire- 
land," —  among  whom  are  to  be  found  characters  as  interest- 
ing as  any  I  have  yet  described,  —  and  whose  history,  I  think, 
may  be  made  to  shed  a  new  light  upon  the  connection 
between  the  two  countries. 


Stratheden  House, 
April  22.  1846, 


CONTENTS 


THE     FIRST    VOLUME. 


INTRODUCTION. 


OF    THE    ORIGIN',    FUNCTIONS,    AND    JURISDICTION    OF    THE    OFFICE  OF  LORD  CHANCELLOR 

IN    ENGLAND. 

Etymology  of  Word  "  Chancellor,"  Page  I.  Antiquity  of  the  Office  in  England,  3. 
Original  Duty  of  Chancellor  to  frame  Writs,  3.  And  Royal  Grants,  4.  Custody 
of  Great  Seal,  4.  Chancellor  Keeper  of  King's  Conscience,  4.  Chancellor  for- 
merly subordinate  Officer,  without  judicial  Power,  4.  Common-law  Jurisdiction 
of  Chancellor,  5.  Equitable  Jurisdiction,  7.  Objections  to  Antiquity  of 
Equitable  Jurisdiction,  7.  Definition  of  Equitable  Jurisdiction,  8.  Extension 
of  Equitable  Jurisdiction  of  Chancellor,  9.  From  Inrolments  in  Chancery  under 
Recognisance,  9.  Fees,  &c.,  10.  Harmony  between  Common  Law  and  Equity, 
11.  Discretion  of  Chancellor,  11.  Appeal  from  Chancellor  as  Equity  Judge, 
13.  Habeas  Corpus  and  Prohibitions,  13.  Ne  exeat  Regno,  13.  Jurisdiction 
over  Coroners,  13.  Criminal  Jurisdiction,  14,  Bankruptcy,  14.  Lunacy,  14. 
Chancellor  not  ex  officio  Privy  Councillor,  16.  Speaker  of  Lords,  16.  Protec- 
tion and  Precedence,  1  7.  Chancellor  no  Vote  or  Voice  in  Lords  unless  a  Peer 
17.  Anciently  addressed  two  Houses  at  Meeting  of  Parliament,  17.  Trial  of 
Peers,  and  Impeachments,  18.  Star  Chamber,  18.  Trial  of  the  Pyx,  19. 
Chancellor  appoints  Justices  of  Peace,  19.  Patronage,  19.  Visitor,  20.  Other 
Functions,  20.  Office  of  "  Keeper  of  the  Great  Seal,"  20.  Lords  Commis- 
sioners of  Great  Seal,  22.  Present  Title  of  Lord  Chancellor,  22.  Mode  of 
Appointment,  22.  Tenure  of  Office,  23.  Mode  of  using  Great  Seal,  23.  Ne- 
gotiation of  Marriage  of  Henry  VI.  under  Great  Seal,  24.  Use  of  Great  Seal 
by  Edward  IV.,  25.  Times  of  Tudors  and  Stuarts,  26.  Use  of  Great  Seal 
since  the  Revolution  of  1688,  26.  Origin  of  Expression  of  "  The  Seals,"  26. 
Adoption  of  liew  Great  Seal,  27.  Care  in  keeping  the  Great  Seal,  27. 
Emoluments  of  Office,  28.  Etiquette,  28.  In  Parliament,  29.  When  ad- 
ministering Oaths  to  Prince  of  Wales,  29.  To  King's  younger  Son,  29.  To 
Peers  in  Chancery,  29.  Lord  Mayor's  Day,  30.  Statute  respecting  Apparel  of 
Chancellor,  30. 

CHAPTER  I. 

OF    THE    CHANCELLORS    UNDER    THE    ANGLO-SAXON    KINGS. 

Merits  of  the  Anglo-Saxons,  31.      Augmendus,  Chancellor  to  Ethelbert,  31,      St. 

SwiTHiN,  Chancellor  to  Egbert  and  Ethelwulf,  32.      Turketel,  Chancellor  under 

Edward  the  Elder,  34.     Athelstan,  35.      Rattle  of  Brunenburgh,  35.     Edmund 

and  Edred,  35.    Lord  Chancellor  Turketel  becomes  a  Monk,  35.    Adulphus,  36 

VOL.  I.  a 


XYIU  CONTENTS. 

Alfric,  36.  Office  of  Chancellor  divided  between  three  Abbots,  37.  Great  Seal 
of  Edward  the  Confessor,  37.  Leofric,  Chancellor  to  the  Confessor,  38.  Wul- 
wius,  38.  Reimbaldl's,  38.  Vice- Chancellor  Swardus,  38.  Origin  of  Masters 
in  Chancery,  39. 

CHAPTER  II. 

OF    THE    CHANCELLORS    FROM    THE    CONQUEST    TO    THE    REIGN    OE    HENRY    tl. 

Chancellors  under  early  Norman  Reigns,  40.  Chancellors  of  the  Conqueror,  42. 
Maurice,  42.  Made  Bishop  of  London,  and  resigns  Great  Seal,  42.  Conduct 
of  Ex-chancellor  Maurice  on  the  Death  of  William  Rufus,  43.  Osmond,  44, 
His  Character,  44.  His  literary  Works,  44.  Arfastus,  45.  Baldrick,  45. 
Herman,  45.  Welson,  46.  W.  Giffard,  Chancellor  under  three  Reigns,  46. 
His  Character,  46.  Conduct  of  Giffard  on  Death  of  Conqueror,  47.  Chancellor 
to  William  Rufus,  47.  Dismissed,  47.  Bloet,  Chancellor  to  William  Rufus,  47. 
Death  and  Character  of  Bloet,  48.  Flambard,  49.  Oppressions  of  Flambard, 
49.  Plot  against  Flambard,  50.  His  Preferments,  50.  Committed  to  the 
Tower,  51.  Exile  and  Death  of  Flambard,  51.  Giffard,  Chancellor  the  third 
time,  52.  Dismissal  and  Banishment  of  Giffard,  52.  Roger,  Bishop  of  Salis- 
bury, Chancellor,  53.  His  Origin  and  History,  53.  Roger's  Rise,  53.  His 
Conduct  as  Chancellor,  54.  Made  Chief  Justiciar,  54.  Roger's  Conduct  on 
Settlement  of  the  Crown,  54.  Dismissal  of  Roger,  55.  Roger  supports  Usurpa- 
tion of  Stephen,  55.  Roger  besieged  in  his  Castle,  55.  Surrenders,  56.  His 
Death,  56.  His  Career  described  by  William  of  Malmesbury,  56.  Other  Chan- 
cellors of  Henry  I.,  57.  Geoffrey  Rufus,  57.  Bought  Office  of  Chancellor, 
57.  Ranulphus,  58.  Roger,  Chancellor  to  King  Stephen,  succeeded  by  his 
Nephew  Alexander,  59.  His  Conduct  as  Chancellor,  59.  Character  of  Alex- 
ander, 60.  Roger  Pauper,  Chancellor,  60.  Queen  Matilda,  60.  Fitzgilbert 
her  Chancellor,  61.      Other  Chancellors  of  Stephen,  61. 

CHAPTER  III. 

life    of    lord    chancellor   THOMAS    a    becket. 

Parentage,  62.  Story  of  his  Mother  being  the  Daughter  of  an  Emir,  62.  Birth 
and  Education,  63.  Holds  Office  under  Sheriff  of  London,  64.  Patronised  by 
Theobald,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  64.  Made  Archdeacon  of  Canterbury,  64. 
Missions  to  Rome,  65.  Appointed  Chancellor,  65.  Intimacy  with  Henry  II., 
65.  His  Duties  as  Chancellor,  67.  Fitzstephen's  Account  of  his  Habits,  67. 
Story  of  the  King,  the  Chancellor,  and  the  Beggarman,  68.  His  Conduct  as 
Chancellor,  70.  Becket  Tutor  to  the  Prince,  70.  Becket's  Embassy  to  Fiance, 
70.  Origin  of  Scutage,  73.*  Becket's  Military  Prowess,  73.  Siege  of  Toulouse, 
74.  Single  Combat  with  Engleran  de  Trie,  74.  Plis  judicial  Merits,  75.  His 
Views  and  Intentions,  75.  Conversation  with  Prior  of  Leicester,  76.  Death  of 
Archbishop  Theobald,  77.  Objection  to  Becket's  Appointment  as  Archbishop, 
on  the  ground  of  his  being  hostile  to  the  Church,  77.  Foliot,  Bishop  of  Hereford, 
Rival  of  Becket,  77.  Becket  elected  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  78.  Becket 
consecrated  Archbishop,  79.  Sudden  Alteration  in  Becket's  Character  and 
Conduct,  79.  He  resigns  the  Great  Seal,  80.  The  King  and  Becket  meet  and 
quarrel,  80.  Struggle  between  Civil  and  Ecclesiastical  Authority,  8J.  Con- 
ference between  the  King  and  the  Prelates,  82.  Constitutions  of  Clarendon,  82. 
Becket  swears  to  Constitutions  of  Clarendon,  84.  Great  Council  at  Northamp- 
ton, 85.  Trial  of  Becket,  85.  Found  Guilty,  85.  Further  Proceedings  against 
him,  85.  He  escapes  to  the  Continent,  87.  Becket  takes  refuge  in  the  Abbey 
of  Pontigny,  87.  Measures  of  the  King,  88.  Becket  goes  to  Rome,  88.  Coro- 
nation of  King's  son  by  Archbishop  of  York  against  Papal  Bull,  89.  Interview 
between  Becket  and  Henry  at  Fereitville,  89.  Peace  of  Fereitville,  91.  Henry 
refuses  Becket  the  Kiss  of  Pence,  91.  Henry  breaks  his  Engagement,  91. 
Becket  resolves  on  Vengeance,  91.      Becket  returns  to  England,  92.     Reception 


CONTENTS.  XIX 

at  Canterbury,  92.  Visit  to  London,  93.  Is  ordered  back  to  Canterbury,  93. 
Excommunicates  the  three  Prelates,  93.  Arrival  at  Canterbury  of  four  Knights 
sworn  to  assassinate  Becket,  94.  They  enter  his  Presence,  94.  Calm  and 
courageous  Conduct  of  Becket,  95.  Assassination  of  Becket,  96.  Horror  of 
the  People,  97.  Becket  canonised,  97.  Quo  Warranto  by  Henry  VIII.  to  un- 
saint  Becket,  97.  Character  of  Becket,  98.  By  his  Vituperators,  98.  By  his 
Eulogists,  99.  Just  Estimate  of  his  Character,  101.  Result,  101.  Whether 
Becket  Champion  of  Saxon  Race,  101.      Becket's  Letters,  102. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

CHANCELLORS     FROM     THE      RESIGNATION     OF     THOMAS    a    BECKET    TO    THE     DEATH     OF 

HENRY    II. 

Obscure  Chancellors  after  Becket,  103.  Chancellor  John,  103.  GEOFFREr  Plan- 
TAGENET,  Chancellor,  104.  His  Birth  and  Education,  104.  A  Bishop,  104. 
His  Military  Exploits,  104.  Receives  Great  Seal,  105.  His  Conduct  as 
Chancellor,  105.  His  filial  Piety,  106.  State  of  Law  during  Reign  of 
Henry  II.,  107. 

CHAPTER  V. 

CHANCELLORS    DURING    THE    REIGN    OP    RICHARD    I. 

Geoffrey  made  Archbishop  of  York,  108.  Longchamp,  Chancellor,  108.  Richard  I. 
sails  for  the  Holy  Land,  109.  Longchamp  imprisons  the  Bishop  of  Durham, 
109.  His  Tyranny,  109.  His  Rapacity,  110.  Prince  John  takes  arms  against 
him,  111.  Geoffrey,  the  Ex-chancellor,  invades  England,  111.  Geoffrey  de- 
feated and  imprisoned,  111.  Combination  of  the  Nobles  against  Longchamp, 
112.  Saxon  Inhabitants  of  London  called  in  to  assist,  112.  Longchamp  sur- 
renders, 1 1 3.  Longchamp  flies  in  the  Disguise  of  a  female  Pedlar,  113.  Is 
seized  by  the  Mob,  114.  Arrives  in  France,  115.  Visits  Coeur  de  Lion  in 
Captivity,  1 15.  Geoffrey  Piantagenet  again  Chancellor,  115.  Subsequent  Fate 
of  Geoffrey  Piantagenet,  115.  His  Exile  and  Death,  116.  Longchamp  again 
Chancellor,  116.  Parliament  at  Nottingham,  116.  Longchamp  forges  Letter 
from  "  The  Old  Man  of  the  Mountain"  to  clear  Richard  of  Murder  of  Marquis 
of  Montferrat,  116.  Resigns  Great  Seal,  117.  His  Death,  117.  Eustace, 
Bishop  of  Ely,  Chancellor,  118.  Origin  of  Vice-chancellors,  118.  Vice-chan- 
cellors John  de  Alen9on  and  Malchien,  118.  Vice-chancellor  Bennet,  119. 
Death  of  Richard  I.,  119.     Laws  of  Oleron,  119. 

CHAPTER  VL 

OF    THE    CHANCELLORS    DURING    THE    REIGN    OF    KING    JOHN. 

Accession  of  John,  121.  Hubert,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  Chancellor,  121. 
Death  of  Lord  Chancellor,  123.  Great  Seal  sold  to  Walter  de  Gray,  123.  His 
Conduct,  124.  Vice-chancellor  Wallys,  124.  Surrender  of  England  to  the 
Pope,  125.  De  Gray,  Bishop  of  Worcester  and  Archbishop  of  York,  126.  His 
Ignorance,  126.  His  Death  and  Character,  126.  Richard  de  Marisco,  Chan- 
cellor, 126.  Magna  Charta,  127.  Death  of  King  John,  127.  Beginning  of 
Statute  Law,  128. 

CHAPTER  VIL 

chancellors    during    the    reign    of    henry  III.  TILL    THE   APPOINTMENT    OF    QUEEN 
ELEANOR    AS    LADY    KEEPER  OF    THE    GREAT    SEAL. 

Marisco,  129.  Confirmation  of  the  Great  Charter,  129.  Ralph  de  Neville, 
Vice-chancellor,  129.  Misconduct  of  Vice-chancellor  De  Neville,  130,  Letter 
of  Remonstrance  from  the  Chancellor  to  the  Vice-chancellor,  130.  De  Neville, 
Chancellor,  132.     Grant  to  him  of  Office  of  Chancellor  for  Life,  132.     He 

a  2 


XX  CONTENTS. 

.  islikewise  made  Chancellor  of  Ireland,  133.  And  Guardian  of  Realm,  133.  Dis- 
appointed of  the  Primacy,  13.3.  Triumph  of  Peter  de  Rupibus,  133.  De  Neville 
deprived  of  Great  Seal,  134.  "  Simon  the  Norman,"  Chancellor,  134.  Dis- 
missed for  Honesty,  135.      De  Neville  restored  to  the  Office  of  Chancellor,  135. 

-  His  Death,  135.  His  Character,  135.  Statute  of  Merton,  136.  Attempt  by 
Parliament  to  acquire  Right  of  appointing  Chancellor,  136.  Ranulph  Briton, 
Chancellor,  137.  John  SIaunsel,  Chancellor,  138.  Origin  of  the  Dispensing 
Power  in  England,  138.  This  Chancellor  the  greatest  Pluralist  on  Record,  138. 
John  de  Lexington,  Chancellor,  139.  Complaint  in  Parliament  that  Chancel- 
lor ,not  more  consulted,  139.    Petition  to  remove  him,  139-     King's  Answer,  139. 

CHAPTER  VUL 

LIFE    OF    QUEEN    ELEANOR,    LADY    KEEPER    OF    THE    GREAT    .SEAL. 

Queen  Eleanor,  Lady  Keeper,  140.  Her  Parentage,  140.  Wit  and  Beauty,  140. 
Marriage  with  Henry,  141.  Her  Unpopularity,  142.  Quarrels  with  the  Citizens 
of  London,  142.  Birth  of  Edward  L,  143.  She  receives  the  Great  Seal, 
6th  August,  1253,  143.  Her  Conduct  as  Lady  Keeper,  143.  Her  Accouchement, 
143.  Her  Exaction  of  "  Queen  Gold,"  144.  A  Parliament,  144.  She  resigns 
the  Great  Seal,  144.  Ballads  upon  her,  145.  Pelted  by  the  London  Mob,  145. 
She  flies  abroad,  146.  Returns  to  England,  146.  Takes  the  Veil,  146.  Her 
Death,  146.      Her  Character,  146. 

CHAPTER  IX. 

LORD  CHANCELLORS    FROM    THE    RESIGNATION    OF    LADY    KEEPER    QUEEN     ELEANOR 
TILL    THE    DEATH    OF    HENRY  lU. 

William  de  Kilkenny,  Chancellor,  148.  Reprimand  to  the  Clergj',  148.  Kil- 
kenny's Resignation,  148.  Embassy  to  Spain,  149.  Death,  149.  Henry  de 
Wengham,  149.  Mad  Parliament,  149.  "  Provisions  of  Oxford,"  149.  Ni- 
cholas DE  Ely  made  Chancellor  by  the  Barons,  150.  King  recovers  his  Autho- 
rity, 150.  A  Parliament,  150.  Walter  de  Merton,  Chancellor,  151.  History 
of  De  Merton,  152.  Keepers  of  Seal,  152.  Public  Confusion,  152.  Writs  for 
Simon  de  Montfort's  Parliament,  49  Henry  III  ,  153.  Reference  to  King  of 
France,  153.  His  Award,  154.  Battle  of  Lewes,  154.  Meeting  of  Simon  de 
Montfort's  Parliament,  154.  Origin  of  House  of  Commons,  155.  Thomas  de 
Cantilupe,  Chancellor,  156.  His  Salary,  156.  Battle  of  Evesham,  157.  Death 
of  Cantilupe,  157.  Walter  Giffard,  Chancellor,  157.  Resigns,  being  made 
Archbishop  of  York,  158.  Godfrey  Giffard,  Chancellor,  158.  Removed  for 
Incompetency,  158.  John  de  Chishull,  Chancellor,  159.  Richard  de  Min- 
PLETON,  Chancellor,  159.  Prince  Edward  in  the  Holy  Land,  160.  John  de 
Kirby,  Keeper  of  Great  Seal,  160.  Character  of  Chancellors  during  Reign  of 
Henry  III.,  161.  Bracton,  Merits  of,  162.  Abolition  of  Office  of  Chief  Jus- 
ticiar, 162,  Disruption  of  Aula  Megia,  163.  Chancellor  now  Head  of  Law, 
163, 

CHAPTER  X. 

CHANCELLORS    AND    KEEPERS    OF    THE    GREAT    SEAL    DURING    THE    REIGN    OF  EDWARD  I. 
TILL    THE    DEATH    OF    LORD    CHANCELLOR  BURNEL. 

Walter  de  Merton,  Chancellor,  164.  His  Conduct  and  Character,  165.  Robert 
BuRNEL,  Chancellor,  165.  Birth  and  Education,  166.  Accompanies  Prince 
Edward  to  tlie  Holy  Land,  166.  Law  Reform,  167.  Statute  of  Westminster 
THE  First,  167.  Provisionsof  the  Code,  167.  Its  Omissions,  168.  Conquest  of 
Wales,  168.     Judgment  against  Llewellyn,  169.      Lord  Chancellor  employed  in 

'  Government  of  Principality,  169.  Parliament  held  in  Chancellor's  Castle  at 
Acton  Burnel,  170.     His  Plan  for  Government  of  Ireland,  172.     Vice-chancellor 

'     Kirby,  172.     Prosecution  by  Chancellor  of  the  Judges  for  Bribery  and  Cor- 

"    ruption,  173.      Dispute  about  Succession  to  Crown  of  Scotland,  173.   Chancellor 


CONTENTS.  XXI 

addresses  the  Scottish  Nobles  in  French,  173.  His  Dexterity,  174.  Chancellor 
gives  Judgment  in  favour  of  Baliol,  175.  Death  of  Burnel,  175.  His  Cha- 
racter, 1  75. 

CHAPTER  XI. 

CHANCELLORS    AND    KEEPERS    OF    THE    GREAT    SEAL    FROM    THE    DEATH    OF  LORD  CHAN- 
CELLOR   BURNEL    DURING    THE    REMAINDER    OF    THE     REIGN    OF    EDWARD   I. 

John  de  Langton,  Chancellor,  178.  His  Origin,  178.  Ordinance  for  Despatch 
of  Business,  179.  Appeal  of  Earl  of  Fife  v.  King  of  Scots,  1  79.  Parliament  at 
Berwick,  180.  King  goes  abroad,  180.  Parliament  at  Westminster,  181. 
"  Confirmation  of  the  Charters,"  181.  "  Articuli  super  Chartas,"  181.  Chan- 
cellor elected  Bishop  of  Ely,  182.  Goes  to  Rome,  182.  Resignation  of  Lang- 
ton,  183.  Adam  de  Osgodebey,  Keeper  of  Great  Seal,  183.  William  de 
Grenefield,  Chancellor,  184.  His  Family,  184.  Attempt  in  Parliament  to 
make  OfBce  of  Chancellor  elective,  184.  Letter  to  the  Pope  respecting  Inde- 
pendence of  Scotland,  185.  Resignation  of  De  Grenefield,  186.  His  Journey 
to  Rome,  186.  His  Death,  186.  William  de  Hamilton,  Chancellor,  187. 
Statute  "  De  Tallagio  non  concedendo,"  187.  Conviction  and  Execution  of  Sir 
William  Wallace  for  Treason,  187.  Death  of  the  Chancellor,  188.  Ralph  de 
Baldock,  Chancellor,  188.  His  Education  and  Rise,  189.  Death  of  Edward  I., 
189.  Accession  of  Edward  IL,  189.  Removal  of  De  Baldock,  190.  His 
Death,  190.  Jurisdiction  of  Chancellor  in  the  Reign  of  Edward  I.,  190.  Im- 
provements in  Law,  190.  Gratitude  to  Law  Reformers,  190.  Law  Books 
191. 

CHAPTER  XII. 

CHANCELLORS    DURING    THE    REIGN    OF    EDWARD  II. 

Accession  of  Edward  II.,  192.  John  de  Langton  Chancellor  the  Second  Time, 
192.  King  abroad,  193.  King  goes  to  Boulogne,  193.  King  himself  uses  the 
Great  Seal,  193.  Revolution  in  the  Government,  194.  The  Chancellor  resigns, 
194.  His  Character,  194.  Office  of  Chancellor  in  Abeyance,  195.  Walter 
Reynolds,  Chancellor,  195.  Tutor  to  Edward  II.,  195.  His  conduct  as  Chan- 
cellor, 196.  His  Resignation,  196.  Execution  of  Gaveston,  196.  Reynolds, 
the  Ex -chancellor,  made  Keeper  of  the  Great  Seal,  196.  Battle  of  Bannock- 
burn,  197.  Q.  Whether  the  Great  Seal  was  taken  at  the  Battle  of  Bannock- 
burn,  197.  Council  at  York,  198.  Resignation  of  Reynolds,  198.  His  subse- 
quent Career,  198.  His  Death,  198.  Chancellor  still' Chief  of  Chapel  Royal, 
198.  John  de  Sandale,  Chancellor,  199-  Keepers  of  Seal  concurrently,  199, 
De  Sandale  removed,  199.  Epicurism  of  Lord  Chancellor  De  Sandale,  199. 
John  de  Hotham,  Chancellor,  200.  Ascendancy  of  Earl  of  Lancaster,  200. 
Resignation  of  Chancellor,  201.  John  de  Salmon,  Chancellor,  201.  Chancel. 
lor  goes  to  France  with  King,  201.  Surrender  of  Great  Seal  by  De  Salmon, 
202.  Great  Seal  in  Custody  of  Queen  Isabella,  202.  Isabella  not  "  Lady 
Keeper,"  202.  De  Salmon  again  acts  as  Chancellor,  203.  Chancellor  opposes 
Earl  of  Lancaster,  203.  Execution  of  Earl  of  Lancaster,  203.  Edward's  incu- 
rable Love  of  Favourites,  203.  Resignation  of  the  Chancellor,  203.  Robert  de 
Baldock,  Chancellor,  204.  Civil  War,  204.  Landing  of  Queen,  204.  The 
Bishop  of  Exeter  beheaded  by  the  Mob,  205.  Fate  of  the  Spcnsers,  205.  Sen- 
tence on  jounger  Spenser,  205.  Chancellor  Baldock  seized  by  the  Mob,  and 
thrown  into  Newgate,  206.  Dies  of  his  wounds,  206.  Prince  Edward  chosen 
Custos  of  the  Kingdom,  206.  Imprisonment  of  Edward  II.,  206.  King  sends 
Great  Seal  to  Queen,  207.  Queen's  Proclamation,  207.  Edward  1 1.  deposed, 
207.  Murder  of  Edward  II.,  208.-"  Adam  de  Ouleton  acts  as  Chancellor,  208. 
His  equivocal  line  respecting  the  Murder  of  the  King,  208.  Origin  of  Office  of 
Master  of  the  Rolls,  208.  Complaints  in  Parliament  of  the  Court  of  Chancery, 
209.  Jurisdiction  of  the  Court  in  Reign  of  Edward  II.,  209.  Letters  of 
Marque  and  Reprisals  granted  by  Cliancellor,  210.  Year  Books,  210.  Estab-. 
lishment  of  Inns  of  Court,  2]  1. 

a  3 


XXii  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

CHANCELLORS  AND  KEEPERS  OF  THE  GREAT  SEAL  FROM  THE  COMMENCEMENT  OF  THE 
REIGN  OF  EDWARD  III,  TILL  THE  APPOINTMENT  OF  SIR  RICHARD  BUURCHIER,  THE 
FIRST  LAY  LORD  CHANCELLOR. 

John  de  Hotham  again  Chancellor,  212.  His  Death  and  Character,  212.  Henry 
DE  BuRGHERSH,  Chancellor,  212.  New  Great  Seal,  21;?.  Temporary  Ascendancy 
of  Mortimer,  213.  Edward  III.  seizes  the  Reins  of  Government,  214.  A  Par- 
liament, 214,  King's  Speech,  214.  Burghersh  dismissed,  214.  His  exile  and 
Death,  215.  John  de  Stratford,  Chancellor,  215.  His  Origin  and  Education, 
216.  Ambassador  to  Pope,  216.  His  Rise  till  appointed  Chancellor,  216. 
Punishment  of  Queen  Isabella,  216.  Measures  to  restore  internal  Tranquillity, 
216.  Court  of  Chancery  becomes  stationary,  216.  Marble  Chair  and  Table  in 
Court  of  Chancery,  217.  A  Parliament,  218.  Questions  put  to  Parliament  by 
the  Chancellor,  218.  Chancellor  returns  from  Embassy,  218.  Separation  of 
Lords  and  Commons,  219.      Great  Influence  of  Parliament  under  Plantagenets, 

219.  Chancellor's  Speech  on  Meeting  of  New  Parliament,  219.  Keepers  of 
Great  Seal  appointed  by  the  Chancellor,  220.     Richard  de  Bury,  Chancellor, 

220.  His  Family,  221.  Education  221.  His  College  Life,  22i.  Tutor  to 
Edward  III.  when  Prince,  221.  His  rise  on  Accession  of  Edward  III.,  222. 
His  Splendour  at  Court  of  Rome,  222.  Bishop  of  Durham,  222.  His  Conduct 
as  Chancellor,  22.3.  A  Parliament,  223.  Ambassador  to  Paris,  223.  His  Re- 
tirement, 224.  Philobibion,  224.  His  love  of  Books,  and  Mode  of  collecting 
them,  224.  His  Encouragement  to  the  Study  of  Greek,  227.  His  Description 
of  the  Bad  Usage  of  Books,  228.  Gross  Ignorance  of  the  Laity,  229.  Scrip- 
tural Authorities  for  taking  great  Care  of  Books,  229.  Death  and  Burial  of 
Richard  de  Bury,  230.  His  Merit,  2.30.  Archbishop  John  Stratford  Chancel- 
lor the  second  Time,  230.  Claim  of  Edward  III.  to  the  Crown  of  France,  230. 
Resignation  of  John  de  Stratford,  231.  Robert  de  Stratford,  Chancellor,  231. 
Bynteworth,  Chancellor,  232.  His  History,  232.  His  Death,  233.  John  de 
Stratford,  Chancellor  the  third  Time,  233.  A  Parliament,  233,  Resignation 
of  John  de  Stratford,  and  re-appointment  of  Robert,  233.  Administration  of  the 
Stratfords,  234.  Their  Fall,  234.  Embarrassments  of  the  King,  234.  His 
sudden  Return,  234.  Imprisonment  of  the  Lord  Chancellor,  234.  Edward's 
Rage  against  the  Priesthood,  234.  Advantages  and  Disadvantages  of  appointing 
Ecclesiastics  to  Office  of  Chancellor,  234. 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

CHANCELLORS     AND    KEEPERS     OF    THE    GREAT    SEAL    FROM    THE    APPOINTMENT     OF     SIR 
ROBERT    BOURCHIER    TILL    THE    APPOINTMENT    OF    WILLIAM    DE    WICKHAM. 

Sir  Robert  Buurchler,  Chancellor,  236.  His  Birth  and  military  Career,  236. 
Retirement  and  Death  of  Ex-chancellor  Robert  de  Stratford,  236.  Prosecution 
of  Ex-chancellor  John  de  Stratford,  237.  A  Parliament,  237.  Writ  of  Sum- 
mons refused  to  the  Archbishop,  237.  His  Remonstrance,  237.  His  Appear- 
ance in  Palace  Yard,  238.  Information  against  him  in  Exchequer,  238.  Triumphs 
over  the  King,  238.  Spirited  Conduct  of  House  of  Peers,  238.  King  submits, 
239.  His  death  and  Character,  239.  Conduct  of  Lord  Chancellor  Bourchier, 
239.  King  himself  uses  the  Seal,  240.  Complaints  against  Lord  Chancellor 
Bourchier,  240.  Attempts  in  Parliament  to  regulate  the  Appointment  of  Chan- 
cellor, 240.  Statute  for  periodical  Resumption  of  Office  of  Chancellor,  241. 
Oath  to  observe  the  Statute,  241.  Edward's  perfidious  Violation  of  the  Statute, 
241.  Renewed  Controversy  between  the  King  and  Ex-chancellor  John  de  Strat- 
ford, 242.  King  resolves  to  sacrifice  the  Chancellor  to  public  Discontent,  243. 
Dismissal  of  Bourchier,  243.  Death  of  Ex-chancellor  John  de  Stratford,  243. 
Disadvantages  of  Lord  Chancellor  Bourchier,  243.  Bourchier's  subsequent 
Career,  244.  Sir  Robert  Parnynge  Chancellor,  244.  His  legal  Studies,  244. 
"When  Chancellor  he  continues  to  study  the  Common  Law,  244.  Use  of  the 
Great  Seal,  245.     King  abroad,  245.     Commons  pray  that  Chancellor  may  be  a 


CONTENTS.  XXm 

Peer,  245.  Sudden  Death  of  Lord  Chancellor  Parnynge,  246.  Robert  de 
Sadyngton,  Chancellor,  247.  His  Descent,  247.  Bad  Equity  Judge,  247.  A 
Parliament,  247.  Lord  Chancellor  Sadyngton  dismissed,  248.  Return  to  Ec- 
clesiastical Chancellors,  248.  John  de  Offord,  Dean  of  Lincoln,  Chancellor, 
249.  Battle  of  Cressy,  249.  Complaints  in  Parliament  against  Court  of  Chan- 
cery, 249.  Death  of  Chancellor  de  OfFord,  251.  John  de  Thoresby,  Chancel- 
lor, 251.  His  writings,  251.  Statutes  of  Treason,  251.  Attack  in  Commons 
on  equitable  Jurisdiction  of  Chancellor,  252.  Thoresby,  being  made  Archbishop 
of  York,  resigns  the  Great  Seal,  253.  His  Death,  253.  William  de  Edington, 
Chancellor,  253.  Peace  of  Bretigni,  254.  Statute  for  Use  of  English  Lan- 
guage, 254.  Refuses  the  Primacy,  255.  Resignation  of  Lord  Chancellor  Ed- 
ington,  255.  Simon  de  Langham,  Chancellor,  from  being  a  Monk,  256.  His 
Rise,  ,256.  Translated  to  Canterbury,  256.  Quarrels  with  WicklifFe,  257. 
Custom  of  Chancellor  opening  Parliament  with  Discourse  from  text  in  Scripture, 
257.  He  retires  to  Avignon,  and  aspires  to  the  Popedom,  258.  His  Death, 
258. 

CHAPTER  XV. 

chancellors  and  keepers  of  the   great   seal   from   the  appointment  of 
william  of  wickham  till  the  death  of  edward  iil 

William  of  Wickham,  259.  His  Origin,  259.  Education,  259.  Introduced  to 
Edward  III.,  260.  Builds  Windsor  Castle,  260.  Order  of  the  Garter,  261. 
Inscription  on  Castle,  261.  Wickham  takes  Holy  Orders,  261.  His  Prefer- 
ment, 262.  Engages  in  Politics,  262.  His  Income,  262.  Made  Bishop  of 
Winchester,  263.  Receives  the  Great  Seal,  263.  Impropriety  of  the  Appoint- 
ment, 263.  Wickham  an  incompetent  Judge,  264.  Complaints  against  him  in 
Parliament,  2(.'4.  He  is  removed  from  Office,  264.  Sir  Robert  Thorpe,  Chan- 
cellor, 264.  His  Birth  and  Education,  265.  His  Promotions  in  the  Law,  265. 
Popularity  of  Chancellor,  265.  His  Death,  265.  His  Learning  and  Ability, 
266.  Sir  John  Knyvet,  Chancellor,  266.  His  Origin,  267.  An  excellent 
Judge,  267.  A  Parliament,  267.  Chancellor's  Speech,  268.  The  "  Good 
Parliament,"  269.  Alice  Pierce,  269.  Chancellor's  Speech  to  the  Parliament, 
269.  Vote  of"  Want  of  Confidence,"  270.  Prosecution  of  William  of  Wick- 
ham, 270.  Resignation  and  Death  of  Lord  Chancellor  Knyvet,  272.  Adam 
DE  Houghton,  Chancellor,  271.  A  Parliament,  272.  Death  of  Edward  III., 
272.  His  Domestic  Government,  272.  Jurisdiction  of  Court  of  Chancery,  273. 
Character  of  the  Chancellors  of  Edward  III.,  274.  Origin  of  Parliamentary 
Impeachments,  274.     Justices  of  Peace,  274. 

CHAPTER  XVL 

CHANCELLORS  AND  KEEPERS  OF  1HE  GREAT  SEAL  FROM  THE  COMMENCEMENT  OF 
THE  REIGN  OF  RICHARD  II.  TILL  THE  SECOND  CHANCELLORSHIP  OF  WILLIAM  OF 
WICKHAM. 

De  Houghton  continues  Chancellor,  276.  His  Speech  to  Parliament,  276.  Pro- 
ceedings of  Commons,  277.  Parliament  at  Gloucester,  277.  Sir  Richard  le 
ScROPE,  Chancellor,  278.  Death  of  Houghton,  278.  Rise  of  Richard  le 
Scrope,  278.  Made  a  Peer,  279.  A  Parliament,  279.  Removal  of  Lord  Scrope, 
and  Appointment  of  Simon  de  Sudbury  as  Cliancellor,  280.  His  Origin  and 
Education,  280.  Made  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  280.  Lord  Chancellor,  280. 
He  proposes  the  Poll  Tax,  281.  Wat  Tyler's  Rebellion,  281.  Chancellor  seized 
in  the  Tower,  282.  Beheaded,  282.  Miracles  by  the  deceased  Chancellor,  282. 
William  Courtenay,  Chancellor,  282.  His  illustrious  Descent,  283.  Disputes 
with  John  of  Gaunt,  283.  His  Behaviour  as  Judge,  283.  Removal  on  Address 
of  Commons,  283.  Lord  le  Scrope  again  Chancellor,  284.  Death  of  Ex- 
chancellor  Courtenay,  284.  King  quarrels  with  Lord  le  Scrope  who  is  dis- 
missed, 284.  Robert  de  Braybboke,  Chancellor,  285.  Parliament,  285.  Wick- 
lifFe, 285.  The  Chancellor's  pious  Fraud  to  put  down  Heresy,  285.  Michael  dk 
la  Pole,  Chancellor,  286.     His  Conduct  as  Judge,  287.       In  Parliament,  287. 

a  4 


XXIV  CONTENTS. 

Chancellor  made  an  Earl,  288.  Altercation  in  the  House  of  Lords  between  the 
Chancellor  and  the  Bishop  of  Ely,  288.  A  Parliament,  289.  Proceedings 
against  the  Chancellor,  290.  The  Earl  of  Suffolk  removed  from  the  Office  of 
Chancellor,  291.  Thomas  Arundel  appointed,  291.  Impeachment  of  the  Ex- 
chancellor,  291.  His  Defence,  291.  Death  of  the  Earl  of  Suffolk,  292.  His 
Character,  293.  Thomas  Arundel,  Chancellor,  293.  His  Family,  293.  Edu- 
cation, 293.  Misconduct  of  Richard  II.,  293.  Civil  War,  294.  A  Parliament, 
294.     Arundel  dismissed,  294. 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

CHANCELLORS    AND    KEEPERS    OF    THE    GREAT    SEAL    FROM     THE      SECOND     CHANCELLOR- 
SHIP   OF    WILLIAM    OF    WICKHAM    TILL    THE    END    OF    THE    REIGN    OF    RICHARD  II. 

William  of  Wickham  again  Chancellor,  295.  His  History  between  his  two  Chan- 
cellorships,  295.  A  Parliament,  296.  The  Chancellor  lays  down  his  Office  in 
Parliament  and  is  re-appointed,  296.  Resignation  of  William  of  Wickham,  297. 
His  Retirement  from  public  Life,  298.  His  Death,  298.  His  Merits,  298. 
Thomas  de  Arundel's  second  Chancellorship,  298.      History  of  John  de  Waltham, 

299.  His  Invention  of  Writ  of  Subpoena,  299.  Proceedings  in  Parliament 
against  the  Court  of  Chancery,  300.      Chancellor  goes  with   King  to  Ireland, 

300.  His  Death,  300.  Removal  of  Arundel,  301.  Edmund  Stafford,  Chan- 
cellor, 301.  Chancellor's  Speech  on  opening  Parliament,  301.  Ex -chancellor 
Arundel  impeached  and  convicted,  301.  Family  of  the  Staftbrds,  302.  Henry 
of  Bolingbroke  claims  the  Crown,  303.  John  Searle,  Chancellor,  303.  Ex- 
chaneellor  Arundel  accompanies  Henry,  304.  Deposition  of  Richard  II.,  305. 
Henry  raised  to  the  Throne,  306.  New  Parliament,  306.  Celebrated  Speech 
for  Richard  by  Bishop  of  Carlisle,  306.  Fate  of  Richard,  307.  Equitable 
Jurisdiction  of  the  Court  of  Chancery  in  Reign  of  Richard  II.,  307.  Complaint 
against  Masters  in  Chancery,  308. 

CHAPTER  XVin. 

CHANCELLORS    AND    KEEPERS    OF    THE    GREAT    SEAL  DURING    THE    REIGN    OF    HENRY  IV, 

John  Searle,  nominally  Chancellor,  310.  A  Parliament,  310.  Chancellor  not 
allowed  to  address  the  two  Houses,  310.  Resigns,  310.  His  Obscurity,  311. 
Edmund  Stafford  restored,  311.  Issues  of  Fact  arising  in  Court  of  Chancery  to 
be  tried  in  a  Court  of  Common  Law,  311.  The  Chancellor  resigns,  312.  His 
Retreat  and  Death,  318.  Cardinal  Beaufort,  Chancellor,  312.  His  Origin 
and  early  Career,  312.  His  Conduct  as  Chancellor,  313.  Attempt  of  House  of 
Commons  to  seize  Church  Property,  313.  "  Lack-Learning  Parliament,"  314. 
Cardinal  Beaufort  removed,  315.  Thomas  Longley,  Chancellor,  315.  Attempt 
to  introduce  Salic  Law  into  England,  315.  Proceedings  in  Parliament  respect- 
ing the  Court  of  Chancery,  316,  Archbishop  Arundel  restored  to  Office  of 
Chancellor,  317.  Chancellor  dismissed,  318.  Great  Seal  in  custody  of  Master 
of  Rolls,  318.  Ex-chancellor  Beaufort  addresses  the  two  Houses,  318.  Church 
in  danger,  319.  Sir  Thomas  Beaufort,  afterwards  Duke  of  Exeter,  Chancellor, 
319.  His  History  and  Conduct  as  Chancellor,  319.  His  subsequent  Career 
and  Death,  319.  Archbishop  Arundel  Chancellor  the  fifth  Time,  320.  Illness 
of  Henry  IV.,  320.  Character  of  Chancellors  of  Henry  IV.,  320.  Conviction 
and  Execution  of  an  Archbishop,  321. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

chancellors  during  the  reign  of  henry  v. 

Accession  of  Henry  V.,  322.      Great  Seal  taken  from  Archbishop  Arundel,  and  re- 
stored to  Cardinal  Beaufort,  322.      Subsequent  Career  of  Ex-chancellor  Arundel 


CONTENTS.  XXV 

323.  He  sentences  Lord  Cobham  to  be  burnt,  323.  Renewed  Attempt  of  the 
Commons  to  seize  the  Property  of  the  Church,  323.  King  claims  Crown  of 
France,  324.  Chancellor's  Speech  at  the  Opening  of  Parliament,  325.  Petition 
against  the  Court  of  Chancery,  325.  Petition  negatived,  326.  Other  Proceed- 
ings of  Commons  against  Court  of  Chancery,  327.  Chancellor  lends  Money  to 
the  King,  taking  the  Crown  in  pawn,  328.  Act  against  the  Irish,  329.  Judicial 
Conduct  of  Cardinal  Beaufort,  329.  Great  Seal  taken  from  Cardinal  Beaufort, 
829.  Longley,  Chancellor  the  second  Time,  330.  A  Parliament,  330.  Treaty 
of  Troy es,  330.  Death  of  Henry  V.,  331.  Administration  of  Justice  during 
his  Reign,  332. 

CHAPTER  XX. 

CHANCELLORS    FROM    THE    COMMENCEMENT    OF    THE    REIGN    OF    HENRY  VI.    TILL    THF. 
DEATH    OF    CARDINAL    BEAUFORT. 

l^ord  Chancellor  Longley  resigns  Great  Seal  to  Infant  King,  333.  A  Parlia^ 
ment,  333.  Longley  re-appointed  Chancellor,  334.  Duke  of  Gloucester,  Pro- 
tector, 334.  Proceedings  in  Parliament  against  the  Court  of  Chancery,  334. 
Lord  Chancellor's  Speech  on  opening  Parliament,  335.  Disputes  between  Duke 
of  Gloucester  and  Cardinal  Beaufort,  335.  Longley  deprived  of  Great  Seal,  335. 
Cardinal  Beaufort  Chancellor  the  third  Time,  335.  Death  and  Character  of 
Ex-chancellor  Longley,  336.  Henry  VI.,  in  Mother's  Arms,  opens  Parliament, 
336.  Lord  Chancellor  Beaufort's  Speech,  336.  Chancellor  to  grant  Licences 
for  Exportation  of  Butter  and  Cheese,  337.  Riots  in  London  caused  by  Chan- 
cellor and  Protector,  337.  Chancellor's  Letter  to  Duke  of  Bedford,  338.  "  Par- 
liament of  Bats,"  338.  Impeachment  of  Chancellor,  339.  Chancellor  and  Pro- 
tector reconciled,  339.  Cardinal  Beaufort  resigns  Great  Seal,  340.  His 
subsequent  History,  340.  Sits  on  Trial  of  Maid  of  Orleans,  341.  Fresh  Quarrel 
with  Duke  of  Gloucester,  341.  Murder  of  Duke  of  Gloucester,  342.  Death  of 
Cardinal  Beaufort,  342.      His  Character,  342. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

CHANCELLORS      DURING    THE    REIGN    OF    HENRY    VI.     FROM    THE    APPOINTMENT    OF    CAR- 
DINAL   KEMPE    TILL    THE    DEATH   OF   LORD    CHANCELLOR    WAYNFLETE. 

Obscure  Origin  of  Lord  Chancellor  Kempe,  344.  His  Rise,  344.  His  Conduct  as 
Chancellor,  344.  Resignation  of  Cardinal  Kempe,  346.  John  Stafford  Chan- 
cellor, 346.  His  Birth  and  Education,  346.  His  long  Continuance  in  Office, 
346.  Act  to  restrain  excessive  Jurisdiction  assumed  by  Court  of  Chancery,  347. 
Lord  Chancellor  Stafford's  Style  of  Eloquence,  347.  Repeal  of  Act  for  Chan- 
cellor to  license  Exportation,  349.  King's  Marriage,  350.  Disgraceful  Treaty 
with  France,  350.  Foundation  of  Eton  College,  350.  National  Indignation  on 
discoveiing  secret  Article  in  Treaty  with  France,  350.  A  Parliament,  351. 
Lord  Chancellor  Stafford  dismissed,  351.  His  Death  and  Character,  351.  Car- 
dinal Kempe  again  Chancellor,  352.  Banishment  and  Death  of  Duke  of  Suffolk, 
352.  Jack  Cade's  Rebellion,  352.  War  of  the  Roses,  353.  Death  and  Cha- 
racter of  Lord  Chancellor  Kempe,  354.  King's  Illness,  355.  The  Earl  of 
Salisbury  appointed  Chancellor  by  the  Duke  of  York,  356.  King's  Recovery,  357. 
Cardinal  Bourchier  made  Chancellor  by  the  Queen,  357.  Great-grandson  to 
Edward  III.,  357.  His  good  Qualities,  357.  His  Rise,  358.  Battle  of  St. 
Alban's,  358.  Duke  of  York,  Protector,  359.  Chancellor  seals  Writ  to  super- 
sede Duke  of  York,  359.  Seal  taken  from  Archbishop  Bourchier,  360.  Wil- 
liam Waynflete,  Bishop  of  Winchester,  Chancellor,  360.  His  Origin,  361. 
Fellow  and  Provost  of  Eton,  361.  His  Conference  with  Jack  Cade,  361.  The 
Chancellor  supports  the  Lancastrians,  362.  His  judicial  Conduct,  362.  Ap- 
jiarent  Pacification,  363.  Hostilities  resumed,  363.  Battle  of  Blore  Heath,  363. 
A  Parliament,  363.  Yorkists  attainted,  364.  Battle  of  Northampton,  364. 
Waynflete  resigns  Great  Seal,  364.      His  subsequent  Career,  365.     Submits  to 


XXVI  CONTENTS. 

Edward  IV.,  365.     Entertains  Richard  III.  at  the  College  founded  by  him,  365. 
His  Death  and  Character,  366. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

CHANCELLORS  DURING  THE  REIGK  OF  HENRY  VI.  FROM  THE  APPOINTMENT  OF  GEORGE 
NEVILLE,  BISHOP  OF  EXETER,  TILL    THE    DEATH    OF    LORD    CHANCELLOR  FORTESCCE. 

Great  Seal  in  Custody  of  Archbishop  Bourchier,  367.  George  Neville,  Bishop 
of  Exeter,  Chancellor,  367.  A  Parliament,  367.  Duke  of  York  claims  Crown, 
367.  Right  to  Crown  argued  at  Bar  of  Lords,  368.  Judgment  for  Duke  of 
York  after  Death  of  King  Henry,  368.  Battle  of  Wakefield,  369.  Death  of 
Richard  Plantagenet,  Duke  of  York,  369.  Execution  of  Ex-chancellor  the  Earl 
of  Salisbury,  369.  His  Children,  369.  Q,ua;re,  Whether  Sir  John  Fortescue 
was  ever  Chancellor  in  England  ?  370.  Supposed  to  have  been  only  Chancellor 
in  partihus,  370.  His  Family,  371.  His  Rise  at  the  Bar,  371.  Chief  Justice, 
371.  While  Chief  Justice,  fights  in  Battle  of  Towton,  372.  Attainted  by  Act 
of  Parliament,  372.  Goes  into  Exile,  372.  Writes  "  De  Laudibus,"  372. 
Submits  to  Edward  IV.,  373.  Writes  in  favour  of  Title  of  House  of  York,  373. 
He  is  pardoned,  373.  Exemplification  of  Reversal  of  the  Attainder  of  Lord 
Chancellor  Fortescue,  373.  Retires  to  Ebrington,  374.  Death,  375.  Epi- 
taph, 375.  His  celebrated  Judgment  on  Parliamentary  Privilege,  376.  Thorpe's 
Case,  376.  Release  of  Manor  of  Ebrington,  376.  Equity  Lawyer,  378.  His 
literary  Merits,  378.  His  Character,  378.  His  Descendants,  378.  End  of  the 
Reign  of  Henry  VI.,  379.  Law  against  a  Queen  Dowager  marrying  without 
the  Consent  of  the  reigning  Sovereign,  379.  Equitable  Jurisdiction  of  Chancery 
during  Reign  of  Henry  VI.,  379.      Rude  State  of  Equity,  380. 


CHAPTER  XXIIL 

CHANCELLORS    IN    THE    REIGN    OF    EDWARD    IV. 

George  Neville  again  Chancellor,  382.  A  Parliament,  382.  Chancellor's  Speech 
on  opening  Session,  382.  Acts  against  wearing  piked  Shoes,  383.  Chancellor 
abroad  on  an  Embassy,  384.  Edward's  Rupture  with  the  Nevilles,  384.  Neville 
dismissed  from  Office  of  Chancellor,  384.  Robert  Stillington,  Chancellor, 
385.  Subsequent  Career  of  Ex-chancellor  Neville,  385.  His  Death,  386. 
Character  of  Robert  Stillington,  386.  His  Origin,  386.  His  Speech  at  Proro- 
gation of  Parliament,  386.  His  Speech  on  opening  next  Session,  387.  Inva- 
sion by  Earl  of  Warwick,  388.  Henry  VI.  restored,  388.  "  The  Hundred 
Days,"  388.  Doubtful  who  was  Chancellor  on  Restoration  of  Henry  VI.,  389. 
Edward  IV.  restored,  389.  Death  of  Henry  VI.,  389.  Stillington  again 
Chancellor,  389.  Illness  and  Resignation  of  Chancellor,  390.  Ex-chancellor 
goes  on  an  Embassy,  390.  Quaere,  Whether  he  assisted  in  Usurpation  of  Richard 
III.?  390.  Imprisoned  by  Henry  VII.  for  taking  part  with  Lambert  Simnel, 
391.  His  Death,  391.  Henry  Bourchier,  Earl  of  Essex,  Keeper  of  Great 
Seal,  391.  His  Family,  391.  Bred  a  Soldier,  391.  His  Resignation,  391. 
Knight  of  the  Garter,  391.  Lawrence  Booth,  Bishop  of  Durham,  Chancellor, 
391.  His  Rise,  392.  His  Incompetency,  392.  He  is  dismissed,  392.  Ro- 
theram.  Bishop  of  Lincoln,  Chancellor,  393.  A  Parliament,  393.  Length  of 
Parliaments  in  early  Times,  394.  Characters  of  three  Chancellors  who  presided 
in  one  Parliament,  394,  John  Alcock,  Chancellor  a  short  Time,  394.  Ro- 
theram  restored,  395.  Chancellor's  Speech  to  Parliament,  395.  Statute  against 
Irishmen,  395.  Disputes  between  King  and  Clarence,  396 .  "  Statute  of  Ker- 
queue,"  396.  Death  of  Edward  IV.,  396.  Decision  of  Lord  Chancellor 
Rotheram,  397.  Attempts  of  Common-law  Judges  against  Injunctions,  397. 
Jurisdiction  established  over  Trusts,  398,     Equity  Pleading,  399. 


CONTENTS.  XXVU 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

CHANCELLORS    DURING    THE    REIGNS    OF    EDWARD  V.  AND    RICHARD  lU. 

Disputes  between  the  Duke  of  Gloucester  and  the  Queen,  401.  Rotheram  de- 
livers up  the  Great  Seal,  401.  Prevails  on  the  Queen  to  part  with  her  younger 
Son,  402.  John  Russell,  Chancellor  to  Edward  V.,  402.  Final  History  of 
Ex-chancellor  Archbishop  Bourchier,  403,  And  Rotheram,  403.  Character  of 
Lord  Chancellor  Russell,  404.  His  Origin  and  Rise,  404.  His  Conduct  on 
the  Usurpation  of  Richard  III.,  404,  Russell  reappointed  Chancellor  by 
Richard  III.,  405.  Letter  of  Richard  to  the  Chancellor,  405.  Postscript,  406. 
A  Parliament,  406.  Excellent  Laws  now  enacted,  407.  Act  against  "  Bene- 
volences," 407.  Chancellor  regulates  Treaty  with  Scotland,  408.  Removed 
from  his  Office,  410.  His  subsequent  History,  411.  First  perpetual  Chancellor 
of  Oxford  411.  His  Death,  411.  His  Epitaph,  411.  Disposal  of  Great  Seal 
at  end  of  Reign  of  Richard  III.,  412,  Legal  Proceedings  during  Reigas  of 
Edward  V.  and  Richard  III.,  413, 

CHAPTER  XXV. 

chancellors    and    lord     keepers     FROM     THE     ACCESSION    OE    HENRY    VIF.    TILL    THE 
APPOINTMENT    OF    ARCHBISHOP    WARHAM    AS    LORD    KEEPER. 

Alcock,  Bishop  of  Worcester,  first  Chancellor  to  Henry  VII.,  414.  Difficult 
constitutional  Questions  settled,  415.  Made  Bishop  of  Ely,  415.  Alcock  removed 
from  Office  of  Chancellor,  415.  Death  of  Ex-chancellor  Alcock,  416.  Car- 
dinal Morton,  Chancellor,  416.  His  Birth  and  Education,  416.  A  Lancastrian, 
but  reconciled  to  Edward  IV.,  417.  His  Conduct  under  Richard  HI.,  417. 
Strawberry  Scene  at  the  Tower  of  London,  417.  Imprisoned  by  Richard  III,, 
418.  Escapes  to  Continent,  418.  Recalled  by  Henry  VII.,  419.  His  Policy 
when  Chancellor,  419.  His  Speech  to  the  two  Houses  of  Parliament,  419.  Star 
Chamber  remodelled,  420,  Limitation  of  Claims  to  Land,  421.  Law  protect- 
ing Acts  under  King  de  facto,  421.  "  Benevolence"  imposed,  422  Cardinal 
Morton's  "  Fork,"  423.     His  Death,  423,      Sir  Thomas  More's  Character  of  him, 

424.  Henry  Deane,  Bishop  of  Salisbury,  Lord  Keeper,  424.  Distinguished 
at  the   University,  425.     His  subsequent   Rise,  425.     Conduct  as  Lord  Keeper, 

425.  Negotiates  Marriage  between  the  King  of  Scots  and  the  Princess  Mar- 
garet, 426.  His  Resignation,  426,  His  Death,  426.  Great  Seal  delivered  to 
Archbishop  Warham,  426. 


CHAPTER  XXVL 

LIFE    OF    ARCHBISHOP    WARHAM,    LORD    CHANCELLOR    OF    ENGLAND. 

Birth  and  Education,  427.  Practises  in  Doctors'  Commons,  427,  His  Embassy 
to  Duke  of  Burgundy,  427,  Speech  to  Duke  and  Duchess,  427.  Made  Master 
of  Rolls  and  Bishop  of  London,  428.  Lord  Keeper  and  Lord  Chancellor,  ^28, 
His  despatch  of  Business  in  Chancery,  428.  Opposed  Marriage  between  Prince 
Henry  and  Catherine,  Widow  of  Arthur,  428.  His  Panegyric  on  Dudley,  the 
Attorney  General,  afterwards  hanged,  429.  Death  of  Henry  VII.,  429.  Le- 
gislation in  his  Reign,  429.  Administration  of  Justice,  430.  Equity  Jurisdic- 
tion, 430.  Accession  of  Henry  VI IL,  431.  Warham  continued  Chancellor, 
431.  Still  opposes  Henry's  Marriage  with  Catherine,  431  Improperly  joins 
in  Prosecution  of  Empsom  and  Dudley,  432.  A  Parliament,  432.  Chancellor's 
Speech  to  Two  Houses,  432.  His  Advice  to  Soldiers  in  the  Field,  433.  War- 
ham's  last  Address  to  the  Two  Houses,  433.  Makes  a  Speech  in  House  of 
Commons,  434.      Abuse  of  the  Scotch,  434.     Dispute  as   to  the  Rank  of  the 


XXVIH  CONTENTS. 

Earl  of  Surrey  in  the  House  of  Lords,  434.      Warham  undermined  by  Wolsey, 

435.  Driven  to  resign,  436.  His  Character  as  a  Judge,  436.  His  Occupations 
in  Retirement,  436.      Still  insulted  by  Wolsey,  436.      Complains  to  the    King, 

436.  Fall  of  Wolsey,  437.  Qusere,  Whether  Warham  was  again  offered  the 
Great  Seal  ?  437.  Countenances  Holy  Maid  of  Kent,  437.  His  Death,  437. 
Conduct  on  Death-bed,  438.  His  Friendship  with  Erasmus,  438.  Character  of 
Warham  by lErasmus,  438.  Letter  of  Warham  to  Erasmus,  440.  General  Es- 
timate of  Character  of  Warham,  441. 


CHAPTER  XXVIL 

LIFE    OF    CARDINAL    WOLSEY    FROM    HIS    BIRTH    TILL    HIS    APPOINTMENT    AS    LORD 
CHANCELLOR. 

Wolsey,  the  Son  of  a  Butcher,  442.  Proofs,  442.  Sent  to  the  University,  443. 
Wolsey  "  the  Boy  Bachelor,"  443.  Fellow  of  Magdalen,  and  Schoolmaster, 
443.  Tutor  to  Sons  of  Marquess  of  Dorset,  443.  Wolsey  a  country  Parson,  444. 
Wolsey  set  in  the  Stocks  for  Drunkenness  and  Rioting  at  a  Fair,  444.  His 
Revenge  when  Lord  Chancellor,  445.  Wolsey  leaves  his  Parish,  445.  Chaplain 
to  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  446.  To  the  Governor  of  Calais,  446.  Chaplain 
to  Henry  VIL,  446.  His  Success  at  Court,  446.  Wolsey's  Embassy  to  the 
Emperor,  447.  Extraordinary  Rapidity  of  his  Journey,  448.  Rewarded  with 
the  Deanery  of  Lincoln,  450.  Death  of  Henry  VIL,  450.  Wolsey  introduced 
to  the  new  King,  450.  Influence  gained  by  Wolsey  over  Henry  VII I.,  450. 
Wolsey  Almoner  to  the  King,  451.  Wolsey  Prime  Minister,  452.  Grants  and 
Preferments,  453.  Wolsey  Commissary- General  to  the  Army  in  France,  453. 
Appointed  Bishop  of  Tournay,  453.  Wolsey  made  Bishop  of  Lincoln,  454. 
Archbishop  of  York,  &c.,  454.  Cardinal  and  Legate  a  latere,  454.  Measures 
to  disgust  Lord  Chancellor  Warham,  455.  Wolsey,  Chancellor,  455.  Quaere, 
Whether  Warham  resigned  voluntarily,  and  Wolsey  was  reluctant  to  take  Great 
Seal  ?  456. 

CHAPTER  XXVIIL 

LIFE     OF     CARDINAL    WOLSEY     FROM     HIS     APPOINTMENT      AS     LORD     CHANCELLOR    TILL 

HIS    FALL. 

Homage  paid  to  Wolsey  by  Foreign  Powers,  458.  By  the  University  of  Oxford, 
458.  Letters  to  him  from  the  King's  Sisters,  459.  Letter  to  him  from  the  Earl 
of  Argyle,  460.  His  splendid  Mode  of  living,  460.  Wolsey's  Banquets  to  the 
King,  46L  His  Procession  to  the  Court  of  Chancery,  462.  Jests  against  him, 
464.  His  Conduct  as  a  Judge,  464.  A  Parliament,  466.  Money  Bill  originates 
in  Lords,  466.  Wolsey  causes  Death  of  Duke  of  Buckingham,  467.  Aims  at 
the  Popedom,  468.  Wolsey  is  disappointed  of  the  Popedom.  469.  Again 
disappointed,  469.  His  Love  of  Education,  470.  A  new  Parliament,  471. 
Convocation,  471.  Publication  of  Debates  in  House  of  Commons,  471.  Wol- 
sey's Visit  to  the  House  of  Commons,  472.  Conduct  of  >'r  Thomas  More,  the 
Speaker,  472.  Indignation  of  Wolsey,  474.  Wolsey  tries  to  levy  a  Tax  without 
Authority  of  Parliament,  474.  Masque  at  Gray's  Inn  to  expose  Wolsey,  474. 
Wolsey's  Embassy  to  France,  475.  His  Journey,  476.  His  Reception  at  Calais, 
476.  Meeting  of  Wolsey  with  King  and  Court  of  France,  477.  His  Courage 
and  Skill  as  a  Diplomatist,  478.  Treaty  concluded,  479.  Relation  in  Star 
Chamber  of  his  Embassy,  479.  Arrival  of  French  Embassy,  479.  Ratification 
of  Treaty  at  St.  Paul's,  479.  Splendid  Entertainment  by  Wolsey  to  French  at 
Hampton  Court,  480.  Wolsey's  Prosperity  before  his  Disgrace,  481.  Origin  of 
Wolsey's  Disgrace,  481.  Anne  Boleyn,  481.  Wolsey  at  first  dissuades  King's 
Marriage  wi'h  Anne,  482.  Afterwards  labours  for  the  Divorce,  482.  Obtains 
conditional  Licence  from  the  Pope,  483.  Campeggio,  483.  Cardinal  Campeggio 
arrives  in   England,  483.      Near  Prospect  of  Wolsey  being  elected  Pope,  484. 


CONTENTS.  XXIX 

Hearing  of  the  Divorce  Suit  before  Wolsey  and  Campeggio,  485.  King's  Anger 
at  the  Delay,  486.  Divorce  Suit  carried  before  the  Pope,  487.  The  King 
makes  a  Progress  in  the  Country,  487.  The  Court  at  Grafton,  487.  Wolsey 
neglected,  488.  His  last  Interview  with  Henry,  488.  Dialogue  between  Henry 
and  Anne  respecting  Wolsey,  489.  Wolsey  returns  to  London,  489  His  last 
Appearance  in  the  Court  of  Chancery,  490.  Refuses  to  deliver  up  Great  Seal 
without  proper  Warrant  from  King,  490.  Deprived  of  his  Office  and  all  his 
Possessions,  490. 

CHAPTER  XXIX. 

LIFE    OF    CARDINAL    WOLSEY    FROM    HIS    FALL    TILL    HIS    DEATH. 

Praemunire  Informations  filed  against  Wolsey,  491.  Pleads  guilty,  491.  Proceeds 
to  Esher,  491.  At  Putney  met  by  a  Messenger  from  the  King,  492.  Lord 
Chancellor's  "  Fool,"  492.  Wolsey's  Residence  at  Esher,  493.  Letter  from 
Erasmus,  493.  Returning  Kindness  of  the  King,  493.  Nocturnal  Visit  to 
Wolsey  from  Sir  John  Russell,  493.  A  Parliament,  494.^  Visit  to  Wolsey  from 
the  Duke  of  Norfolk,  494.  Impeachment  of  Wolsey,  49.5.  Agreed  to  by  the 
Lords,  but  rejected  by  the  Commons,  495.  Wolsey  deserted  by  his  former 
Friends,  496.  Settlement  with  the  King,  497.  Permitted  to  remove  to  Rieh- 
mond,  497.      Ordered   to    York,    497.     Journey    to    the    North,    497.      Inter- 

•  view  between  Wolsey  and  Judge  Shelley,  497.  His  Installation  as  Archbishop 
appointed,  498.  Alarm  at  Court  from  his  Popularity,  498.  He  is  arrested  for 
High  Treason,  499.  His  Behaviour,  499.  He  is  carried  off  a  Prisoner,  5C0. 
His  Stay  at  Sheffield  Park,  500.  His  Alarm  at  Prophecy  that  he  should  die 
near  Kingston,  500.  His  Illness,  501.  Arrives  at  Leicester,  501.  Prophesies 
the  Hour  of  his  Death,  501.  He  dies,  502.  His  Burial,  502.  His  Conduct  as 
a  Judge,  503.  His  Notions  of  Equity,  503.  Increase  of  Equity  Business,  503. 
Establishes  auxiliary  Courts,  503.  His  Complaints  of  the  Lawyers,  504.  Wolsey 
free  from  Bribery  and  Corruption,  504.  His  natural  Children,  505.  His  Re- 
pentance, 506. 

CHAPTER  XXX. 

LIFE    OF    SIR    THOMAS    MORE,    LORD    CHANCELLOR    OF    ENGLAND,    FROM  HIS    BIRTH    TILL 
THE    END    OF    THE    REIGN    OF    HENRY    VII. 

Difficulty  of  appointing  a  Successor  to  Wolsey,  507.  Sir  Thomas  More  appointed, 
508.  His  Birth,  508.  His  Education,  509.  Page  to  Cardinal  Morton,  509. 
Goes  to  the  University,  510.  His  early  Poems,  511.  At  Inns  of  Court,  511. 
His  great  Proficiency  in  Law,  512.  Gives  Lectures  in  a  Church,  512.  Wishes 
to  become  a  Monk,  513.  On  trial  dislikes  Carthusian  Discipline,  513.  Resolves 
to  marry,  514.  His  Courtship,  514.  Happily  married,  515.  Rapid  Progress 
in  his  Profession,  515.  He  is  Under-sheriff  of  London,  515.  Returned  to  Par- 
liament, 516.  Excessive  Subsidy  demanded  by  Henry  to  marry  his  Daughter, 
516.  Proofs  that  More  held  the  Office  of  Under-Sheriff',  516.  More's  Maiden 
Speech  against  the  Subsidy,  517.  Indignation  of  the  King,  517.  More  resolves 
to  go  into  Exile,  518.      Death  of  Henry  VII.,  518. 


CHAPTER  XXXL 

LIFE    OF    SIR    THOMAS    MORE    FROM    THE    ACCESSION    OF    HENRY    VIII.    TILL    HIS 
APPOINTMENT    AS    LORD    CHANCELLOR. 

More  resumes  his  Practice  at  the  Bar,  519.  Introduced  to  the  King  and  Wolsey, 
520.  Counsel  for  the  Pope  in  a  great  Cause,  520.  Enters  the  Service  of  the 
King,  520.  Leaves  the  Bar,  521.  Master  of  the  Requests,  &c.,  521.  His 
House  at  Chelsea,  521.  His  second  Wife,  521.  His  domestic  Life,  522.  His 
Letter    to  Peter  Giles,  523.     Intimacy  with   the   King,   523.      Literary  Occu- 

.    pations,  524.      Embassies,   524.      Residence  at  Calais,  524.      Resigns  Office  of 


XXX  CONTENTS. 

the  Sheriff,  525.  Elected  Speaker  of  House  of  Commons,  525.  He  disqualifies 
himself,  526.  His  Oration  to  the  King,  527.  His  laudable  Conduct  as  Speaker, 
528.  Wolsey's  Attempt  to  send  him  to  Spain,  529.  Made  Chancellor  of 
Duchy  of  Lancaster,  529.  King's  Visits  to  him  at  Chelsea,  529.  More's  early 
Insight  into  Character  of  Henry  VIII.,  530.  Morethe  Mouthpiece  of  the  King, 
530.  His  literary  Reputation,  530.  His  famous  Question  to  a  Pedant  at 
Bruges,  531.  King's  Divorce,  531.  More  conceals  his  Opinion,  531.  Pre- 
serves Neutrality,  532.  Scene  at  the  Council  Table  between  Wolsey  and  More, 
532.  More  Ambassador  at  Cambray,  532.  His  Loss  by  Fire,  533.  Beautiful 
Letter  to  his  Wife,  533.     He  is  made  Lord  Chancellor,  534. 


CHAPTER  XXXIL 

LIFE    OF    SIR    THOMAS    MORE    FROM    HIS    APPOINTMENT    AS    LORD    CHANCELLOE    TILL    HIS 

RESIGNATION. 

Installation  of  the  new  Chancellor,  535.  Duke  of  Norfolk's  Speech,  536.  Sir 
Thomas  More's  Speech,  537.  More's  Appointment  applauded  Abroad,  539. 
The  Embarrassments  of  his  Situation,  540.  A  Parliament,  541.  Chancellor's 
Speech,  541.  Prosecution  of  Wolsey  not  creditable  to  More,  542.  Good  Laws 
passed,  543.  Admirable  Conduct  as  Judge  in  Chancery,  543.  Anecdote,  show- 
ing his  Love  of  Justice  and  Jesting,  543.  His  Diligence,  544.  Remonstrance 
of  Son-in-Law  against  his  Impartiality,  544.  Decree  against  his  Son-in-Law, 
545.  His  Practice  as  to  Injunctions,  545.  Grumbling  of  Judges,  545.  Dinner 
to  the  Judges,  546.  His  Offer  to  them  about  Injunctions,  546.  His  Criticism 
on  Judges,  546.  His  great  Dispatch,  547.  Entry  on  Record  that  there  were 
no  Arrears  in  the  Court  of  Chancery,  547.  Daily  receives  his  Father's  Blessing 
in  the  Court  of  King's  Bench,  547.  His  Father's  Death,  548.  Simplicity  of 
his  Habits,  548.  While  Chancellor  on  Sundays  walked  to  Church  and  sang 
among  the  Choristers,  548.  His  Judgment  in  the  great  Case  of  "  The  Little 
Dog,"  548.  Charge  of  Persecution  of  Heretics,  549.  Difficulty  as  to  King's 
Divorce,  551.  Opinion  of  the  Universities,  551.  Thomas  Cromwell,  552.  A 
Parliament,  552.  Threatened  Rupture  with  Rome,  553.  Perplexity  of  More, 
553.  Act  passed  prohibiting  Appeals  to  Rome,  553.  More's  Speech  to  House 
of  Commons  on  the  Divorce,  554.  His  distressed  State  of  Mind,  554.  Scene 
with  the  King  respecting  the  Divorce,  553.      He  resigns  the  Great  Seal,  556. 


CHAPTER  XXXIIL 

LIFE    OF    SIR    THOMAS    MORE    FROM    HIS    RESIGNATION    OF    THE    GREAT    SEAL    TILL 

HIS    DEATH. 

More's  high  Spirits  on  his  Resignation,  557.  Jesting  Mode  of  announcing  it  to 
his  Wife,  557.  His  "  Fool,"  557.  More's  Mode  of  Life  in  Retirement,  558. 
Sayings  of  Sir  Thomas  More's  Fool,  558.  His  Letter  to  Archbishop  Warham, 
559.  Letter  to  Erasmus,  560.  His  Occupations,  560.  King's  Marriage  with 
Anne  Boleyn,  560.  More  refuses  to  be  present  at  her  Coronation,  561.  Sum- 
moned before  Privy  Council  on  Charge  of  Bribery,  562.  Accused  of  Treason  in 
the  Affair  of  the  Maid  of  Kent,  563.  He  is  heard  before  a  Committee,  563. 
Threats  used,  564.  His  Constancy,  564.  History  of  Henry's  Treaties  against  Lu- 
ther, 564.  More's  Joy  at  finding  himself  able  to  act  with  Courage,  .'>65.  He  escapes 
this  Peril,  566.  Attempts  to  make  him  submit,  566.  His  Prophecy  respecting 
Anne  Boleyn,  566.  Oath  to  the  King's  Supremacy  required,  567.  Commis- 
sioners appointed  to  administer  the  Oath,  567.  More  summoned  before  Com- 
missioners, £68.  Solemn  Departure  from  his  House  at  Chelsea,  568.  His 
Refusal  to  take  Oath,  568.  Committed  to  Custody  of  Abbot  of  Westminster, 
569.  Sent  to  Tower,  569.  His  Reception  in  the  Tower,  569.  Jest  on  that 
Occasion,  569.  Interview  with  his  Daughter,  570.  Visit  from  his  Wife,  571. 
Act  of  Attainder,  572.     Farther   Proceedings  against  More,  572.     Infamous 


CONTENTS.  XXXI 

Conduct  of  Rich,  the  Solicitor  General,  573.  Trial  of  More  in  Westminster 
Hall,  573.  His  Behaviour  at  Trial,  574.  The  Attorney  General's  Address,  574. 
No  Evidence  to  support  the  Charge,  575.  Defence,  575.  More  about  to  be 
acquitted,  576.  Rich,  Solicitor  General,  becomes  Witness,  and  commits  Perjury, 
576-  More's  Reply  on  this  Evidence,  577.  Summing  up  of  Lord  Audley,  578. 
Verdict  of  Guilty,  578.  Forms  observed  before  Sentence.  579.  Sentence  of 
Death  passed,  579.  More's  Speech  to  the  Judges,  580.  Carried  back  to  the 
Tower,  580.  Affecting  Interview  with  his  Daughter  on  Tower  Hill,  581. 
Death  Warrant  issued,  582.  His  last  Letter  to  his  Daughter,  582.  Announce- 
ment to  him  of  his  Execution,  582.  Conducted  to  Scaffold,  583.  His  Devo- 
tions, 583.  His  Jests,  583.  His  Death,  583.  His  Head  stolen  by  his  Daugh- 
ter, 584.  Barbarous  Conduct  of  Henry  VIII.  to  More's  Family,  584.  General 
Horror  produced  by  the  Murder  of  More,  584.  More's  Person,  585.  His  Cha- 
racter, 585.  Merits  of  the  Reformers,  586.  More's  History  of  Edward  V.  and 
Richard  III.,  586.  His  "  Epigrammata,"  586.  His  "  Utopia,"  589.  More's 
enlightened  Views  on  Criminal  Law,  590.  On  the  Law  of  Forfeiture,  590.  On 
Religious  Toleration,  591.  His  Oratory,  592.  His  Wit  and  Humour,  592. 
Practical  Joke,  593.  Sir  Thomas  More  compared  to  liis  immediate  Successors, 
594. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

LIFE    OF    LORD    CHANCELLOR    AUDLEr. 

Sir  Thomas  Audlev,  Lord  Keeper,  595.  His  Character  and  Conduct,  595.  His 
Birth,  596.  Education,  596.  Member  of  House  of  Commons,  597.  Gains 
the  Favour  of  King  Henry  VIII.,  597.  Is  made  Chancellor  of  the  Duchy  of 
Lancaster,  598.  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Commons,  598.  Proceedings  of 
Commons  on  Speech  in  Lords  by  Bishop  of  Rochester,  598.  Rupture  with 
Rome,  600.  Audley  remains  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Commons  while  Lord 
Keeper,  601.  Installation  as  Lord  Keeper,  601.  Audley  made  Lord  Chan- 
cellor, 602.  His  conduct  as  a  Judge,  603.  As  a  Politician,  603.  Commis- 
sioners to  administer  Oath  under  new  Act  of  Settlement,  603.  Act  to  make 
Denial  of  King's  Supremacy  High  Treason,  603.  Presides  at  Trial  of  Bishop 
Fisher,  604.  Evidence  of  Solicitor  General  Rich,  604.  Solicitor  General  Rich's 
Commentary  as  Counsel  on  his  own  Evidence  as  Witness,  605.  Scandalous 
Conduct  of  the  Lord  Chancellor  and  Judges,  606.  Lord  Chancellor  pronounces 
Sentence  of  Death  on  Bishop  Fisher,  606.  Trial  of  Sir  Thomas  More,  606. 
Rise  of  Thomas  Cromwell,  607.  Henry  VIII.  in  love  with  Jane  Seymour,  608. 
Audley  assists  in  the  Prosecution  of  Anne  Boleyn,  609.  Audley  sits  on  the 
Trial  of  Anne  Boleyn,  609.  Marriage  of  King  with  Anne  Boleyn  declared 
void  from  the  Beginning,  610.  King's  Marriage  with  Jane  Seymour,  610.  Lord 
Chancellor's  Speech  to  the  two  Houses,  611.  Speaker  Rich  out-flatters  the 
Chancellor,  612.  Act  giving  King  Power  to  dispose  of  Crown,  &c.,  613. 
Fresh  Contest  between  Rich  and  Audley  in  flattering  the  King,  614.  Chan- 
cellor created  a  Peer,  614.  Presides  at  Trial  of  Marquess  of  Exeter  and  Lord 
Montague,  614.  The  Lord  Chancellor  solicits  a  Recompense  for  the  Infamy  he 
had  incurred,  615.  Grant  in  consequence,  616.  He  is  made  Knight  of  the 
Garter,  617.  A  Parliament,  617.  Chancellor's  Speech,  617.  "  Bloody  Bill  of 
the  Six  Articles,"  618.  Act  Regulating  Precedence,  619.  Act  giving  King's 
Proclamation  force  of  Law,  619.  King's  Marriage  with  Anne  of  Cleves,  619. 
Fall  of  Cromwell,  620.  Chancellor's  Plan  to  attaint  Cromwell  without  hearing 
him  in  his  Defence,  620.  King's  Marriage  with  Anne  of  Cleves  dissolved,  622. 
Disgraceful  Conduct  of  Cranmer  in  Divorce  of  Anne  of  Cleves,  623.  Eastern 
Custom  of  Prostration  introduced,  624.  Chancellor  dissolves  "  Long  Parlia- 
ment," 624.  His  Impartiality  in  Persecution,  624.  King's  Contentment  with 
Queen  Catherine  Howard,  624.  Her  Incontinence  discovered,  625.  Opinion 
of  the  Judges  upon  her  Case,  625.  A  Parliament,  626.  The  Chancellor's 
Speech,  626.  Bill  of  Attainder  against  the  Queen,  627.  Execution  of  the 
Queen,  628.      Act  requiring  Spinster  whom  King  asks  in  Marriage,  if  not  Maid, 


XXXil  CONTENTS. 

to  disclose  her  Shame,  629.  Terror  of  young  Ladies  at  Court,  629.  King 
marries  a  "Widow,  629.  Queen  Catherine  Par,  629.  A  Parliament,  630.  Suc- 
cession to  Crown,  630.  Audley's  last  Illness,  631.  Resigns  the  Great  Seal,  631. 
Letter  proposing  Marringe  between  his  Daughter  and  the  Son  of  Sir  Anthony 
Denny,  63.?.  His  Death,  633.  His  Career,  633.  His  Character,  633.  His 
Epitaph,  633.      His  Descendants,  634. 

CHAPTER  XXXV. 

LIFE    OF     LORD      CHANCELI-OK     WRIOTHESLEY     FROM     HIS     BIRTH     TILL     THE     DEATH     OF 

HENRY    VIII. 

Character  of  new  Chancellor,  635.  His  Descent,  635.  Renounces  Heraldry,  635. 
Is  called  to  the  Bar,  635.  Obtains  Office  in  Common  Pleas,  635.  Made 
Secretary  of  State,  635.  Opposed  to  Reformation,  636.  Ambassador  to  ne- 
gotiate the  King's  Marriage,  6S6.  Succeeds  Cromwell  as  chief  Minister,  636. 
His  Dismay  on  the  Detection  of  the  Catholic  Queen,  Catherine  Howard ;  and 
the  King's  Marriage  with  the  Protestant  Queen,  Catherine  Par,  636.  His 
Plans  against  the  new  Queen,  637.  He  is  made  Lord  Keeper,  637.  His  Ab- 
juration of  the  Pope,  638.  Lord  Chancellor,  639.  His  Installation,  639.  His 
Deficiency  in  Law,  639.  A  very  Incompetent  Judge,  639.  His  Unhappiness, 
639.  He  tries  to  study  Equity,  640.  Commission  to  assist  him  in  hearing 
Causes,  640.  His  relentless  Bigotry,  640.  Anne  Ascue  tortured  and  burnt  by 
the  Lord  Chancellor,  640.  The  Chancellor's  offer  of  Pardon  to  Anne  Ascue, 
,642.  His  Attempt  against  the  Queen,  642.  Prosecution  ordered  against  the 
Queen,  643.  .Her  Terror,  643.  Her  Discretion,  644.  King  reconciled  to  her, 
644.  Chancellor  coming  to  arrest  her,  is  reprimanded,  645.  Chancellor  made 
Knight  of  the  Garter,  645.  A  Parliament,  645.  Appointment  of  Custos 
Rotulorum  taken  from  the  Great  Seal,  646.  King's  Speech  after  Chancellor's, 
646.  King's  Illness,  646.  Chancellor  makes  the  King's  Will,  647.  Prosecution 
of  Duke  of  Norfolk  and  Lord  Surrey,  647.  Execution  of  Surrey,  648.  Attain- 
der of  Duke  of  Norfolk,  648.  Death  of  Henry  VIII.,  649.  Tears  of  the  Chan- 
cellor, 649.  Juridical  Review  of  Reign  of  Henry  VIII.,  649.  Statutes,  650. 
Commission  to  hear  Causes,  650.      Reports,  650. 

CHAPTER  XXXVL 

CONCLUSION    OF    THE    LIFE    OF    LORD    CHANCELLOR    WRIOTHESLEY. 

Edward  VI.  proclaimed,  651.  Wriothesley  expects  to  retain  Great  Seal,  and  to 
have  the  chief  Power  during  King's  Minority,  651.  Somerset  Protector,  651. 
Young  King's  first  Appearance  in  public,  652.  Honours  conferred  by  the 
Executors  on  themselves,  653.  Wriothesley  made  Earl  of  Southampton,  653. 
Intrigues  in  the  Council,  653.  Charge  against  Wriothesley  for  issuing  an  illegal 
Commission,  654.  His  Defence,  655.  He  submits,  655.  He  is  deprived  of 
the  Great  Seal,  and  expelled  from  the  Council,  655.  New  Powers  to  Protector 
656.      Wriothesley  two  Years  in    Retirement,  656.     Unpopularity  of  Protector, 

•  656.  Wriothesley  restored  to  the  Council,  656.  Proceedings  against  the 
Protector,  657.  He  is  committed  to  Tower,  657.  Wriothesley  hopes  to  enjoy 
supreme  Power,  657.  Superseded  by  Earl  of  Warwick,  658.  He  retires  from 
Public  Life,  658.  His  Death,  658.  His  Character,  658.  His  Descendants, 
659. 


/l 


LIVES 


LORD  CHANCELLOES  OP  ENGLAND, 


INTRODUCTION. 

OP    THE   ORIGIN,     FUNCTIONS,    AND   JURISDICTION   OF    THE     OFFICE 
OF   LORD   CHANCELLOR  IN   ENGLAND. 

Before  entering  upon  the  Lives  of  the  individuals  who 
have  successively  filled  the  office  of  Lord  Chancellor  in 
England,  I  propose  to  take  a  general  view  of  its  origin, 
functions,  and  jurisdiction, — reserving  for  future  considera- 
tion a  more  detailed  account  of  the  progressive  changes  which  . 
it  has  from  time  to  time  undergone. 

The  etymology  of  the  word  "  Chancellor "  sheds  such  a  Etymology 
feeble  and  doubtful  light  on  the  subject  of  our  inquiry,  that  f,  Qj^n 
I  must  decline  engaging  in  the  great  controversy,  whether  cellor," 
"  Cancellarius  "  be  derived  from  "  cancellare"  or  "  cancelli?  " 
—  from  the  act  of  cancelling  the  king's  letters  patent  when 
granted  contrary  to  law,  or  from  the  little  bars  for  fencing  off" 
the  multitude  from  the  recess  or  chancel  in  which  sat  the 
door-keeper  or  usher  of  a  court  of  justice.     Of  the  former 
opinion,  a  distinguished  champion  is  John  of  Salisbury,  wIk) 
flourished  in  the  reign  of  Henry  II.,  and  in  the  verses  pre- 
fixed to  his  Polycraticon  thus  glorifies  the  Chancellor : 

"  Hie  est  qui  leges  regni  cancellat  iniquas, 
Et  mandata  pii  principis  aequa  facit."  * 

So  when  Lord  Chancellor  Gardyner,  in  the  reign  of  Queen 

*  See  4  Inst.  88.     3  Bl.  Com.  47. 
VOL.  T.  B 


LORD  CHANCELLORS  OF  ENGLAND. 

Mary,  presiding  on  the  woolsack,  in  the  sight  of  all  the 
Lords,  cut  off  from  a  bill  certain  clauses  to  which  the 
Commons  had  dissented,  he  said,  "I  now  do  rightly  the 
office  of  a  Chancellor."* 

But  more  weight  will  probably  be  attached  to  the  authority 
of  Gibbon,  who,  after  exposing  the  profligate  conduct  of  the 
Emperor  Carinus  in  having  selected  his  favourites,  and  even 
his  ministers,  from  the  dregs  of  the  populace,  and  intrusted 
a  "  Chancellor"  with  the  government  of  the  city,  observes, 
*'  This  word,  so  humble  in  its  origin,  has  by  a  singular  fortune 
risen  into  the  title  of  the  first  great  office  of  state  in  the 
monarchies  of  Europe."  f 

It  would  likewise  be  foreign  to  our  purpose  (though  very 
curious)  to  trace  the  steps  by  which,  under  the  later  Roman 
Emperors,  the  "  Cancellarius,"  like  "  the  Justice-clerk  "  in 
Scotland,  from  being  a  humble  scribe  or  secretary,  came 
to  be  invested  with  high  judicial  powers.  Nor  should  I  be 
justified  in  inquiring  how  the  office  passed  from  the  Roman 
Emperors  to  that  body  ever  emulous  of  imperial  state  —  the 
Roman  Church,  in  which  every  bishop  had  his  "  Chancellor," 
—  or  into  the  manner  in  which  the  office  was  established, 
with  a  great  variety  of  powers  and  duties,  in  the  different 
states  on  the  continent  of  Europe  founded  by  the  Northern 

*  «  Die  Veneris  videlicet,  4°.  Januarii,"  (1  &2  Ph.  &  Mar,  1.554-5.) 
"  Hodie  allatae  sunt  a  Domo  Communi  tres  Billa? :  quarum 
"  Prima. — For  the  repealing  of  all  outlawries  and  other  attainders  had  or 
made  against  Richard  Pate,  Bishop,  AVilliam  Peytoo,  and  others. 

"  Secunda. — That  persons  dwelling  in  the  country  shall  not  sell  divers  -wares 
in  cities  and  towns  corporate,  by  retail. 

"  Terlia. — Repealing  all  statutes,  articles,  and  provisions  made  against  the 
See  Apostolick  of  Rome  since  the  20th  year  of  King  Henry  the  Eighth  ;  and  for 
the  establishment  of  all  spiritual  and  ecclesiastical  possessions  and  hereditaments 
conveyed  to  the  laity,  with  two  new  provisoes  added  thereto  by  the  Commons  ; 
and  also  a  request  that  the  two  clauses,  containing  nineteen  lines,  and  concerning 
the  Bishops  of  London,  &c.,  and  the  Lords  Wentworthe,  &c.,  should  be  clearly 
put  out.  Whereof  one  of  the  provisoes,  for  the  manner  of  the  penning  thereof 
being  misliked  to  the  House,  another  to  the  same  effect  was  commanded  to  be 
drawn,  which  being  three  times  read,  and  agreed  unto  by  the  whole  House, 
except  the  Viscount  Montacute  and  the  Bishops  of  London,  and  Coven,  and 
I^ichef ,  was  sent  down  to  the  Commons,  where  being  also  thrice  read  and 
agreed  unto,  it  was  brought  up  again  as  an  act  fully  assented  unto  by  both 
Houses;  nor  the  said  nineteen  lines  were  not  razed  nor  taken  out  of  the  Act;  hut 
the  Chancellor,  in  the  sight  of  all  the  Lords,  ivith  a  knife,   cut  them,  saying  these 

words,  '   I  NOW  DO  RIGHTLY  THE    OFFICE    OF    A   CHANCELLOR.'" Lords'  JoUmals, 

vol.  i.  p.  484. 

f  Dec.  and  Fall,  ii.  99. ;  and  see  Casaubon  and  Salmasius  ad  Hist.  Aug.  253. 


INTRODUCTION.  3 

invaders,  who,  clinging  to  their  own  institutions,  were  fond  of 
borrowing  titles  from  the  conquered.  Our  business  here  is 
exclusively  with  "  the  Chancellor  of  the  Kings  of  England." 

This  office  has  existed  from  the  most  remote  antiquity.    Antiquity 
The  almost  fabulous  British  King  Arthur  is  said  to  have  of  office  m 

=>  England. 

appointed  a  Chancellor.*  The  Anglo-Saxon  monarchs,  from 
Ethelbert  downwards,  certainly  had  such  an  officer,  although 
we  must  not  therefore  assent  to  the  statement  of  Lord 
Coke,  that  the  Chancery  dispensed  justice  as  an  ordinary 
tribunal,  in  the  remote  reign  of  King  Alfred.  The  office 
then  existed,  but,  as  we  shall  see  hereafter,  centuries  elapsed 
before  it  assumed  the  functions  of  a  Court.  —  How  the 
office  originally  sprung  up  in  England,  and  what  it  has  since 
become,  it  will  now  be  my  endeavour  to  describe. 

With  us  the  King  has  ever  been  considered  the  fountain   Original 
of  justice.     In  very  early  times,  as  he  could  not  himself  in   ^^^_J  °L 
person  decide  all  controversies  and  remedy  all  wrongs,  tri-  to  frame 
bunals  were  constituted,  over  which  deputed  judges  presided,  ^"  ''" 
to   carry  the  law  into   execution.      Still,   applications  were 
made  to  him  personally  by  injured  parties  for  redress ;  these 
were  to  be  referred  to  the  proper  forum,  and  process  was  to 
be  made  out  for  summoning  the  adversary,  and  directing 
that  after  both  sides  had  been  heard,  the  appropriate  relief 
should  be  administered.      To  assist  him  in  this  department 
the  King  employed  a  secretary,  on  whom  by  degrees  it  was 
entirely  devolved;  and  this  officer,  on  a  statement  of  facts 
by  the  complainant,  framed  writs  or  letters,  in  the  king's 
name,  to  the  judges,  by  which  suits  were  instituted.     Forms 
were  adopted,  to  be  always  followed  under  similar  circum- 
stances, and  a  place  was  named  to  which  all  suitors  might 
resort  to  be  furnished  with  the  means  of  obtaining  justice. 
This  was  the  officina  justitioe   called  Chancery,    and   the 
officer  who  presided  over  it  was  called  Chancellor.! 


*   Mirror  of  Justices. 

f  "  Every  one  was  to  have  a  remedial  writ  from  the  King's  Chancery,  accord- 
ing to  bis  plaint,"  of  which  the  following  is  the  most  ancient  form  :  — 

"  Rex,  &c."  [to  the  Judge].  "  Questus  est  nobis  A.  quod  B.,  &c.  Et  ideo 
tibi  (vices  nostras  in  hac  parte  committentcs)  pra?cipiinus  quod  causara  illam 
audias  et  legitimo  fine  decidas." — Mirror  of  JuKtices,  8.  Sec  Fritzhert.  Nat. 
Brevium. 

B   2 


4  LORD  CHANCELLORS  OP  ENGLAND. 

And  royal        Again,  grants  of  dignities,  of  offices,  and  of  lands  were 
granu.         ^^^  1^^  ^j^^  ^^^^      j^  ^^^^  neccssary  that  these  grants  should 

be  framed  and  authenticated  by  an  officer  well  versed  in  the 
laws  and  customs  of  the  kingdom ;  and  it  was  found  con- 
venient to  employ  for  this  purpose  the  same  person  who 
superintended  the  commencement  of  suits  between  subject 
and  subject.     Here  we  have  the  other  great  branch  of  the 
pristine  duties  of  Chancellor. 
Custody  of        These  writs  and  grants  in  the  earliest  times  were  verified 
Great  ScaL  merely  by  signature.     From  the  art  of  writing  being  little 
known,  seals  became  common ;  and  the  king,  according  to 
the  fashion  of  the  age,  adopted  a  seal  with  which  writs  and 
grants  were  sealed.     This  was  called  the  Great  Seal,  and 
the  custody  of  it  was  given  to  the  Chancellor.* 
Chancellor        But  how  are  we  to  account  for  the  important  function 
keeper  of     ^hjch  has  immemorially  belonged  to  this  officer,  of  "  Keeper 

king  s  con-  ^  .  . 

science.        of  the  King's  Conscience  ? "     From  the  conversion  of  the 
A.D.  596.      Anglo-Saxons  to  Christianity  by  the  preaching  of  St.  Au- 
gustine, the  king  always  had  near  his  person  a  priest,  to 
whom  was  intrusted  the  care  of  his  chapel,  and  who  was  his 
confessor.     This  person,  selected  from  the  most  learned  and 
able  of  his  order,  and  greatly  superior  in   accomplishments 
to  the  unlettered  laymen  attending  the   Court,  soon  acted 
as  private  secretary  to  the  king,  and  gained  his  confidence  in 
aifairs  of  state.     The  present  demarcation  between  civil  and 
ecclesiastical  employments  was  then  little  regarded,  and  to 
this  same  person  was  assigned  the  business  of  superintending 
writs  and  grants,  —  with  the  custody  of  the  great  seal. 
Chancellor        For  ages  to  come  the  Chancellor  had  no  separate  judicial 
Subordinate  P^^^^'^'  ^^^  ^"^^  "^*  Considered  of  very  high  dignity  in  the 
officer.         State,  and  the  office  was  chiefly  courted  as  a  stepping-stone 
jli'dic^ial        *^  ^  bishopric,  to  which  it  almost  invariably  led.     Particular 
power.         individuals  holding  the  Great  Seal  acquired  a  great  ascend- 
ancy from  their  talents,  but  among  the  Anglo-Saxons  the 
Chancellor  was  not  generally  a  conspicuous  member  of  the 
government,  and  in  the  early  Anglo-Norman  reigns  he  ranked 

♦  It  has  generally  been  supposed  that  Edward  the  Confessor  was  the  first 
English  sovereign  who  used  a  seal ;  but  Dugdale  shows  that  there  were  some 
Rrtnts  under  seal  as  far  back  as  King  Edgar.     Dug.  01?  ch.  2. 


INTRODUCTION.  5 

only  sixth  of  the  great  officers  under  the  Crown,  coming  after 
the  Chief  Justiciar,  the  Constable,  the  Mareschal,  the 
Steward,  and  the  Chamberlain.  At  this  time  the  Chief 
Justiciar  was  by  far  the  greatest  subject,  both  in  rank  and 
power.*  He  was  generally  taken  from  among  the  high  here- 
ditary barons ;  his  functions  were  more  political  than  judicial ; 
he  sometimes  led  armies  to  battle ;  and  when  the  Sovereign 
was  beyond  the  sea,  by  virtue  of  his  office,  as  regent  he 
governed  the  realm.f 

The  office  of  Chancellor  rose  into  importance  from  the 
energy  of  A'Becket,  Longchamp,  and  other  ambitious  men 
who  held  it| ;  but  it  was  only  in  the  end  of  the  reign  of 
Henry  III.,  or  the  beginning  of  the  reign  of  Edward  I,,  that 
its  supremacy  was  established.  Till  then  the  Aula  Regia 
existed, — of  which  the  Chief  Justiciar  was  president,  and  in 
which  all  causes  of  importance,  of  whatever  description, 
were  decided. 

The  origin  of  the  different  courts  in  Westminster  Hall,   Common- 
as  they  now  exist,  may  be  distinctly  traced  to  the  disruption  (j-^Jtioii  of 
of  this  great  tribunal  —  like  the  formation  of  the  planetary   Chancellor, 
system   from   the    nebulous  matter  of  which  some  philoso- 
phers tell  us  it  is  composed.     The  Chancellor  always  sat  as 
a  member  of  the  Aula  Regia,  and  from  his  usual  duties  and 
occupations  he  must  have  been  its  chief  legal  adviser.  §     In 

*  Mad.  Exch.  b.  1. 

f  Hence  comes  the  title  of  the  "  Lords  Justices,"  appointed  to  represent 
the  King  in  England  in  the  reigns  of  George  I.  and  George  II.  ;  and  of  the 
"  Lords  Justices"  now  appointed  to  act  in  Ireland  in  the  absence  of  the  Lord 
Lieutenant. 

There  was  likewise  from  very  remote  times  a  Grand  Justiciar  in  Scotland 
with  very  arbitrary  power.  In  that  country  when  the  Judges  going  the  circuit 
approach  a  royal  burgh,  the  Lord  Provost  universally  comes  out  to  meet 
them — with  the  exception  of  Aberdeen, — of  which  there  is  by  tradition  this 
explanation.  Some  centuries  ago,  the  Lord  Provost,  at  the  head  of  the  ma- 
gistrates, going  out  to  meet  the  Grand  Justiciar  at  the  Bridge  of  Dee,  the 
Grand  Justiciar,  for  some  imaginary  offence,  hanged  his  Lordsliip  at  the  end  of 
the  Bridge, —  since  which  the  Lord  Provost  of  Aberdeen  has  never  trusted 
himself  in  the  presence  of  a  Judge  beyond  the  walls  of  the  city. — Ex  relatione 
of  a  very  venerable  person  who  has  filled  the  office  —  now  called  Lord  Justice 
General. 

;J:  The  office  of  Chancellor  in  Prance  appears  to  have  risen  into  great  im- 
portance by  the  same  means.  "  Magnitudinem  virorum  qui  eo  munere  [Can- 
cellarii]  fungebantur,  vires  decusque  illi  attulisse  crediderim,  ut  ab  exiguis 
initiis  ad  tantam  majestatem  pervenerit." — Paul.  Encycl.  de  rebus  c/estis  Francon. 
p.  104.  a. 

§  He  was  wont  to  act,  together  with  the  Chief  Justiciar  and  other  great  men, 
in  matters  of  revenue  at  the   Exchequer,   and  sometimes  with  the  other  jus- 

B  3 


LORD  CHANCELLORS  OF  ENGLAND. 

all  probability,  early  in  its  history,  the  different  branches  of 
judicial  business  which  came  before  it  were  allotted  to  the 
consideration  of  particular  members  most  conversant  with 
them ;  and  while  matters  of  chivalry  might  be  decided  by  the 
opinion  of  the  constable  and  mareschal,  the  validity  of  the 
king's  grants  would  be  referred  to  him  whose  duty  it  was  to 
authenticate  them,  and  proceedings  by  virtue  of  mandatory 
writs  or  commissions,  under  the  Great  Seal,  could  best  be 
judged  of  by  the  same  person  who  had  issued  them.  So, 
questions  arising  out  of  "  petitions  of  right,"  "  monstrans  de 
droit"  and  " traverses  of  office,"  —  where  a  complaint  was 
made  that  the  King  had  been  advised  to  do  any  act,  or  was 
put  in  possession  of  any  lands  or  goods,  to  the  prejudice  of 
a  subject,  would  be  naturally  referred  to  "  the  Keeper  of 
his  Conscience."* 

The  officer  to  whom  such  references  were  made  by  degrees 
became  a  separate  judge ;  and  hence  the  origin  of  what  is 
considered  the  common-law  jurisdiction  of  the  Chancellor. 

It  is  certain,  that  almost  immediately  after  the  esta- 
blishment of  the  Court  of  King's  Bench  for  criminal  law, 
the  Common  Pleas  for  civil  suits,  and  the  Exchequer  for  the 
revenue,  all  extraordinary  cases  of  a  juridical  nature  being 
reserved  for  the  King  in  council,  —  the  Chancellor  held  a 
separate  independent  court,  in  which  the  validity  of  royal 
grants  was  questioned  by  scire  facias,  and  the  other  matters 
were  discussed  which  I  have  supposed  to  have  been  previously 
referred  for  his  opinion,  to  guide  the  decision  of  the  Aula 
Regia.  To  assist  in  this  new  separate  jurisdiction,  officers 
were  appointed,  and  they  had  the  privilege  of  suing  and 
being  sued  in  all  personal  actions  in  the  court  to  which  they 
were  attached.  These  proceedings  were  carried  on  in  accor- 
dance with  the  rules  and  maxims  of  the  common  law. 

Here  then  we  have  the  Chancellor  with  two  great  occupa- 

ticiars  itinerant  in  their  circuits.  About  the  beginning  of  King  Henry  the 
becond's  reign,  there  were  pleas  in  the  county  of  Kent  holden  »  before  the  King's 
Chance  or,  and  before  Henry  de  Essex,  the  King's  Constable,"  and  «  before  the 
L-hancellor  and  the  Earl  of  Leicester."  Amerciaments  were  set  upon  several 
persons  m  Worcestershire  by  «'  the  Chancellor  and  Stephen  de  Segrave :"  and 
in  the  counties  of  Nottingham  and  Derby  by  the  same  persons.— Mzrfd  Exch. 
cap.  2.  p.  42. 

•   Gilbert's  History  of  the  Exchequer,  p.  8. 


INTRODUCTION. 

tioiis :  —  the  first,  his  earliest  one,  of  supplying  writs  to 
suitors  who  wished  to  litigate  in  other  courts ;  the  second, 
the  decision  of  a  peculiar  class  of  suits  as  a  judge.  Accord- 
ing to  ancient  simplicity,  the  place  where  he  carried  on  the 
business  of  his  office  was  divided  between  the  "  Hanniper  " 
or  hamper,  in  which  writs  were  stored  up ;  and  the  "  Petty- 
bag,"  in  which  were  kept  the  records  and  proceedings  in  the 
suits  to  be  decided  by  himself.*  Thus  did  the  Chancellor 
decide  all  matters  of  law  that  might  arise  by  his  own  au- 
thority, subject  to  a  writ  of  error  to  the  King's  Bench  ;  but 
he  had  no  power  to  summon  a  jury;  and  issue  being  joined 
on  a  question  of  fact,  he  at  once  handed  over  the  record  to  the 
King's  Bench,  where  the  suit  proceeded,  and  was  finally  dis- 
posed of.f 

This  "  common-law  jurisdiction "  of  the  Chancellor  has 
been  generally  carried  back  to  the  reign  of  Edward  I.  —  by 
some  much  higher,  —  and  the  validity  of  it  has  never  been 
questioned ;  —  but  his  "  Equitable  Jurisdiction,"  which  has 
become  of  infinitely  greater  importance,  has  been  supposed 
to  be  a  usurpation,  and  not  to  have  been  exercised  till  the 
reign  of  Richard  II.,  upon  the  introduction  of  uses  and  trusts 
of  real  property,  and  the  invention  of  the  writ  of  subpoena 
by  John  of  Waltham,  Bishop  of  Salisbury.  After  much 
investigation,  I  must  express  my  clear  conviction,  that  the 
Chancellor's  equitable  is  as  Indubitable  and  as  ancient  as  his 
common-law  jurisdiction,  and  that  It  may  be  traced  In  a 
manner  equally  satisfactory. 

The  silence  of  Bracton,   Glanvil,   Fleta,  and  other  early   Objections 
juridical  writers,  has  been  strongly  relied  upon  to  disprove  ouit'yof 
the  equitable  jurisdiction  of  the  Chancellor ;  but  they  as  little  equitable 
notice  his  common-law  jurisdiction,  most  of  them   writing  tion. 


*  Even  now  a  distinction  is  made  between  the  "  hanniper  "  side  and  the 
"  petty  bag"  side  of  the  court. 

f  I  have  followed  the  authority  of  Blackstone  (Com.  vol.  iii.  49.);  but 
Mr.  Macqueen,  in  his  very  learned  and  valuable  treatise  "  On  the  Appellate 
Jurisdiction  of  the  House  of  Lords,"  has  collected  weighty  decisions  and 
arguments  to  show  that  the  writ  of  error  from  the  petty-bag  or  common- 
law  side  in  Chancery  is  directly  to  Parliament,  and  that  when  the  issue  of  fact 
has  been  determined  in  the  King's  Bench,  the  record  goes  back  to  the  Court  of 
Chancery,  where  final  judgment  ought  to  be  given.  See  p.  369,  et  seq.  Ideo 
qucere. 

B  4 


8  LOllD  CHANCELLORS  OF   ENGLAND. 

during  the  subsistence  of  the  Aula  Regia ;  and  they  all  speak 
of  the  Chancery,  not  as  a  court,  but  merely  as  an  office  for  the 
making  and  sealing  of  writs.*  There  are  no  very  early 
decisions  of  the  Chancellors  on  points  of  law,  any  more  than 
of  equity,  to  be  found  in  the  Year  Books,  or  old  Abridg- 
ments. It  was  formerly  objected,  that  there  were  no  Bills  or 
Petitions  in  Chancery  extant  of  an  earlier  date  than  the  time 
of  Henry  VI.,  but  by  the  labours  of  the  Record  Commis- 
sioners many  have  been  discovered  of  preceding  reigns.  Till 
the  17th  Richard  II.,  when  the  statute  was  made  giving  the 
Chancellor  power  to  award  damages  or  costs  to  the  defendant 
on  the  plaintiff's  suggestions  being  proved  to  be  false,  there 
was  little  use  in  filing  or  preserving  them,  and  from  that  era 
we  have  them  in  abundance. 
Definition  By  "  equitable  jurisdiction  "  must  be  understood  the  extra- 
jumd/c-  ^  ordinary  interference  of  the  Chancellor,  without  common- 
tion.  la^v  process,  or  regard  to  the  common-law  rules  of  proceeding, 

upon  the  petition  of  a  party  grieved,  who  was  without 
adequate  remedy  in  a  court  of  common-law;  whereupon 
the  opposite  party  was  compelled  to  appear  and  to  be  ex- 
amined, either  personally  or  upon  written  interrogatories ;  and 
evidence  being  heard  on  both  sides,  without  the  interposition 
of  a  jury,  an  order  was  made  secundum  (Bquum  et  bonum, 
which  was  enforced  by  imprisonment.  Such  a  jurisdiction 
had  belonged  to  the  Aula  Regia,  and  was  long  exercised  by 
Parliament  t ;  and  when  Parliament  was  not  sitting,  by  the 

*  The  first  law  book  which  treats  of  the  jiulicial  powers  of  the  Lord  Chan- 
cellor is  the  "  Diversite  des  Courtes,"  written  in  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  or  be- 
ginning of  the  sixteenth  century,  tit.  Chancery,  fol.  296. 

•(•  Audley  v.  Audley,  40  Edward  IIL  This,  the  earliest  instance  I  have  found 
of  a  suit  for  a  specific  performance,  is  fully  reported  in  the  close  roll  of  that  year. 
By  a  deed  executed  in  contemplation  of  the  marriage  of  Nicholas  son  of  James 
Lord  Audley,  he  had  covenanted  to  settle  lands  in  possession  or  reversion  to 
the  amount  of  400  marks.  After  the  marriage,  Elizabeth,  the  wife,  petitioned 
the  King  in  parliament  that  Lord  Audley  should  be  ordained  to  perform  the 
covenant.  The  King  caused  the  defendant  to  come  before  the  Chancellor,  the 
Treasurer,  and  the  justices  and  other  "  sages"  assembled  in  the  Star  Chamber. 
ITie  Lady  Audley  "  showed  forth  her  grievances ;"  that  is  to  say,  she  de- 
clared ihem  by  word  of  mouth,  and  produced  the  indenture  of  covenant.  A 
demurrer  put  in  on  the  part  of  the  defendant  was  overruled  ;  and  after  various 
proceedings  before  the  Chancellor  and  Treasurer  in  the  Council,  performance  of 
the  covenant  was  at  last  obtained. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  examples  of  Parliament  acting  as  a  court  of 
equity  is  William  Lord  Clynton's  case,   in  the   9th  of  Hen.  V.,   where   Wil- 


INTRODUCTION.  9 

king's  ordinary  council.  Upon  the  dissolution  of  the  Aula 
Regia  many  petitions,  which  Parliament  or  the  Council  could 
not  conveniently  dispose  of,  were  referred  to  the  Chancellor, 
sometimes  with  and  sometimes  without  assessors.  To  avoid 
the  circuity  of  applying  to  Parliament  or  the  Council,  the 
petition  was  very  soon,  in  many  instances,  addressed  originally 
to  the  Chancellor  himself.  For  some  ages  these  extraordinary 
applications  for  redress  were  received  by  the  Parliament, 
by  the  Council,  and  by  the  Chancellor  concurrently.  The 
Parliament  by  degrees  abandoned  all  original  equitable  juris- 
diction, acting  only  as  a  court  of  appeal  in  civil  cases,  and 
taking  original  cognizance  of  criminal  cases  on  impeachment 
by  the  Commons ;  but  it  will  be  found  that  the  Council  and 
the  Chancellor  long  continued  equitably  to  adjudicate  on  the 
same  matters,  and  that  there  were  the  same  complaints  and 
statutes  directed  against  both. 

From  various  causes,  however,  the  equitable  jurisdiction  Extension 
of  the  Council  gradually  declined.     The  proper  and  imme-  jurisdiction 
morial  business  of  the  Chancellor  being  the  preparation  of  of  Chancel- 
writs,  where  a  case  occurred  to  which  no  known  writ  was 
properly  applicable,  and  in  which  the  common-law-  courts 
could  not  grant  redress,  he  took  it  into  his  own  hands,  and 
having  heard  both  parties,  gave  relief.     Again,  where  the 
proceedings  in  the  courts  of  law  under  writs  which  he  had 
issued  were  grossly  defective  and  inequitable,  he  was  naturally 
called  upon  to  review  them,  and  to  prevent  judgments  which 
had  been  fraudulently  obtained  from  being  carried  into  effect. 

Another  source  of  equitable  jurisdiction  to  the  Chancellor,  from  in- 
of  considerable  importance,  though  little  noticed,  arose  from  chancerv 
the  practice  of  inroUing  in  Chancery  covenants  and  agree-  ""J^^rre- 

1  /»•!  Ill'  c  ■^       c   cognizance** 

raents,  releases  oi  right,  and  declarations  of  uses,  and  of 
securing  the  performance  of  these  deeds  by  a  recognizance 
acknowledged  before  the  Chancellor,  and  entered  upon  the 
close  rolls.     On  applications  for  writs  of  execution  by  reason 

liam  de  la  Pole,  a  feoffee  to  uses,  was  compellecl  to  reconvey  his  lordship's 
estates.  This  might  possibly  have  proceeded  on  the  ground  of  parliamentary 
privilege.  I  believe  the  records  of  the  Court  of  Chancery,  although  they 
prove  the  exercise  of  the  equitable  jurisdiction  of  the  Chancellor  much  further 
back,  do  not  show  any  example  so  early  of  compelling  the  execution  of  a  trust. 
R.  P.  9  H.  5. 


10  LORD  CHANCELLORS  OF  ENGLAND. 

of  the  alleged  forfeiture  of  the  recognizance,  the  Chancellor 
was  of  course  bound  to  hear  both  parties,  and  to  make  such 
decree  between  them  as  justice  required. 
Fees,  &c.  For  the  sake  of  fees  to  the  Chancellor  and  his  officers, 

great  encouragement  was  given  to  suitors  resorting  to  Chan- 
cery, and  from  the  distinguished  ability  of  the  men  presiding 
there,  who  were  assisted  by  the  Master  of  the  Rolls  and  the 
other  masters, — ecclesiastics  well  skilled  in  the  civil  law, — 
the  business  was  more  systematically  and  effectively  trans- 
acted than  before  the  Council,  which  has  ever  been  a  tribunal 
without  fixity  in  its  members  or  regularity  in  its  proceedings. 
These  various  causes  combining,  the  equitable  jurisdiction 
of  the  Council  fell  into  desuetude,  like  that  of  the  Parlia- 
ment ;  and  in  the  Court  of  Chancery  that  admirable  system 
of  equity  which  we  boast  of  in  England,  and  which  with  our 
common  law  has  been  adopted  by  our  brethren  in  America, 
was  gradually  developed  and  matured. 

It  is  thus  a  great  mistake  to  suppose  that  the  clerical 
expedient  of  a  conveyance  to  uses,  for  the  purpose  of  evading 
the  statutes  of  mortmain,  gave  rise  to  the  equitable  juris- 
diction of  the  Chancellor,  or  that  he  at  first  interfered  only 
in  cases  of  trust  binding  on  the  conscience.  From  the 
researches  of  the  Record  Commissioners  it  appears  that  his 
equitable  jurisdiction  was  well  established  long  anterior  to 
the  time  when  such  cases  came  before  him,  and  that  the 
earliest  applications  to- him  for  relief  were  from  those  who 
suffered  by  direct  violence  and  the  combinations  of  great  men, 
against  which  they  were  unable  to  gain  redress  by  the  or- 
dinary process  of  law.*  Then  followed  cases  in  which  it 
was  necessary  to  correct  the  absurdities  of  the  common-law 
judges,  who  in  their  own  courts  laid  down  rules  utterly  sub- 
versive of  justice t,  —  or  in  which,  from  multiplicity  of 
parties,  disability  to  sue,  intricacy  of  accounts,  suppression 
of  documents,  facts  being  exclusively  in  the  knowledge  of 

•   A  bill  in  Chancery  still  alleges  "  combination  and  confederacy," which, 

if  specially  charged,  ought  to  be  denied  by  the  answer. 

t  As,  for  example,  that  where  a  claim  was  founded  on  a  deed  detained  in 
the  hands  of  another,  no  action  could  be  maintained  ;  that  if  a  deed  of  grant 
were  lost,  the  thing  granted  was  lost  with  it ;  and  that  a  man  was  liable  to  pay 
money  due  by  deed  twice  over,  if  on  payment  he  had  omitted  to  take  an  ac- 
quittance under  seal. 


INTRODUCTION.  1 : 

the  adverse  party,  the  importance  of  specific  relief,  and  the 
urgent  necessity  for  preventing  irremediable  damage  to  pro- 
perty, trial  by  jury  and  common-law  process  afforded  no 
adequate  remedy.  The  maxim  of  the  common-law  judges, 
that  if  a  man  accepted  the  conveyance  of  land  as  a  trustee, 
they  could  only  look  to  the  legal  estate,  and  they  would  allow 
him  to  enjoy  it  discharged  of  the  trust,  was  not  the  earliest, 
nor  for  a  long  time  the  most  usual,  ground  for  seeking  relief 
in  equity.* 

I  must  likewise  observe,  that  there  was  not  by  any  means  Harmony 
the  constant  struggle  between  the  two  iurisdictions  of  com-  ^^*"'een 

°o  ^        ^  «^  ^  common 

mon  law  and  equity  which  is  generally  supposed.  At  times,  law  and 
from  personal  enmity,  from  vanity,  from  love  of  power,  and  ^l'"*^- 
from  love  of  profit.  Chancellors  and  Chief  Justices  came  into 
unseemly  collision,  and  in  this  warfare  they  resorted  un- 
sparingly to  the  artillery  of  injunctions,  attachments,  writs 
of  habeas  corpus,  indictments,  and  praemunires.  But,  gene- 
rally speaking,  the  common-law  judges  co-operated  har- 
moniously with  the  Chancellor,  and  recognised  the  distinction 
between  what  might  fitly  be  done  in  a  court  of  law  and  in 
a  court  of  equity.  He  sometimes  consulted  them  before 
issuing  a  subpoena  to  commence  the  suit.  In  hearing  causes, 
if  not  satisfied  with  the  advice  of  the  Master  of  the  Rolls 
and  the  Masters  in  Chancery  (his  ordinary  council),  he  was 
from  the  earliest  times  in  the  habit  of  calling  in  the  assistance 
of  some  of  them  ;  and  questions  of  extraordinary  importance 
he  adjourned  into  the  Exchequer  Chamber,  that  he  might 
have  the  opinion  of  all  the  twelve,  f 

For  the  benefit  of  the  general  reader  I  may  here  be  per- 
mitted to  make  a  few  observations  upon  the  Chancellor's 
supposed  prcetorian  power,  or  nobile  officium.  It  is  a  common 
opinion  that  English  equity  consists  in  the  judge  acting  upon 

*  Even  so  late  as  the  reign  of  Charles  II.  it  was  vexata  questio  whether  an 
action  on  the  case  could  be  maintained  by  cestuique  trust  against  the  trustee. 
See  Barnardiston  v.  Soame,  7  St.  Tr.  443. ;   1  Vernon,  ,344.  n. 

f  From  this  practice  the  decrees  ran,  Per  curiam  Cancellaria  et  omnes  Justitia- 
rios  ;  sometimes,  Per  decretum  Cancellarii  ex  assensu  omnium  Justitiarium  ac  aliorum 
tie  Concilii  Domini  Regis  prcesentium.  Again,  Idea  consideratum  est  per  curiam 
de  assensu  Johannis  Fortescue,  Capitalis  Justitiurii  Domini  Reyis  ad  phicita  tenenda, 
et  diversorum  aliorum  Justitiariorum  el  servicntiu/n  ad  legem  in  curice  prasentium. 
— Seld,  Off.  Lord.  Ch.  §3. 


12  LORD  CHANCELLORS  OF  ENGLAND. 

his  own  notions  of  what  is  right,  always  softening  the  rigour 
of  the  common  law  when  he  disapproves  of  it,  and  dispens- 
ing with  the  application  to  particular  cases  of  common-law 
rules  allowed  to  be  generally  wise,  —  so  that  he  may  reach 
justice  according  to  the  circumstances  of  each  particular 
case,  in  pursuance  of  the  suggestion  of  Lord  Bacon, — 
"  Habeant  Curiae  Praetorias  potestatem  tam  subveniendi 
contra  rigorem  legis  quam  supplendi  defectum  legis."*  But 
with  us  there  is  no  scope  for  judicial  caprice  in  a  court  of 
equity  more  than  elsewhere.  Our  equitable  system  has 
chiefly  arisen  from  supplying  the  defects  of  the  common 
law,  by  giving  a  remedy  in  classes  of  cases  for  which  the 
common  law  had  provided  none,  and  from  a  universal  disre- 
gard by  the  equity  judge  of  certain  absurd  rules  of  the  com- 
mon law,  which  he  considers  inapplicable  to  the  whole  cate- 
gory to  which  the  individual  case  under  judgment  belongs,  f 
In  former  times  unconscientious  Chancellors,  talking  perpe- 
tually of  their  conscience,  have  decided  in  a  very  arbitrary 
manner,  and  have  exposed  their  jurisdiction  to  much  odium 
and  many  sarcasms.  \  But  the  preference  of  individual  opinion 
to  rules  and  precedents  has  long  ceased :  *'  the  doctrine  of 
the  court"  is  to  be  diligently  found  out  and  strictly  followed; 
and  the  Chancellor  sitting  in  equity  is  only  to  be  considered 
a  magistrate,  to  whose  tribunal  are  assigned  certain  portions 
of  forensic  business,  to  which  he  is  to  apply  a  well-defined 
system  of  jurisprudence,  —  being  under  the  control  of  fixed 
maxims  and  prior  authorities,  as  much  as  the  judges  of  the 
courts  of  common  law.  He  decides  "  secundum  arbitrium 
boni  viri;"  but  when  it  is  asked,   "  Vir  bonus  est  quis?" 

*  De  Augmentis  Sclent.  Iviii. ;   Aphor.  35. 

■f  Notwithstanding  the  rudeness  and  defects  of  the  common  Jaw,  we  should 
ever  remember  its  favour  to  personal  liberty,  and  its  admirable  machinery  for- 
separating  law  and  fact,  and  assigning  each  to  a  distinct  tribunal  ;  wherein  it 
excels  all  other  systems  of  jurisprudence  which  have  appeared.  We  should 
likewise  bear  in  mind  that  it  offered  many  specific  remedies,  which,  after  the 
improvement  of  equitable  jurisdiction,  fell  into  desuetude. 

X  The  most  celebrated  is  the  saying  of  Selden :  "  Equity  is  a  roguish  thing : 
for  law  we  have  a  measure.  Equity  is  according  to  the  conscience  of  him 
who  is  Chancellor,  and  as  that  is  larger  or  narrower,  so  is  equity.  It  is  all  one 
as  if  they  should  make  the  standard  for  the  measure  we  call  a  foot  '  a  chan- 
cellor's foot.'  What  an  uncertain  measure  would  this  be?  One  chancellor 
ha-s  a  long  foot ;  another,  a  short  foot ;  a  third,  an  indifferent  foot :  it  is  the  same 
thing  in  the  chancellor's  conscience" —  Tahle  Talk. 


INTRODUCTION.  13 

the  answer  is,  "  Qui  consulta   patrura,   qui   leges  juraque 
servat."  * 

There  was  long  great  doubt  and  difficulty  with  respect  Appeal 
to  the  mode  of  reviewing  the  decrees  of  the  Lord  Chan-  cdior^as^"' 
cellor  on  the  equity  side  of  the  court ;  but,  after  a  violent  equity 
parliamentary  struggle,  it  was  at  last  settled,  in  the  reign  of  ^"  ^^' 
Charles  II.,  that  an  appeal  lies  from  them  to  the  House  of 
Lords. 

There  are  other  judicial  functions  to  be  exercised  by  the  Habeas 
Chancellor  in  his  own  court,  which  I  ought  to  notice.     In  <^orpus  and 

.  .  .  prolubi- 

conjunction  with  the  common-law  judges,  he  is  a  guardian  tions. 
of  personal  liberty ;  and  any  one  unlawfully  imprisoned  is 
entitled  to  apply  to  him  for  a  writ  of  habeas  CORPUS,  either 
in  term  or  in  vacation,  f  So  the  Chancellor  may  at  any  time 
grant  Prohibitions  to  restrain  inferior  courts  from  ex- 
ceeding their  jurisdiction,  though  he  listens  with  reluctance 
to  such  motions  when  they  may  be  made  to  the  King's  Bench, 
whose  habits  are  better  adapted  to  this  sort  of  business. } 

The  Chancellor  has  an  exclusive  authority  to  restrain  a  Ne  exeat 
party  from  leaving  the  kingdom,  where  it  appears  that  he  is  ""^sno- 
purposely  withdrawing  himself  from  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
court,  to  the  disappointment  of  honest  creditors.  This  is 
effected  by  the  writ  "  ne  exeat  regno^''  issuing  under  the  great 
seal ;  —  a  high  prerogative  remedy,  which,  as  it  affects  per- 
sonal liberty,  is  granted  with  great  circumspection,  particu- 
larly where  foreigners  are  concerned.  § 

It  is  the  province  of  the  Chancellor  to  issue  a  writ  under  Jurisdic- 
the  Great  Seal  ^"de  coronatore  eligendo,^''  directed  to  the  sheriff.   Coroners. 

*  "  The  discretion  of  a  judge  is  the  law  of  tyrants :  it  is  always  unknown ; 
it  is  different  in  different  men  ;  it  is  casual,  and  depends  upon  constitution, 
temper,  and  passion.  In  the  best,  it  is  oftentimes  caprice  ;  in  the  worst  it 
is  every  vice,  folly,  and  passion,  to  which  human  nature  is  liable." —  Lord 
Camden. 

See  2  Peer  Wms.  752.  ;  1  Bl.  Com.  47. ;  Story's  Equity,  i.  30. ;  Haddocks' 
Chancery,  i.  29. ;  Correspondence  between  Lord  Hardwicke  and  Lord  Kames ; 
Tytler's  Life  of  Lord  Kames,  230. ;  Cooper's  Letters ;  Sur  la  Cour  de  la 
Chancellerie  ;  Abuses  and  Remedies  of  Chancery,  by  George  Norbury  ;  Harg. 
I^aw  Tracts  ;  and  two  pieces  concerning  Suits  in  Chancery  by  Subpoena,  temp. 
H.  VIII.,  likewise  in  Harg.  Law  Tracts,  and  are  both  exceedingly  curious. 

f  Crawley's  Case,  2  Swanst.  6. 

X  Per  Lord  Redesdale,  2  Sch.  &  Lef.  136.      See  4  Inst.  81. ;  2  P.  Wms.  202. 

§  De  Carriere  v.  Calonne,  4  Vess.  577.  See  Beames'  Writ  Ne  exeat  regnOy 
and  Beames'  Chancery  Orders,  p.  39. 


14  LORD  CHANCELLORS  OF  ENGLAND. 

and  requiring  the  freeholders  of  the  county  to  choose  a 
coroner.*  He  also  decides  in  the  Court  of  Chancery  ques- 
tions arising  as  to  the  validity  of  the  election,  f  And  upon 
complaint  against  a  coroner  for  neglect  of  duty,  or  upon  an 
allegation  of  incapacity,  —  as  from  being  confined  in  prison, 
or  of  incompetency,  as  from  mental  derangement  or  habits 
of  extreme  intemperance,  —  the  Chancellor  may  remove  him 
from  his  office.  | 
Criminal  Anciently  the  Chancellor  took   cognizance  of  riots  and 

tim.  "^       conspiracies,  upon  applications  for  surety  of  the  peace ;  but 
this  criminal  jurisdiction  has  been  long  obsolete,  although 
articles  of  the  peace  still  may,  and  sometimes  are,  exhibited 
before  him.  § 
Bank-  The   Chancellor  has   a    most    important    jurisdiction   in 

r*iptcy.  Bankruptcy^  which  arose  partly  from  the  commissions  for 
distributing  the  effects  of  insolvent  traders  being  under  the 
Great  Seal,  and  partly  from  the  powers  directly  given  to  him 
by  act  of  parliament.  The  proceeding  is  here  generally  by 
Petition,  in  which  case  there  is  no  appeal ;  but  on  questions 
of  difficulty  the  Court  makes  its  equitable  machinery  ancillary 
to  this  summary  jurisdiction ;  and,  a  Bill  being  filed,  the 
matter  may  be  carried  to  the  House  of  Lords.  The  weight 
of  this  branch  of  business,  which  was  at  one  time  nearly 
overwhelming,  has  been  greatly  lightened  by  the  appoint- 
ment of  permanent  Commissioners  and  the  Court  of  Review ; 
but  the  Chancellor  still  retains  a  general  superintendence  over 
bankruptcy. 
Lunacy.  It  has  bccu  a  common  opinion  that  the  Chancellor  has 

no  jurisdiction  whatever  in  Lunacy  by  virtue  of  his  office, 
and  that  this  jurisdiction  is  entirely  derived  from  a  special 
authority  under  the  royal  sign  manual,  which  might  be  con- 
ferred on  any  one  else.  But  I  clearly  apprehend  that  a  com- 
mission "  de  idiota^''  or  "  de  lunatico  inquirendo,'"'  would  issue 
at  common  law  from  the  Court  of  Chanceiy  under  the  Great 

*  F.  N.  B.  163. ;   1  Black.  347. 

t   Re  Coroner  Co.  Stafford,  2  Russ.  475. 

\  Ex  parte  Parnell,  1  Jac.  &  W.  451.;   Ex  parte  Pasley,  3  Drur.  &  War.  34. 

§  Tunnicliffe  v.  Tunnicliffe,  a.d.  1823  ;   Williams  v.  Williams,  a.d.  1841. 


INTRODUCTION.  15 

Sealj  and  that  the  Lord  Chancellor,  without  any  special  dele- 
gation for  this  purpose,  would  have  authority  to  control  the 
execution  of  it,  and  to  make  orders  for  that  purpose.  The 
sign  manual  takes  its  origin  from  stat.  17  Edw.  2.  c.  9.,  by 
which  the  rents  and  profits  of  the  estates  of  idiots  are  given 
to  the  Crown,  and  form  part  of  the  royal  revenue.  During 
the  existence  of  the  Court  of  Wards  and  Liveries,  the  ma- 
nagement of  the  estates  of  idiots  and  lunatics  was  intrusted 
to  it,  and  since  has  been  delegated  to  the  Chancellor.  Being 
a  fiscal  matter,  the  warrant  is  countersigned  by  the  Lord 
High  Treasurer,  or  Lords  Commissioners  of  the  Treasury.* 

*  I  was  obliged  to  investigate  this  matter  during  the  short  time  when  I  had 
the  honour  to  hold  the  great  seal  of  Ireland.  By  an  oversight,  the  usual  war- 
rant under  the  sign  manual  respecting  lunatics  had  not  in  the  first  instance  been 
delivered  to  me,  but  I  found  that  I  might  safely  make  some  orders  in  lunacy 
before  I  received  it.  On  such  matters,  perhaps,  the  appeal  ought  to  be  to  the 
House  of  Lords,  although  the  appeal  respecting  others  comprehended  in  the 
special  delegation  be  to  the  sovereign  in  council.  See  3  Bl.  Com.  48.  427.  ; 
Story's  Equity,  ii.  542. ;   In  Re  Fitzgerald,  2  Sch.  &  Lef.  432.  151. 

As  the  form  of  the  warrant    throws    some   light   upon  the  subject,  and  is 
nowhere  to  be  found  in  print,  I  subjoin  a  copy  of  that  which  was  addressed  to 
me :  — 
"  Victoria  R. 

"  Right  trusty  and  wellbeloved  councillor,  We  greet  you  well.  Whereas 
it  belongeth  unto  us  in  right  of  our  royal  prerogative  to  have  the  custody  of 
idiots,  and  their  estates,  in  that  part  of  our  United  Kingdom  called  Ireland, 
and  to  take  the  profits  thereof  to  our  own  use  :  And  whereas  such  idiots  and 
lunatics,  and  their  estates,  since  the  erecting  of  the  Court  of  Wards  and  Liveries, 
*have  been  in  rule,  order,  and  government  of  that  court,  and  upon  the  disuse 
thereof  are  now  in  our  immediate  care,  commitment,  and  dispose,  which  doth 
occasion  multiplicity  of  suitors  and  addresses  to  our  own  person  :  We  there- 
fore, for  the  ease  of  ourself,  and  of  the  said  suitors,  from  the  charge  of  attendance, 
and  considering  that  the  writs  of  inquiry  of  idiots  and  lunatics  are  to  issue  out 
of  the  Queen's  Court  of  Chancery  of  that  part  of  our  said  United  Kingdom 
called  Ireland,  and  the  inquisitions  thereupon  taken  and  found  are  returnable  in 
that  court,  have  thought  fit  to  intrust  you  with  the  care  and  commitment  of  the 
custody  of  the  said  idiots  and  lunatics,  and  their  estates.  And  we  do  by  these 
presents  give  and  grant  unto  you  full  power  and  authority,  without  expecting 
any  further  special  warrant  from  us,  from  time  to  time  to  give  orders  and 
warrants  for  the  preparing  of  grants  and  custody  of  such  idiots  and  lunatics, 
and  their  estates,  as  are  or  shall  be  found  by  inquisition  thereof  taken  or  to  be 
taken,  and  returnable  in  our  said  High  Court  of  Chancery;  and  thereupon  to 
make  and  pass  grants  and  commitments,  under  our  Great  Seal  of  that  part  of 
our  United  Kingdom  called  Ireland,  of  the  custodies  of  all  and  every  such  idiots 
and  lunatics,  and  their  estates,  to  such  person  or  persons,  suitors  in  that  behalf, 
as  according  to  the  rules  of  law  and  the  use  and  practice  in  those  and  the  like 
causes  you  shall  judge  meet  for  that  trust,  the  said  grants  and  commitments  to 
be  made  in  such  manner  and  form  as  hath  been  heretofore  used  and  accustomed, 
and  to  contain  such  apt  and  convenient  covenants,  provisions,  and  agreements, 
on  the  parts  of  the  committees  and  grantees  to  be  performed,  and  such  security 
to  be  by  them  given   as  shall  be  requisite  and  needful.      And  for  so  doing, 


IQ  LORD  CHANCELLORS  OF  ENGLAND. 

So  much  may  for  the  present  suffice  respecting  the  forensic 
character  of  the  Lord  Chancellor  ;  and  I  now  proceed  to  give 
a  rapid  sketch  of  his  other  functions. 
Chancellor  It  is  Said  by  Selden  that  the  Chancellor  is  a  privy  coun- 
pTiv'""^""'  c'^lor  by  virtue  of  his  office ;  but  this  can  only  mean  that 
Councillor,  he  is  entitled  to  oiFer  the  king  advice,  as  any  peer  may  do ; 
—  not  that  by  the  delivery  of  the  Great  Seal  to  him  he  is  in- 
cidentally constituted  a  member  of  the  Privy  Council,  with 
the  powers  lawfully  belonging  to  the  office  of  a  privy  coun- 
cillor ;  for  no  one  can  sit  in  the  Privy  Council  who  is  not  by 
the  special  command  of  the  Sovereign  appointed  a  member  of 
it ;  and,  as  far  back  as  can  be  traced,  the  Lord  Chancellors 
who  were  not  privy  councillors  previous  to  their  elevation 
have  been  sworn  of  the  Privy  Council,  like  other  great  officers 
of  state."* 
Speaker  of  He  certainly  is  ex  officio  Prolocutor  or  Speaker  of  the 
House  of  Lords,  whether  he  be  a  peer  or  not.  Without 
any  commission  or  express  authority  for  the  purpose,  he 
always  presides  there  when  present.  This  privilege  is  said 
to  belong  to  him  by  prescription,  and  he  has  enjoyed  it  many 
centuries,  although  in  the  reigns  of  Richard  I.,  John,  and 
Henry  III.  (within  time  of  legal  memory)  it  was  exercised 
by  the  Chief  Justiciar.  The  Crown  may  by  commission 
name  others  to  preside  in  the  House  of  Lords  in  the  absence 
of  the  Chancellor ;  and,  no  speaker  appointed  by  the  Crown 
being  present,  the  Lords  of  their  own  authority  may  choose 
one  of  themselves  to  act  as  speaker,  —  which  they  now  often 
do  in  hearing  appeals :  —  but  all  these  speakers  are  imme- 
diately superseded  when  the  Chancellor  enters  the  House,! 

this  shall  be  your  wyrant.     Given  at  our  palace  at   Buckingham  House,  this 
16th  day  of  July,  1841.      In  the  fifth  year  of  our  reign. 

By  Her  Majesty's  command. 
"  To  our  right  trusty  and  wellbeloved  councillor  "j  W.  Cowper. 

John  Baron  Campbell,  our  Chancellor  of  that  I  J.  Baring. 

part  of  our  United  Kingdom  called  Ireland.     J  H.  Tufnell. 

"  Entered  at  the  Signet  OfBce,  the  16th  day  of  July,  1841. 

"  Bridges  Tavlor,  Deputy." 
*  See  Selden's  Office  of  Lord  Chancellor,  §  3.  It  has  often  been  said  that 
the  Lord  Mayor  of  London  is  a  privy  councillor  by  virtue  of  his  office,  but  for 
this  there  is  not  the  slightest  pretence,  although  he  is  styled  "right  honour- 
able," and  on  a  deniise  of  the  Crown  joins  with  the  aldermen  and  other  notables 
in  recognising  the  title  of  the  new  sovereign. 

t  Lord  Chief  Baron  Gilbert  suggests  that  the  Chancellor  sits  on  the  woolsack 


INTRODUCTION.  it 

By  25  Edw.  III.  c.  2.,  to  slay  him  in  the  execution  of  his  Protection 
oflfice  is  high  treason.  By  31  Hen.YIII.  c.  10.,  he  has  prece-  dence.'^^'^^ 
dence  above  all  temporal  peers,  except  the  king's  sons,  nephews, 
and  grandsons,  whether  he  be  a  peer  or  a  commoner.  If  he 
be  a  peer,  he  ought  regularly  to  be  placed  at  the  top  of  the 
dukes'  bench,  on  the  left  of  the  throne ;  and  if  a  commoner, 
upon  "  the  uppermost  sack  in  the  parliament  chamber,  called 
the  Lord  Chancellor's  woolsack."*  For  convenience,  here  he 
generally  sits,  though  a  peer,  and  here  he  puts  the  question, 
and  acts  as  prolocutor  ;  but  this  place  is  not  considered  within 
the  House,  and  when  he  is  to  join  in  debate  as  a  peer,  he 
leaves  the  woolsack,  and  stands  in  front  of  his  proper  seat,  at 
the  top  of  the  dukes'  bench. 

If  he  be  a  commoner,   notwithstanding   a   resolution  of  Chancellor 
the  House  that  he  is  to  be  proceeded  against  for  any  miscon- 


or  voice  in 


duct  as  if  he  were  a  peer,  he  has  neither  vote  nor  deliberative  Lords  un- 
voice f,  and  he  can  only  put  the  question,  and  communicate  ^^''^P^^''' 
the  resolutions  of  the  House  according  to  the  directions  he 
receives.  | 

From  very  early  times  the  Chancellor  was  usually  employed  Anciently 

on  the  meeting  of  a  new  parliament  to  address  the  two  Houses  l^yJ^^^^scs 

in  the  presence  of  the  King,  and  to  explain  the  causes  of  at  meeting 

their  being  summoned, — although  this  was  in  rare  instances  men^ '^" 

as  steward  of  the  King's  Court  Baron,  and  draws  an  ingenious  but  fanciful 
parallel  between  the  Court  Baron  of  a  manor  and  the  House  of  Lords.  Gilb. 
Ev.  42. — By  an  old  standing  order  of  tlie  House  of  Lords,  his  constant  attend- 
ance there  is  required. 

*  There  are  woolsacks  for  the  Judges  and  other  assessors,  as  well  as  for  the 
Lord  Chancellor.  They  are  said  to  have  been  introduced  into  the  House  of 
Lords  as  a  compliment  to  the  staple  manufacture  of  the  realm  ;  but  I  believe  ' 
that  in  the  rude  simplicity  of  early  times  a  sack  of  wool  was  frequently  used 
as  a  sofa — when  the  Judges  sat  on  a  hard  wooden  bench,  and  the  advocates 
stood  behind  a  rough  wooden  rail,  called  the  bar. 

f  From  the  manner  in  which  the  journals  are  kept,  it  might  have  been  in- 
ferred that  the  Chancellor,  or  Keeper  of  the  Great  Seal,  though  a  commoner, 
was  considered  a  member  of  the  House.  Thus,  in  the  times  of  Sir  Nicholas 
Bacon,  his  presence  is  recorded  as  if  he  were  a  peer,  under  the  designation  of 
"  Custos  Mag.  Sig. ;"  and  the  same  entries  continued  to  be  made  with  respect 
to  Sir  N.  Wright  and  Sir  R.  Henley.  So,  on  the  22d  Nov.  1830,  there  is  an 
entry  in  the  list  of  peers  present,  "  Henricus  Brovgham  Cancellarius,"  but  he 
had  no  right  to  debate  and  vote  till  the  following  day,  when  the  entry  of  his 
name  and  office  appears  in  the  same  place,  "  Dominus  Brougham  et  Vaux 
Cancellarius." 

;j:  I>ord  Keeper  Henley,  till  raised  to  the  peerage,  used  to  complain  bitterly 
of  being  obliged  to  put  the  question  for  the  reversal  of  his  own  decrees,  without 
being  permitted  to  say  a  word  in  support  of  them. 

VOL.  I.  C 


18 


LORD  CHANCELLORS  OF  ENGLAND. 


Trial  of 
peers,  and 
impeach- 
ments. 


Star  Chaiii' 
ber. 


done  by  the  Chief  Justice  of  the  King's  Bench,  and  by  other 
functionaries.* 

Whether  peer  or  commoner,  the  Chancellor  is  not,  like  the 
Speaker  of  the  Commons,  moderator  of  the  proceedings  of 
the  House  in  which  he  seems  to  preside ;  he  is  not  addressed 
in  debate ;  he  does  not  name  the  peer  who  is  to  be  heard ; 
he  is  not  appealed  to  as  an  authority  on  points  of  order  ;  and 
he  may  cheer  the  sentiments  expressed  by  his  colleagues  in 
the  ministry,  f 

On  the  trial  of  a  peer  for  treason  or  felony,  either  before 
the  House  of  Lords  or  before  selected  peers  Avhen  parliament 
is  not  sitting,  the  presidentship  of  the  Lord  Chancellor  is 
suspended,  and  a  Lord  High  Steward  is  specially  appointed 
pro  hac  vice  by  the  Crown.  This  arose  from  the  Lord  Chan- 
cellor, in  early  times,  being  almost  always  an  ecclesiastic, 
who  could  not  meddle  in  matters  of  blood.  Since  the  Chan- 
cellor has  been  a  layman,  he  has  generally  been  nominated 
Lord  High  Steward  ;  but  then  he  becomes  *'  His  Grace,"  and 
presides  in  a  different  capacity.  %  On  the  impeachment  of  com- 
moners (which  can  only  be  for  high  crimes  and  misdemeanors  §) 
he  presides  as  in  the  ordinary  business  of  the  House. 

The  Chancellor  was  once  a  most  important  criminal  judge, 
by  ruling  the  Court  of  Star  Chamber.  Here  he  alone  had 
a  right  to  speak  with  his  hat  on  ;  and  if  the  councillors  pre- 
sent were  equally  divided,  he  claimed  a  double  vote,  whether 
for  acquitting  or  convicting.  ||  While  this  arbitrary  tribunal 
flourished  in  the  plenitude  of  its  power  under  the  Tudors  and 
Stuarts,  —  with  a  view  to  proceedings  here  rather  than  in  the 
Court  of  Chancery  was  the  Great  Seal  often  disposed  of ;  — 
but  since  the  abolition  of  the  Star  Chamber,  the  Chancellor 


•   See  Elsynge  on  Parliaments,  p.  137. 

t  This  arises  from  a  proper  distrust  of  a  Speaker  holding  his  office  during 
the  pleasure  of  the  Crown,  and  necessarily  an  active  political  partisan ;  but  most 
inconvenient  consequences  follow  from  there  being  no  moderator  in  an  assembly 
which  is  supposed  to  be  the  most  august,  but  is  probably  the  most  disorderly 
in  the  world. 

%  On  the  late  trial  of  the  Earl  of  Cardigan,  Lord  Denman  was  appointed 
and  acted  as  Lord  High  Steward,  on  account  of  the  temporary  illness  of  Lord 
Chancellor  Cottenham. 

§  So  settled  in  Fitzharris's  case,  Temp.  Car.  II.  See  Lives  of  Shaftesbury 
and  North.  ' 

II    Hudson's  Star  Chamber,  2  Coll.  Jur.  31. ;  4  Inst.  63. 


INTKODUCTION. 


19 


has  been  released  from  taking  any  part  in  criminal  proceed- 
ings, unless  on  the  rare  occasions  of  impeachments,  and  the 
trials  of  peers.* 

Still  he  presides  at  "the  trial  of  the  Pyx,"  when  a  jury   Trial  of  the 
of  goldsmiths  determine  whether  new  coinages  of  gold  and     ^^' 
silver  be  of  the  standard  weight  and  fineness,  and  the  Master 
of  the  Mint  be  entitled  to  his  quietus. 

Since  the  institution  of  justices  of  the  peace  in  the  reign   Chancellor 
of  Edward  III.,  instead  of  the  conservators  of  the  peace  for-  fPP?i"** 

'  ^  justices  of 

merly  elected  by  the  people, — to  the  Lord  Chancellor  has  peace, 
belonged  the  power  of  appointing  and  removing  them 
throughout  the  kingdom,  f  Upon  this  important  and  deli- 
cate subject,  he  generally  takes  the  advice  of  the  Lord  Lieu- 
tenant, or  Gustos  Rotulorum,  in  each  county  ;  but  when  any 
extraordinary  case  arises,  it  is  his  duty,  and  his  practice,  to 
act  upon  his  own  judgment. 

He  nominates,  by  his  own  authority,  to  many  important  Tatronage. 
offices  connected  with  the  administration  of  justice,  and  he  is 
by  usage  the  adviser  of  the  Crown  in  the  appointment  to 
others  still  more  important, — including  the  Puisne  Judges  in 
the  three  superior  courts  in  Westminster  Hall|,  and  the 
Masters  in  Chancery.  § 


*  Various  statutes,  now  repealed,  delegated  to  the  Chancellor  functions  in  aid 
of  the  criminal  law.  Thus  by  2  H.  5.  st.  1 .  c.  29.  he  was  enabled  to  issue 
writs  of  proclamation  in  cases  of  bloodslied  ;  and  by  S5  H.  6.  c.  1 .  the  like 
power  was  granted  to  him  for  the  apprehension  of  fugitive  servants  embezzling 
the  goods  of  their  masters,  to  be  exercised  with  the  advice  of  the  Chief  Justice 
of  either  Bench,  or  of  the  Chief  Baron  of  the  Exchequer.  Till  the  late  new 
modelling  of  the  courts  of  error,  he  likewise,  by  31  E.  I.  c.  12.,  sat  in  the 
Exchequer  Chamber,  to  decide  wTits  of  error  from  the  Court  of  Exchequer. 
He  is  now,  ex  officio,  a  member  of  the  Central  Criminal  Court,  and  of  the 
Judicial  Committee  of  the  Privy  Council ;  but  he  is  not  expected  to  attend 
in  the  former,  and  in  the  latter  only  in  cases  of  great  difficulty.  Till  the  acces- 
sion of  the  present  Queen,  the  Chancellor  had  a  most  painful  duty  to  perform, 
in  advising  on  the  report  of  the  Recorder  of  London  in  what  cases  the  law 
should  be  allowed  to  take  its  course ;  but  convictions  in  the  metropolis  are 
now  left  as  those  at  the  Assizes  with  the  Judges  and  the  Secretary  of  State. 
7  W.  4.  &  1  Vic.  c.  77. 

t  See  1  Ed.  3.  st.  2.  c.  16. ;  28  Hen.  6.  c.  11. 

%  Lord  Eldon  likewise  claimed  the  patronage  of  the  office  of  Chief  Baron, 
as  belonging  to  the  Great  Seal ;  but  this,  since  the  Court  of  Exchequer  was  re- 
formed, has  been  supposed  to  belong  to  the  Prime  Minister, — of  course  with 
the  concurrence  of  the  Cabinet  and  the  Sovereign. 

§  By  3&4  W.  4.  c.  94.  s  16.,  Masters  in  Chancery  are  now  appointed  by 
letters  patent  under  the  Great  Seal ;  but  the  nature  of  the  office  remains  un- 
changed. When,  as  a  little  check  on  cancellarian  favouritism,  the  mode  of 
appointing  a  Master  in  Chancery  was  changed  from  the  Chancellor  putting  on 


20 


LORD  CHANCELLORS  OF   ENGLAND. 


Visitor. 


Other 
functions. 


Office  of 
"  Keeper  of 
the  Great 
Seal." 


He  is  patron  of  all  the  king's  livings  of  the  value  of  20Z. 
and  under,  in  the  king's  books.*  These  he  was  anciently 
obliged  to  bestow  upon  the  clerks  in  Chancery,  King's  Bench, 
Common  Pleas,  and  Exchequer,  who  were  all  in  orders ;  but 
he  can  now  dispose  of  them  according  to  his  notions  of  what 
is  due  to  religion,  friendship,  or  party. 

He  is  visitor  of  all  colleges  and  hospitals  of  royal  found- 
ation ;  and  representing  the  Sovereign  as  parens  patria,  he 
has  the  general  superintendence  of  all  charitable  uses,  and  is 
the  guardian  of  all  infants  who  stand  in  need  of  his  pro- 
tection. 

The  custody  of  the  royal  conscience  may  possibly  be  con- 
sidered one  of  the  obsolete  functions  of  the  Chancellor,  for 
he  is  no  longer  a  casuist  for  the  Sovereign  as  when  priest, 
chaplain,  and  confessor ;  and  it  is  now  merely  his  duty,  like 
other  sworn  counsellors,  to  give  honest  advice,  for  which  he 
is  responsible  in  parliament.  I  may  observe,  however,  that 
the  Chancellor  has  in  all  ages  been  an  important  adviser  of 
the  Crown  in  matters  of  state  as  well  as  a  great  magistrate. 
The  Chancellor  in  former  times  was  frequently  prime 
minister ;  and  although  the  Earl  of  Clarendon  in  the  reign 
of  Charles  II.  is  the  last  who  ostensibly  filled  this  situation, 
his  successors  have  always  been  members  of  the  Cabinet,  and 
have  often  taken  a  leading  part,  for  good  or  for  evil,  in 
directing  the  national  councils. 

There  is  a  distinction  which  it  may  be  convenient  that 
I  should  explain  between  the  title  of  "  Chancellor"  and 
"  Keeper  of  the  Great  Seal."  As  we  have  seen,  there  was 
in  very  early  times  always  an  officer  called  "the  Chancellor," 
Kar'  £^o')(r)v,  or  "  King's  Chancellor,"  to  distinguish  him  from 
the  Chancellors  of  bishops  or  of  Counties  Palatine.  He 
generally  was  intrusted  with  the  personal  custody  of  the 
Great  Seal ;  but  occasionally  while  there  was  a  Chancellor 
the  seal  was  delivered  to  another  person  who  was  called 
"  Custos  sigilli,"  or  "  Vicecancellarius,"  and  did  all  the  duties 

his  hat  in  Court  to  a  nomination  by  the  Crown,  it  was  expressly  stated  that 
the  patronage  was  to  continue  with  the  Chancellor,  and  not  to  be  transferred  to 
the  Prime  Minister. 

•   The  limit  used  to  be  twenty  marks  ;  but  since  the  new  vnlor  beneficiorum  in 
the  time  of  Henry  VUl.  pounds  are  supposed  to  have  been  substituted  (or  marks. 


INTRODUCTION.  2 1 

of  the  office  connected  with  the  sealing  of  writs  and  grants, 
and  the  administration  of  justice,  —  accounting  for  all  fees  and 
perquisites  to  the  Chancellor.  In  the  28th  of  Henry  III.  a 
statute  passed  to  check  this  practice  :  '-  Si  rex  abstulerit 
sigillum  a  Cancellario,  quicquid  fuerit  interim  sigillatum 
irritum  habeatur."  However,  the  attempt  to  prevent  such  a 
deputation  soon  failed.  Chancellors  going  upon  embassies, 
or  visiting  their  dioceses,  or  laid  up  by  long  sickness,  could 
not  themselves  use  the  seal,  and  were  unwilling  to  surrender 
the  office  to  a  rival,  from  whom  there  might  have  been  great 
difficulty  in  recovering  it  when  he  had  tasted  its  sweets. 
Wherefore,  in  defiance  of  the  law,  —  on  all  such  occasions 
while  they  retained  the  favour  of  the  Sovereign,  they  handed 
over  the  seal  to  a  "  lieu-tenant''''  from  whom  they  could  at 
any  time  demand  it  back.  By-and-by,  between  the  death, 
resignation,  or  removal  of  one  Chancellor  and  the  appointment 
of  another,  the  Great  Seal,  instead  of  remaining  in  the  personal 
custody  of  the  Sovereign,  was  sometimes  intrusted  to  a 
temporary  keeper,  either  with  limited  authority  (as  only  to 
seal  writs),  or  with  all  the  powers,  though  not  with  the  rank, 
of  Chancellor.  At  last,  the  practice  grew  up  of  occasionally 
appointing  a  person  to  hold  the  Great  Seal  with  the  title  of 
"  Keeper,"  where  it  was  meant  that  he  should  permanently 
hold  it  in  his  own  right,  and  discharge  all  the  duties  belong- 
ing to  it.  Queen  Elizabeth,  ever  sparing  in  the  conferring 
of  dignities,  having  given  the  Great  Seal  with  the  title  of 
"Keeper"  to  Sir  Nicholas  Bacon,  objections  were  made  to 
the  legality  of  some  of  his  acts,  —  and  to  obviate  these,  a 
statute  was  passed  *  declaring  that  "  the  Lord  Keeper  of  the 
Great  Seal  for  the  time  being  shall  have  the  same  place, 
pre-eminence,  and  jurisdiction  as  the  Lord  Chancellor  of 
England."  Since  then  there  of  course  never  have  been  a 
Chancellor  and  Keeper  of  the  Great  Seal  concurrently,  and  ' 
the  only  difference  between  the  two  titles  is,  that  the  one 
is  more  sounding  than  the  other,  and  is  regarded  as  a  higher 
mark  of  royal  favour.  During  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth 
centuries  there  were  various  instances  of  the  Great  Seal 
being  delivered  to  a   "  Lord  Keeper,"  who  not  rarely,  for 

•  5  Eliz.  c.  18. 
c  3 


22 


LORD  CHANCELLORS  OF  ENGLAND. 


liOrcis 
Commis- 
sioners of 
Great 
Seal. 


Present 
title  of 
Lord  Chan- 
cellor. 


:Mode  of 
appoint- 
ment. 


acceptable  service,  has  been  raised  to  the  dignity  of  "  Lord 
Chancellor;"  but  since  the  commencement  of  the  reign  of 
George  III.,  the  title  of  "Lord  Chancellor"  has  always  been 
conferred  in  the  first  instance  with  the  Great  Seal,  and 
"Lord  Keepers"  probably  will  be  seen  no  more. 

We  have  still  to  treat  of  "Lords  Commissioners  of  the  Great 
Seal," — whom  it  may  continue  convenient  to  appoint.  From 
very  early  times  there  had  been  a  custom  of  occasionally 
giving  the  Great  Seal  into  the  joint  custody  of  several  pei-sons, 
who  held  it  under  the  Chancellor,  or  while  the  office  was 
vacant.  Immediately  after  the  Revolution,  in  1689,  Serjeant 
Maynard  and  two  other  lawyers  were  appointed  by  a  com- 
mission  under  the  Great  Seal  to  execute  the  office  of  Lord 
Chancellor.  Doubts  were  started  as  to  their  powers  and 
precedence,  which  gave  rise  to  the  statute  1  W.  &  M.  c.  21., 
enacting  "that  commissioners  so  appointed  should  have  all 
the  authority  of  Lord  Chancellor  or  Lord  Keeper,  one  of 
them  being  empowered  to  hear  interlocutory  motions,  and 
the  presence  of  two  being  required  at  the  pronouncing  of  a 
decree  or  affixing  the  Great  Seal  to  any  instrument; — the 
commissioners  to  rank  next  after  peers  and  the  Speaker  of 
the  House  of  Commons." 

On  the  union  with  Scotland,  the  Chancellor  was  designated 
"  Lord  High  Chancellor  of  Great  Britain,"  and  now  his 
proper  title  is  "  Lord  High  Chancellor  of  Great  Britain  and 
Ireland," — the  Great  Seal  which  he  holds  testifying  the  will 
of  the  Sovereign  as  to  acts  which  concern  the  whole  empire, 
although  there  are  certain  patents  confined  in  their  operation 
to  Scotland  and  Ireland  respectively,  which  still  pass  under 
the  separate  Great  Seals  appropriated  to  those  divisions  of  the 
United  Kingdom.* 

The  appointment  to  the  office  of  Lord  Chancellor  in  very 
remote  times  was  by  patent  or  writ  of  Privy  Seal,  or  by  sus- 

•  By  Art.  xxiv.  of  the  union  with  Scotland,  it  is  provided  that  there  shall  be 
one  Great  Seal  for  the  United  Kingdom.  There  is  no  such  provision  in  the 
Act  for  the  union  with  Ireland  ;  and  s.  S.  of  39  &  40  G.  3.  e.  67.  provides  that 
the  Great  Seal  of  Ireland  may  continue  to  be  used  as  theretofore.  But  patents 
of  peerage  of  the  United  Kingdom,  treaties  with  foreign  states,  and  other  imperial 
acts,  are  under  the  seal  held  by  our  Lord  Chancellor,  who  is  therefore,  in  some 
sense,  the  Chancellor  of  the  empire,  although  he  has  no  judicial  jurisdiction  be- 
yond the  realm  of  England. 


INTRODUCTION.  23 

pending  the  Great  Seal  by  a  chain  round  his  neok  *,  but  for 
many  ages  the  Sovereign  has  conferred  the  office  by  simply 
delivering  the  Great  Seal  to  the  person  who  is  to  hold  it, 
verbally  addressing  him  by  the  title  which  he  is  to  bear.  He 
then  instantly  takes  the  oaths  f,  and  is  clothed  with  all  the 
authority  of  the  office,  although  usually,  before  entering  upon 
the  public  exercise  of  it,  he  has  been  installed  in  it  with  great 
pomp  and  solemnity. 

The  proper  tenure  of  the  office  is  during  pleasure,  and  it  Tenure  of 
is  determined  by  the  voluntary  surrender  of  the  Great  Seal 
into  the  hands  of  the  Sovereign,  or  by  his  demanding  it  in 
person,  or  sending  a  messenger  for  it  with  a  warrant  under 
the  Privy  Seal  or  Sign  Manual.  There  have  been  grants  of 
the  office  of  Chancellor  for  life  and  for  a  time  certain,  but 
these  Lord  Coke  pronounces  to  be  illegal  and  void ;  and,  while 
its  political  functions  remain,  the  person  holding  it  must 
necessarily  be  removable  with  the  other  members  of  the  ad- 
ministration to  which  he  belongs. 

I  must  now  make  a  few  observations  respecting  the  Great  Mode  of 
Seal  and  the  mode  of  applying  it.     It  is  considered  the  em-   Great 
blem  of  sovereignty, — the  clavis  regni,  —  the  only  instrument   Seal, 
by  which  on  solemn  occasions  the  will  of  the  Sovereign  can 
be  expressed.  I     Absolute  faith  is  universally  given  to  every 
document  purporting  to  be  under  the  Great  Seal,  as  having 
been  duly  sealed  with  it  by  the  authority  of  the  Sovereign.  § 

*  "  Forma  cancellarium  constituendi,  regnante  Henrico  Seeundo,  fuit  ap- 
pendendo  magnum  Anglia;  sigillum  ad  collum  concellarii  electi."  See  4  Inst. 
87.  ;   Camden,  p.  131. 

t  The  oath  of  office  consists  of  six  parts  :  "  1.  That  well  and  truly  he 
shall  serve  our  Sovereign  Lord  the  King  and  his  people  in  the  office  of  Chan- 
cellor. 2.  That  he  shall  do  right  to  all  manner  of  people,  poor  and  rich,  after 
the  laws  and  usages  of  the  realm.  3.  Tliat  he  shall  truly  counsel  the  King, 
and  his  counsel  he  shall  layne  '  and  keep.  4.  That  he  shall  not  know  nor  suffer 
the  hurt  or  disheriting  of  the  King,  or  that  the  rights  of  the  Crown  be  decreased 
by  any  means  as  far  as  he  may  let  it.  5.  If  he  may  not  let  it,  he  shall  make 
it  clearly  and  expressly  to  be  known  to  the  King,  with  his  true  advice  and  coun-*' 
sel.  6.  And  that  he  shall  do  and  purchase  the  King's  profit  in  all  that  he 
reasonably  may,  as  God  him  help." — 4  Inst.  88. 

\    1  Hale's  Pleas  of  the  Crown,  ch.  xvi. 

§  The  most  striking  illustration  of  this  maxim  is  given  by  the  course  pur- 
sued by  Parliament  in  1788  and  1811,  when  from  the  mental  alienation  of 
George  III.,  the  royal  authority  was  completely  in  abeyance.     Commissions, 


'   An  old  Norman  word  signifying  to  conceal. 

c  4 


24  LORD  CHANCELLORS  OF  ENGLAND. 

The  law,  therefore,  takes  anxious  precautions  to  guard 
af'ainst  any  abuse  of  it.  To  counterfeit  the  Great  Seal  is 
high  treason*,  and  there  are  only  certain  modes  in  which  the 
genuine  Great  Seal  can  be  lawfully  used. 

Letters  patent  ought  always  to  state  the  authority  under 
which  they  have  passed  the  Great  Seal.  In  early  times 
we  find  such  notices  as  these  :  "  By  the  king  himself,"  «  By 
the  king  himself  and  all  the  council,"  "  By  the  petition  of 
the  council,"  "  By  the  king  himself  and  the  great  council," 
"  By  the  king  and  council  in  full  parliament,"  "  By  letters 
of  the  king  himself  of  the  signet,"  "  By  petition  in  parlia- 
ment," "  By  the  king's  own  word  of  mouth." 

To  guard  against  grants  improperly  passing  under  the 
Great  Seal,  an  ordinance  was  made  in  14431,  requiring  that 
the  Chancellor  should  not  fix  the  Great  Seal  to  a  grant  with- 
out authority  under  the  Privy  Seal ;  but  this  was  not  by 
any  means  rigorously  observed.  Thus,  in  1447,  Henry  VI. 
having  pardoned  a  person  who  had  been  convicted  of  high 
treason,  a  letter  sealed  with  "the  signet  of  the  eagle"  was 
sent  to  the  Chancellor,  commanding  him  to  make  out  a 
pardon  to  him  under  the  Great  Seal,  with  this  P.  S.,  "  when 
the  Privy  Scale  shall  come  into  the  countrey,  wee  shall  sende 
you  your  suffycient  warrant  in  this  behalf." 
Negotia-  Another  instance  of  this  king's  disregard  of  the  ofl&cial  forms 

marriage  intended  to  prevent  the  Crown  acting  without  the  sanction 
ofHcn.VL  of  its  advisers  we  have  in  the  negotiation  of  his  marriage. 
Great  Seal.  In  1442  instructions  wei-e  issued  under  the  Great  Seal  em- 
powering ambassadors  therein  named  to  treat  for  an  alliance 
with  the  eldest  daughter  of  the  Count  of  Armagnac,  but  the 
King  afterwards  wished  to  "  set  it  general,"  that  he  might 
have  the  choice  of  any  one  of  the  Count's  daughters.  Instead 
of  causing  so  important  a  variation  from  the  original  instruc- 
tions to  be  executed  in  a  proper  manner  under  the  Great  Seal, 
it  was  merely  expressed  in  a  private  letter  from  the  King  to  the 

without  any  royal  warrant,  were  produced  under  the  Great  Seal  for  opening 
parliament  and  giving  the  royal  assent  to  the  Regency  Bill,  and  in  point  of 
law  they  were  supposed  to  express  the  deliberate  will  of  him  who  in  point  of 
fact  was  unconscious  of  these  proceedings. —  Pari.  Hist.  vol.  xxvii.  1162.  ;  Pari. 
Dib.  vol.  xviii.  830.  1102. 

•  25  Ed.  ;j.  t  25  Hen,  6. 


INTRODUCTION.  25 

ambassadors  under  "  the  signet  of  the  eagle ;" — the  King  thus 
trying  to  excuse  the  irregularity  —  "  And  forasmuch  as  ye 
have  none  instructions  of  this  form  but  this  only  which  pro- 
ceedeth  of  our  own  motion,  desiring  therefore  that  ye,  not- 
withstanding all  other,  do  the  execution  thereof,  we  have 
signed  this  letter  of  our  own  hand,  the  which  as  yet,  wot 
well,  we  be  not  much  accustomed  for  to  do  in  other  case." 
The  ambassadors  declined  to  act  upon  that  letter,  and  in- 
formed the  King  that,  "  according  to  their  simple  wits,"  it 
had  altogether  superseded  their  commission.  They  therefore 
prayed  for  new  powers  ;  and  another  commission  was  "  issued 
under  the  Great  Seal,  which  expressly  authorised  them  to 
select  any  one  of  the  Count's  daughters  for  consort  to  His 
Majesty."  * 

On  many  occasions  King  Edward  IV.  enforced  directions  in   Use  of 
letters  to  the  Chancellor  for  using  the  Great  Seal,  by  adding  ^' gj^'^^li 
his  commands  in  his  own  handwriting.     Thus  Kirkham,  the  IV. 
Master  of  the  Rolls,  while  he  had  the  custody  of  the  Great 
Seal,  having  hesitated  to  make  out  letters  of  safe  conduct  for 
a  Spanish  ship  without  a  warrant  under  the  Privy  Seal,  the 
King  ordered  a  letter  to  be  sent  to  him  under  the  signet, 
expressing  surprise  at   his   non-compliance  with  the  former 
request,  and  commanding  him  that,  immediately  on  sight  of 
that  letter,  he  should  make  out  and  deliver  the  instrument, 
and  that  he  should  afterwards  have  further  warrant  if  neces- 
sary.     "  Albeit,"   the  King  adds,  "  our  speech  to  you,  us 
thinketh,  Avas  sufficient  warrant."      And  at  the  bottom  he 
wrote,  with  his  own  hand,  "  Sir,  we  will  the  premises  be 
sped  without  delay."  f 

Some  riots  having  occurred  at  Bristol,  the  Chancellor  was 
ordered  by  a  letter  signed  by  the  King,  and  sealed  with  the 
signet,  to  make  a  commission  for  the  trial  of  the  oiFenders ; 
and  Edward  wrote  on  it  with  his  own  hand,  "  Cosyn,  yff  ye* 
thynke  ye  schall  have  a  Warrant,  ye  may  have  on  made  in 
dew  forme  ;  We  pray  you  hyt  fayle  not."  X 

*  Journal  of  Bishop  Beckington,  p.  6. 
f  Ex  orig.  in  Turr.  Lond. 

I   Warrant  here  evidently  means  letters  of  Privy  Seal,  without  which  the 
King  doubted  wlietlier  his  order  would  he  obeyed. 


26 


LORD  CUANCELLORS  OP  ENGLAND. 


Times  of 
Tudors  and 
Stuarts. 


Use  of 
Grcnt  Seal 
since  the 
Uevolution 
of  16S8. 


Orif^in  of 
otprcssioii 
of"  Tl.c 
seals." 


In  1479  the  Chancellor  was  ordered  to  grant  letters  patent 
of  a  corody  to  one  of  the  King's  servants  on  his  petition 
signed  by  the  King,  who  wrote  under  it,  "  My  Lord  Chan- 
seler,  AVee  praye  you  spede  thys  Bille,  and  take  hyt  for  your 
warrant." 

Towards  the  end  of  his  reign  Edward  directed  a  writ  for 
an  inquisition  to  be  made  out  for  the  benefit  of  his  "  Lady 
Mother  "  by  a  letter  to  the  Chancellor,  concluding  thus :  — 
"  This  we  wol  you  speed  in  any  wise,  as  our  trust  is  in  you ; " 
adding,  in  his  own  hand,  "  My  Lord  Chanseler,  thys  most  be 
don."  * 

Much  greater  irregularities,  in  this  respect,  prevailed  under 
the  Tudors  and  the  Stuarts;  and  the  practice  became  not 
very  uncommon  for  the  Sovereign,  where  an  instrument  of 
doubtful  legality  was  to  pass,  to  affix  the  Great  Seal  to  it 
with  his  own  hand. 

Since  the  Revolution  of  1688,  when  the  principles  of  re- 
sponsible government  were  fully  established,  the  Great  Seal 
could  only  be  lawfully  used  by  a  Lord  Chancellor,  Lord 
Keeper,  or  Lords'  Commissioners ;  and  unless  with  respect  to 
the  sealing  of  writs  and  commissions  of  course,  for  which  the 
delivery  of  the  Seal  to  them  is  sufficient  authority,  there 
must  be  a  warrant  under  the  royal  sign  manual  for  the  pre- 
paration of  "  a  bill "  or  draught  of  the  proposed  patent. 
This,  when  prepared,  is  superscribed  by  the  Sovereign,  and 
sealed  with  the  Privy  Signet  in  the  custody  of  a  secretary 
of  state ;  then  it  sometimes  immediately  passes  under  the 
Great  Seal,  in  which  case  it  is  expressed  to  be  "  per  ipsum 
regem,"  "  by  the  king  himself ; "  but  in  matters  of  greater 
moment,  the  bill,  so  superscribed  and  sealed,  is  carried  to  the 
keeper  of  the  Pi-ivy  Seal,  who  makes  out  a  writ  or  warrant 
thereupon  to  the  Chancery,  in  which  last  case  the  patent  is 
expressed  to  be  "  per  breve  de  privato  sigillo,"  "  by  writ  of 
privy  seal."f 

In  early  times,  the  king  used  occasionally  to  deliver  to  the 
Chancellor  several  seals  of  diiferent  materials,  as  one  of  gold 


*   Ex  orig.  in  Turr.  Lend. 

t  See  2  Inst.  551.  555.  ;  2  Bl.  Com.  347. 


INTRODUCTION. 


27 


and  one  of  silver,  but  with  the  same  impression,  to  be  used 
for  the  same  purpose  ;  and  hence  we  still  talk  of  "  the  seals 
being  in  commission,"  or  of  a  particular  individual  being  "  a 
candidate  for  the  seals,^^  meaning  the  office  of  Lord  Chan- 
cellor ;  —  although,  with  the  exception  of  the  rival  great  seals 
used  by  the  king  and  the  parliament  during  the  civil  war  in 
the  time  of  Charles  I.,  there  has  not  been  for  many  cen- 
turies more  than  one  great  seal  in  existence  at  the  same  time.* 

When  on  a  new  reign,  or  on  a  change  of  the  royal  arms  or  Adoption 
style,  an  order  is  made  by  the  sovereign  in  council  for  using  q^.^^^  ^^^ 
a  new  Great  Seal,  the  old  one  is  publicly  broken,  and  the 
fragments  become  the  fee  of  the  Chancellor,  f 

The  Close  Roll  abounds  with  curious  details  of  the  careful  Care  in 
manner  in  which  this  Great  Seal  was  kept  in  its  "  white  lea-   creaTleai! 
thern  bag  and  silken  purse "  under  the  private  seal  of  the 
Chancellor.     There  was  a  rule  that  he  should  not  take  it  out 


*  The  French  expression  of  "  Garde  des  Sceaux"  arose  from  the  Chancellor 
in  France  always  having  the  custody  of  a  variety  of  different  seals  applicable 
to  different  purposes.  In  England  the  same  person  has  had  the  custody  of 
the  Great  Seal  and  the  Privy  Seal  ;  but^this  was  contrary  to  law  and  usage,  the 
one  being  a  check  upon  the  other.  —  1  Hale's  Pleas  of  the  Crown,  ch.  xvi. 

f  This  being  the  general  rule,  an  amicable  contest,  honoris  causa,  arose  upon 
the  subject  between  two  of  the  most  distinguished  men  who  have  ever  held  the 
office.  Lord  Lyndhurst  was  Chancellor  on  the  accession  of  William  IV.,  when 
by  an  order  in  council  a  new  Great  Seal  was  ordered  to  be  prepared  by  his 
Majesty's  chief  engraver ',  but  when  it  was  finished  and  an  order  was  made 
for  using  it*.  Lord  Brougham  was  Chancellor.  Lord  Lyndhurst  claimed 
the  old  Great  Seal  on  the  ground  that  the  transaction  must  be  referred 
back  to  the  date  of  the  first  order,  and  that  the  fruit  must  therefore  be  con- 
sidered as  having  fallen  in  his  time  ;  while  Lord  Brougham  insisted  that  the 
point  of  time  to  be  regarded  was  the  moment  when  the  old  Great  Seal  ceased  to 
be  the  "  clavis  regni,"  and  that  there  was  no  exception  to  the  general  rule.  The 
matter  being  submitted  to  the  King  as  supreme  judge  in  such  cases,  his  Majesty 
equitably  adjudged  that  the  old  Great  Seal  should  be  divided  between  the  two 
noble  and  learned  litigants,  and  as  it  consisted  of  two  parts  for  making  an 
impression  on  both  sides  of  the  wax  appended  to  letters  patent, — one  representing 
the  Sovereign  on  the  throne,  and  the  other  on  horseback, — the  destiny  of  the  two 
parts  respectively  should  be  determiued  by  lot.  His  Majesty's  judgment  was 
much  applauded,  and  he  graciously  ordered  each  part  to  be  set  in  a  splendid 
silver  salver  with  appropriate  devices  and  ornaments,  which  be  presented  to  the 
late  and  present  Keeper  of  his  Conscience  as  a  mark  of  his  personal  respect  for 
them. — The  ceremony  of  breaking  or  "  damasking"  the  old  Great  Seal  consists 
in  the  Sovereign  giving  it  a  gentle  blow  with  a  hammer,  after  which  it  is  sup- 
posed to  he  broken,  and  has  lost  all  its  virtue.  But  to  counterfeit  the  old 
Great  Seal  is  treason.  So  held  in  the  9th  of  Edward  IV.  of  counterfeiting  the 
Great  Seal  of  Henry  VI.,  although  this  sovereign  had  been  attainted  as  an 
usurper. —  1  Hale's  Pleas  of  the  Crown,  177 


4  th  August,  1830. 


31st  August,  1831.      Books  of  Privy  Council. 


28 


LORD  CUANCELLORS  OF  ENGLAND. 


Emolu- 
ments of 
office. 


Etiquette. 


of  the  realm  ;  and  this  was  observed  by  all  Chancellors  except 
Cardinal  Wolsey,  who,  in  1521,  carried  it  with  him  into  the 
Low  Countries,  and  sealed  writs  with  it  at  Calais,  —  a  sup- 
posed violation  of  duty  which  formed  one  of  the  articles  of 
his  impeachment.  Indeed,  the  better  opinion  is  that  the 
Great  Seal  cannot  be  used  out  of  the  realm  even  by  the 
sovereign.  Edward  I.  having  himself  affixed  the  Great  Seal 
at  Ghent  to  a  confirmation  of  the  charters,  the  Earls  of  Nor- 
folk and  Hereford  objected  that  this  act  in  a  foreign  country 
was  null,  and  the  charters  were  again  confirmed  under  the 
Great  Seal  on  the  King's  return  to  England.* 

Some  readers  may  feel  a  curiosity  to  know  whether  there 
are  any  emoluments  belonging  to  the  office  of  Chancellor 
besides  the  fragments  of  the  old  Great  Seal  when  a  new  one 
is  adopted.  I  shall  hereafter  present  copies  of  grants  of 
salary,  and  tables  of  fees  and  allowances,  showing  the  profits  of 
this  high  officer  in  different  reigns.  In  the  meanwhile  it  must 
suffice  to  say,  that,  on  account  of  his  distinguished  rank,  his 
important  duties,  his  great  labours,  and  the  precariousness  of 
his  tenure,  he  has  generally  received  the  largest  remuneration 
of  any  servant  of  the  crown.  In  early  times  this  arose  mainly 
from  presents,  and  I  am  afraid  from  bribes.  The  deficiency 
was  afterwards  often  supplied  by  grants  of  land  from  the 
crown,  which  continued  down  to  the  time  of  Lord  Somers, 
Then  came  the  system  of  providing  for  the  Chancellor  and 
his  family  by  sinecure  places  in  possession  and  in  reversion. 
Now  all  these  places  are  abolished,  together  with  aU  fees; 
and  parliament  has  provided  a  liberal,  but  not  excessive, 
fixed  salary  for  the  holder  of  the  Great  Seal,  —  with  a  retired 
allowance  when  he  has  resigned  it  to  enable  him  to  maintain 
his  station,  and  still  to  exert  himself  in  the  public  service  as 
a  judge  in  the  House  of  Lords  and  in  the  Privy  Council. f 

I  shall  conclude  this  preliminary  discourse  with  the  notice 
of  certain  forms  connected  with  the  Great  Seal,  to  which 
high  importance  has  sometimes  been  attached,  and  which 
have  given  rise  to  serious  controversies. 

•   A.  D.  1298.      See  Black.  Law  Tracts,  345. 

t  I-ord  Loughborough  was  the  first  Chancellor  who  had  a  retired  allowance 
l>y  act  of  parliament.  The.present  arrangement  was  made  by  Lord  Brougham. 
tH.-c2&  3  W.  4.  c.  122.  J'  6 


INTRODUCTION.  29 

By  a  standing  order  of  the  House  of  Lords,  the  Lord   In  parlia- 
Chancellor,  when  addressing  their  Lordships,  is  to  be  un-  ™'^"'* 
covered ;  but  he  is  covered  when  he  addresses  others,  including 
a  deputation  of  the  commons. 

When  he  appears  in  his  official  capacity  in  the  presence 
of  the  Sovereign,  or  receives  messengers  of  the  House  of 
Commons  at  the  bar  of  the  House  of  Lords,  lie  bears  in 
his  hand  the  purse  containing  (or  supposed  to  contain)  the 
Great  Seal.  On  other  occasions  it  is  carried  by  his  purse- 
bearer,  or  lies  before  him  as  the  emblem  of  his  authority. 
When  he  goes  before  a  Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons 
he  wears  his  robes,  and  is  attended  by  his  mace-bearer  and 
purse-bearer.  Being  seated,  he  puts  on  his  hat  to  assert  the 
dignity  of  the  upper  House ;  and  then,  having  uncovered, 
gives  his  evidence. 

Although  the  Lord  Chancellor  no  longer  addresses  the 
two  Houses  at  the  opening  or  close  of  a  session  of  parlia- 
ment, he  still  is  the  bearer  of  the  royal  speech,  which, 
kneeling,  he  delivers  into  the  hand  of  the  Sovereign. 

When  the  Prince  of  Wales  is  to  take  the  oaths  for  any   When  ad- 
purpose  in    the  Court  of   Chancery,  the    Lord    Chancellor  ^th's\^""^ 
meets  him  as  he  approaches  Westminster  Hall,  and  waits   Prince  of 
upon  him  into  court.      The  Prince's  Chancellor  holds  the 
book,  and  the  oaths  are  read  by  the  Master  of  the  Rolls. 
The  Lord  Chancellor  sits  covered  while  the  oaths  are  ad- 
ministered, the  bar  standing.      The  Lord  Chancellor  then 
waits  on  the  Prince  to  the  end  of  Westminster  Hall.* 

When  a  younger  son  of  the  King  is  to  take  the  oaths,  To  King's 
the  Lord  Chancellor  meets  him  at  the  steps  leading  from  )'°^" 
the  Hall  to  the  Court,  and  conducts  him  into  court.  The 
Master  of  the  Rolls  reads  the  oaths,  the  senior  Master  in 
Chancery  holding  the  book.  His  Lordship  sits  covered,  the 
bar  standing.  He  then  uncovers,  takes  the  purse  in  his 
hand,  and  attends  his  Royal  Highness  down  the  steps  into 
the  HalLf 

When  peers  take  the  oaths  before  the  Lord  Chancellor,   To  peers 


ger 

son. 


the  deputy  usher  holds  the  book,  while  a  deputy  of  the  clerk 

*   Case  of  Prince  of  Wales,  afterwards  George  II.      Dickens,  xxix. 
j-  Case  of  Duke  of  Cumberland,  IGth  June,  1755.      Dickens,  xxx. 


in  Chan- 


so 


LORD   CHANCELLORS   OF   ENGLAND. 


Lord 

Mayor's 
Day. 


Sutute 
respectinpf 
apparel  of 
Chancellor. 


of  the  crown  reads  the  oaths.  The  Lord  Chancellor  sits  covered 
during  the  time  the  i)eers  are  in  court,  except  at  their  en- 
trance and  departure,  when  he  rises  and  bows  to  them.* 

When  the  Lord  Mayor  of  London  comes  into  the  Court 
of  Chancery  on  Lord  Mayor's  Day,  and  by  the  Recorder 
invites  the  Lord  Chancellor  to  dinner  at  Guildhall,  the  Lord 
Chancellor  remains  covered,  and  does  not  return  any  answer 
to  the  invitation.f 

I  have  only  further  to  state  respecting  the  privileges  and 
disabilities  of  the  office  of  the  Lord  Chancellor,  that  by 
Stat.  24  Hen.  VIIL  c.  13.,  he  is  entitled  "to  weare  in  his 
apparell  velvet  satene  and  other  silkes  of  any  colours  excepte 
purpure,  and  any  manner  of  furres  except  cloke  genettes.^'' 

And  now  let  us  proceed  to  the  Lives  of  the  distinguished 
men  who  have  held  the  office  thus  imperfectly  described. 


*  Dickens,  xxxii. 

t  Ex  relatione  a  Lord  Chancellor  who  never  would  be  wanting  in  any  point 
of  due  courtesy  to  high  or  low — Lord  Lyndhurst. 


CHANCELLORS   UNDER   TPIE   ANGLO-SAXON   KINGS. 


31 


CHAPTER  I. 


OF    THE   CHANCELLORS   UNDER   THE   ANGLO-SAXON   KINGS, 


It  has  been  too  much  the  fashion  to  neglect  our  history  and  CHAP, 

antiquities   prior   to    the    Norman    conquest.      But    to  our  ' 

Anglo-Saxon  ancestors  not  only  are   we  indebted  for  our  Merits  of 

language  and  for  the  foundation  of  almost  all  the  towns  and  '^e  Anglo- 

•  11  •T-iiii  p  1'  •      1  '        •        •  1  Saxons. 

Villages  m  liingland,  but  lor  our  political  institutions  ;  and  to 
them  we  may  trace  the  origin  of  whatever  has  most  benefited 
and  distinguished  us  as  a  nation.*  It  is  a  point  of  filial  duty 
incumbent  upon  us,  to  commemorate  and  to  honour  the  indi- 
viduals among  them  who  in  any  department  attained  to  great 
eminence.  Of  those  who  filled  the  office  of  Chancellor  under 
the  Anglo-Saxon  kings,  little  has  been  handed  down  to  us ; 
but  that  little  ought  not  to  be  allowed  to  fall  into  oblivion. 

According  to  Selden,  Ethelbert,  the  first  Christian  king  a.d.  605. 
among  the  Saxons,  had  Augmendds  for  his  "Chancellor"  bus,  Chan- 
or  Refer endarius,  the  officer  who  received  petitions  and  sup-   p'!*^"! '** 
plications  addressed  to  the  Sovereign,  and  made  out  writs 
and  mandates  as    Custos  Legis.      There  is  great  reason  to 
believe  that  he  was  one  of  the  benevolent  ecclesiastics  who 
accompanied  Augustine  from  Rome  on  his  holy  mission,  and 
that  he  assisted  in  drawing  up  the  Code  of  Laws  then  pub- 
lished, which  materially  softened  and  improved  many  of  the 
customs  which  had  prevailed  while  the  Scandinavian  divi- 
nities were  still  worshipped  in  England,  f 

There  are  three  others  whose  names  are  transmitted  to  us 
as  having  been  Chancellors  to  Anglo-Saxon  kings  without  any 


*  The  descendants  of  the  Anglo-Saxons  seem  destined  to  be  by  far  the  most 
numerous  and  powerful  race  of  mankind, — occupying  not  only  the  British  Isles 
in  Europe,  but  the  whole  of  America  from  Mexico  to  the  Polar  Seas,  and  the 
whole  of  Australia  and  Polynesia.  The  English  language  will  soon  be  spoken 
by  an  infinitely  greater  number  of  civilised  men  than  ever  was  the  Greek,  the 
Latin,  or  the  French. 

f  Selden's  Office  of  Chancellor,  2.  Dugd.  Or.  Jur.  32.  Philpot's  Catalogue 
of  Chancellors.     Spel.  Gloss.  Cancellarius,  p.  109. 


32  CIIANCELLORS  UNDER 


CHAP,  history  attached  to  them,  legendary  or  authentic, — Cenwona, 
under  Offa,  king  of  the  Mercians,  BoSA,  under  Withlofe, 
and  SwiTiiULPHUS,  under  Berthulph.* 


I 

A-  n.  758. 

A.  i>.  825.  Next  comes  the  Chancellor  so  celebrated  for  his  pluvious 

St"swnH-    propensity,  St.   Swithin,  who   held  the  office  under  two 
IN,  Chan-     govereio-ns,  and  of  whom  much  that  is  true,  as  well  as  much 
Egb^rrand  that  is  fabulous,  has  been  transmitted  to  us.     We  can  trace 
Ethelwulf.    ijjg  history  as  certainly  as  that  of  Bede  or  Alcuin,  and  he  left 
like  them,  among  his  countrymen,  a  bright  reputation  for 
learning  and  ability,  which  was  rationally  cherished  till  ob- 
scured by  the  miracles  afterwards  imputed  to  him. 

Swithin  was  a  native  of  Wessex,  and  was  born  at  the  very 
commencement  of  the  ninth  century.  He  was  educated  in  a 
monastery  at  Winchester,  then  the  capital  of  the  kingdom. 
He  prosecuted  his  studies  with  such  ardour  that  he  made 
wonderful  proficiency  in  all  the  knowledge  of  the  age,  and 
having  been  ordained  presbyter  in  830  by  the  Bishop  of  Hel- 
maston,  was  selected  by  King  Egbert  for  his  chaplain,  and 
tutor  to  his  son  Ethelwulf.  f  He  soon  showed  a  capacity  for 
state  affairs,  and  was  placed  in  the  office  of  Chancellor,  con- 
tinuing, like  his  successor,  a-Becket,  while  intrusted  with  the 
administration  of  justice,  to  superintend  the  education  of  the 
heir-apparent.  He  is  said  to  have  enjoyed  the  confidence  of 
the  King  without  interruption,  and  by  his  counsels  to  have 
contributed  to  the  consolidation  of  the  states  of  the  Hep- 
tarchy into  one  great  kingdom. 
A.D.  836.  On  the  accession  of  his  royal  pupil  to  the  throne,  he  re- 

tained his  office  of  Chancellor,  and  >vas  in  still  higher  favour. 
So  wise  a  minister  was  he  esteemed,  that  William  of  Malmes- 
bury,  referring  to  his  sway,  says  the  ancient  opinion  of  Plato 
was  verified  in  this  reign,  that  "  a  state  would  bft  happy  when 
philosophers  were  kings,  or  kings  were  philosophers."  Alstan, 
Bishop  of  Sherborne,  took   a  more  conspicuous   lead,  and 

•  Selden's  Office  of  Chancellor,  2.  Dugd.  Or.  Jur.  32.  Philpot's  Catalogue 
of  Chancellors.     Spel.  Gloss.  Cancellarius,  p.  109, 

■f  William  of  Malmesbury  represents  that  he  was  employed  in  affairs  of  state 
before  he  had  the  care  of  the  King's  son.  "  Natura,  industriaque  laudabilis 
auditum  Ilegis  non  effugit.  Quocirca  ilium  hactenus  excoluit,  ut  et  multa 
negotiorum  ejus  consilio  transigeret,  et  filium  Adulfum  ejus  magisterio  locaret." 
—  W.  Malm.  242. 


THE   ANGLO-SAXON   KINGS.  33 

several  times  in  person  conducted  the  army  to  battle  against     CHAP. 
the  Danes  ;  but  Swithin  guided  the  counsels  of  the  sovereign  ' 

as  well  as  being  personally  beloved  by  him.  He  was  now 
made  Bishop  of  Winchester,  being  recorded  as  the  17th 
prelate  who  had  filled  that  see.  He  proved  a  devoted  friend 
to  the  church,  hitherto  slenderly  provided  for  among  the 
Anglo-Saxons,  and  he  procured  a  law  to  pass  in  the  Witte- 
nagemot  for  the  universal  and  compulsory  payment  of  tithes. 

But  the  nation  was  most  of  all  indebted  to  him  for  instil- 
ling the  rudiments  of  science,  heroism,  and  virtue  into  the 
infant  mind  of  the  most  illustrious  of  our  sovereigns.  The 
son  of  Ethelwulf,  afterwards  Alfred  the  Great,  was,  from 
childhood,  placed  under  the  care  of  the  Chancellor,  who  as- 
sisted his  mother  in  teaching  him  to  read  and  to  learn  the 
songs  of  the  Scalds,  and  afterwards  accompanied  him  on  a 
pilgrimage  to  Rome,  taking  the  opportunity  of  pointing  out 
to  him  the  remains  of  classical  antiquity  visible  in  the  twilight 
of  refinement  which  still  lingered  in  Italy. 

On  Swithin's  return  to  England,  his  last  years  were  dis- 
turbed by  the  successes  of  the  Danish  invaders,  and  not 
having  the  military  turn  of  some  ecclesiastics  and  Chancellors, 
he  shut  himself  up  in  his  episcopal  house,  employing  himself 
in  acts  of  piety  and  charity.  He  died  on  the  2d  of  July,  862, 
having  directed  that  his  body  should  be  buried,  not  in  the 
Cathedral,  but  in  the  churchyard  among  the  poor.* 

He  was  much  admired  by  ecclesiastics  at  Rome,  as  well  as 
in  his  own  country,  having  first  established  in  England,  for 
the  benefit  of  the  Pope,  the  payment  called  "Peter's  pence." 
In  consequence,  about  fifty  years  after  his  death,  he  was 
canonised. 

Now  comes  the  legend  of  St.  Swithin.  It  was  thought 
that  the  body  of  the  Saint  ought  to  be  translated  from  the 
churchyard  to  be  deposited  under  the  high  altar,  and  the  15th 
of  July  was  fixed  for  that  ceremony,  —  when  there  were  to 
be  the  most  gorgeous  processions  ever  seen  in  England.  But 
he  highly  disapproved  of  this  disregard  of  his  dying  injunc- 

*  "  Jam  vero  vitae  praesenti  valefacturuspontificali  ajithoritate  prsecepit  astan- 
tibus,  ut  extra  ecclesiam  cadaver  suum  humarent ;  ubi  et  pedibus  praetereuntium 
et  stillicidiis  ex  alto  rorantibus  esset  obnoxium." —  Wm.  of  Malm.  242. 

VOL.  I.  D 


34 


CHANCELLORS  UNDER 


CHAP. 

I. 


TCRKETEL, 

Chancellor 
under  Ed- 
ward  the 
Elder. 
A.  D.  920. 


tion,  and  sent  a  tremendous  rain,  which  continued  without 
intermission  for  forty  days,  and  until  the  project  was  aban- 
doned. Ever  since  he  regulates  the  weather  for  forty  days 
from  the  day  of  his  proposed  translation,  laying  down  this 
rule,  that  as  that  day  is  fair  or  foul,  it  will  be  fair  or  foul  for 
forty  days  thereafter. 

The  founders  of  the  Keformation  in  England  seem  either 
to  have  believed  in  his  miraculous  powers,  or  to  have  enter- 
tained a  very  grateful  recollection  of  his  services  to  the 
Church,  for  they  have  preserved  the  15  th  of  July  as  a  Saint's 
day  dedicated  to  Lord  Chancellor  Swithin.* 

It  must  be  admitted  that  there  is  great  difficulty  in  dis- 
tinguishing between  what  is  authentic  and  what  is  fabulous 
in  his  history,  t 

TuRKETEL  is  the  first  English  Chancellor  with  whom  we 
can  be  said  to  be  really  acquainted.  He  was  of  illustrious 
birth,  being  the  eldest  son  of  Ethel  wald,  and  the  grandson  of 
Alfred.  He  was  early  distinguished  for  learning,  piety,  and 
courage.  Taking  priest's  orders,  his  royal  uncle,  Edward  the 
Elder,  immediately  offered  him  high  ecclesiastical  preferment. 
This  he  declined,  thinking  that  it  might  interfere  with  the 
civil  employments  which,  notwithstanding  his  tonsure,  he 
preferred.  Ingulphus  informs  us  that  the  King  thereupon 
made  him  his  Chancellor  and  Prime  Minister :  —  "  Cancel- 
larium   suum   eum  constituit,  ut  quaecunque  negotia  tem- 


•  See  Phillpot's  Catalogue  of  Chancellors,  p.  1.  Gostelin.  Fit.  Swithini. 
Henry  of  Huntingdon.     Wm.  of  Malmesburv,  Gest.  Reg.  Angl.  p.  151.      Spel- 

man's  Life  of  Alfred.     de  Gest.  Pont  242. 

■f  Most  of  Lord  Chancellor  Swithin's  decisions  have  perished,  but  I  find  one 
case  reported  which  was  brought  judicially  before  him,  and  in  which  he  gave 
specific  relief,  altliough  seemingly  the  remedy  was  at  common  law  by  an  action 
of  trespass.  An  old  woman  came  to  complain  to  him  that  the  eggs  in  her  basket 
which  she  was  carrying  to  market  had  all  been  wantonly  broken.  »  Is  ante  se 
adductae  mulierculae  annis  et  pannis  squalidae  querelam  auscultat,  damnum 
suspirat,  misericordia  mentis  cunctantem  miraculum  excitat,  statimque  porrecto 
crucis  signo,  fracturam  omnium  ovorum  consolidat." —  Wtti.  of  Malm.  242. 

There  is  much  faith  in  the  Ex-chancellor,  not  only  in  England  but  in  Scot- 
land, where  for  many  centuries  there  has  been  this  proverb : — 
"  St.  Swithin's  day,  gif  ye  do  rain, 
For  forty  days  it  will  remain  ; 
St.  Swithin's  day,  an  ye  be  fair. 
For  forty  days  twill  rain  na  mair." 
In  some  parts  of  Scotland,  St.  Martin  (whose  day  is  4th  July)  is  the  raining 


THE  ANGLO-SAXON   KINGS.  35 

poralia  vel   spiritualla   Regis  judicium   expectabant,    illius     chap. 
consilio  et  decreto  (nam  tantae  fidei  et  tam  profundi  ingenii 
tenebatur)  omnia  tractarentur,  et  tractata  irrefragabilem  sen- 
tentiam  sortirentur."* 

He  retained  his  office  under  his  cousin  Athelstan,  who  Athelstan. 
by  his  advice  first  took  the  title  of  "  King  of  England."! 

At  the  famous  battle  of  Brunenburgh,  so  celebrated  in  the  battle  of 
relics  of  Saxon  and  Scandinavian  poetry,  in  which  Athelstan  burgh. 
had  to  fight  for  his  crown  against  five  confederated  nations,  a.d.  938. 
Norwegians,  Danes,  Scots,  Irish,  and  Britons,  Chancellor 
Turketel  rendered  the  most  signal  service  to  his  sovereign 
and  his  country.  The  citizens  of  London  marched  under  his 
banner,  and  supported  by  Singin  with  the  men  of  Worcester- 
shire, he  penetrated  into  the  midst  of  the  Scots,  killed  the 
son  of  their  king,  and  compelled  Constantine  himself  to  seek 
safety  in  flight.  Some  historians  relate  that,  although  the 
Chancellor  led  his  troops  to  the  scene  of  action,  he  refused 
himself  to  mix  in  the  fight,  because  the  canons  prohibited  to 
clergymen  the  effusion  of  blood ;  but  it  was  the  doctrine  of 
the  age,  that  an  exception  was  allowed  in  war  undertaken  for 
the  protection  of  the  country  against  a  pagan  invasion,  and 
we  shall  find  some  of  his  ecclesiastical  successors  combating 
stoutly  in  the  field  even  against  Christian  adversaries.  X 

Turketel  still  continued  Chancellor  under  the  two  sue-  Edmund 
ceeding   monarchs,    Edmund    and   Edred,   the   brothers   of  a.d.  940.  * 
Athelstan,  and  was  likewise  "  Consiliarius   primus,  praeci-  ^-  "•  ^'^^• 
puus  et  a  secretis  familiarissimus."§     As  Edred  was  afflicted 
with  a  lingering  and  painful  disease  during  the  greater  part 
of  his  reign,  the  sceptre  was  actually  in  the  hands  of  the 
Chancellor,  and  he  was  obliged  not  only  to  superintend  the 
administration  of  justice  and  to  conduct  the  civil  government 
of  the  kingdom,  but  on  several  occasions  to  command  the 
military  force  both  against  foreign  and  domestic  enemies. 

In  a  fit  of  religious  enthusiasm,  while  still  powerful  and  i^ord 
prosperous,  he  suddenly  bade  adieu  to  worldly  greatness  for  Turketel 

*   Ingulphi  Hist.  g.  h.     Dug.  Or.  Jur.  32. 

f  His  father  and  grandfather  had  been   styled  kings  of  the   Anglo-Saxons, 
and  their  predecessors  merely  kings  of  Wessex. 

%  See  Lingard,  i,  212.  §  Ingul.  g.  h, 

D   2 


36 


CHANCELLORS  UNDER 


CHAP. 

I. 

becomes  a 
monk. 
*.n.  948, 


AD.  959. 
AnuLPHUs. 


Alpric. 


the  seclusion  of  a  monastery.  It  is  related,  that  going  on  a 
message  from  the  King  to  Archbishop  Wolstan,  it  chanced 
that  his  road  lay  by  the  abbey  of  Croyland,  which  had  been 
reduced  to  ruins  in  recent  warfare,  and  now  only  afforded  a 
miserable  shelter  to  three  aged  monks.  Touched  by  their 
piety  and  resignation,  he  believed  himself  divinely  inspired 
with  the  design  to  enter  into  their  society,  and  to  restore  their 
house  to  its  ancient  splendour.  Having  obtained  permission 
to  carry  this  design  into  eifect,  —  before  his  civil  extinction,  in 
imitation  of  a  dying  caliph,  he  sent  the  public  crier  through 
the  streets  of  London,  where,  during  four  reigns,  he  had  ex- 
ercised such  authority,  announcing  to  the  citizens  that  the 
Chancellor,  before  quitting  his  office  and  entering  into  the 
monastic  order,  was  anxious  to  discharge  all  his  debts,  and 
offered  to  make  threefold  reparation  to  any  person  whom  he 
might  have  injured.  Every  demand  upon  him  being  liberally 
satisfied,  he  resigned  the  office  of  Chancellor  into  the  King's 
hands,  made  a  testamentary  disposition  of  his  great  pos- 
sessions, put  on  the  monastic  cowl,  was  blessed  by  the  Bishop 
of  Dorchester,  recovered  for  the  abbey  all  that  it  had  lost  in 
the  Danish  wars,  endowed  it  with  fresh  wealth,  was  elected 
Abbot,  and  procured  from  the  King  and  the  Witan  a  con- 
firmation of  all  the  rights  which  his  house  had  ever  enjoyed, 
with  the  exception  of  the  privilege  of  sanctuary,  which  he 
voluntarily  renounced,  on  the  ground  that  his  experience  as 
Chancellor  made  him  consider  it  a  violation  of  justice  and 
an  incentive  to  crime.  He  survived  twenty-seven  years,  per- 
forming, in  the  most  exemplary  manner,  the  duties  of  his 
new  station,  and  declaring  that  he  was  happier  as  Abbot  of 
Croyland  than  Chancellor  of  England.*     He  died  in  975. 

The  next  Chancellor  of  whom  any  mention  is  made  was 
Adulphus  under  King  Edgar ;  but  we  are  not  told  what 
part  he  took  in  the  measures  of  this  peaceful  and  prosperous 
reign,  f 

Ethelred,  who  mounted  the  throne  in  978,  had,  for  his 
first  Chancellor,  Alfric,  the  eleventh  Abbot  of  St.  Alban's, 
of  whom  nothing  memorable  has  been  transmitted  to  us.    The 


Ingul.  25—52.     Ordine,  340. 


t  Or.  Jur.  82. 


THE   ANGLO-SAXON   KINGS.  37 

King  then  made  a  very  whimsical  disposition  of  the  office,     CHAP. 

which  he  meant  to  be  perpetual, — "dividing  it  between  the  ' 

Abbots  for  the  time  being  of  Ely,  of  St.  Augustine  in  Can-  office  of 

terbury,  and  of  Glastonbury,  who  were  to  exercise  it  by  turns ;  ^'^?"''^^^°'^ 

—  the  Abbot  of  Ely,  or  some  monk  by  him  appointed,  act-  between 

ino;  as  Chancellor  four  months  yearly  from  Candlemas,  and  ^l^J"?^^ 
°  1  •      1  1  •  Abbots. 

the  other  two  abbots  each  four  months  successively,  making 
up  the  twelve."*  Lord  Coke  commenting  upon  this  arrange- 
ment says,  "  Albeit  It  was  void  in  law  to  grant  the  chan- 
cellorship of  England  in  succession,  yet  it  proveth  that  then 
there  was  a  Court  of  Chancery."! 

We  are  not  informed  how  the  three  Abbots  actually  dis- 
charged their  duties,  or  how  long  they  enjoyed  the  office.  If 
the  grant  was  not  revoked  as  illegal  at  the  accession  of  Ed- 
mund Ironside,  we  need  not  doubt  that  it  was  violated  on 
the  conquest  of  the  kingdom  by  Canute,  who  probably  em- 
ployed one  of  his  own  countrymen  to  assist  him  in  adminis- 
tering justice  to  his  new  subjects. 

We  have  no  further  notice  of  any  Chancellor  till  the  reign  a.d.  1043. 
of  Edward  the  Confessor.  During  his  long  exile  In  Nor-  ^"^g^^r^j 
mandy  he  had  contracted  a  taste  not  only  for  the  language,  the  Con 
but  also  for  the  usages  of  that  country ;  and  among  other 
Norman  fashions,  he  Introduced  that  of  having  a  great  seal 
to  testify  the  royal  will  in  the  administration  of  justice,  and 
in  all  matters  of  government.  Sealing  bad  been  occasionally 
resorted  to  by  his  predecessors  on  solemn  occasions  |,  but 
they  then  only  used  a  private  seal,  like  the  prelates  and 
nobles ;  and  public  documents  were  generally  verified  by  the 

*  The  words  of  an  old  monk  of  Ely  are  :  "  Statuit  atque  concessit  quatenus. 
Ecclesia  de  Ely  extunc  et  semper  in  Regis  curia  Cancellarii  ageret  dignitatem 
quod  et  aliis,  Sancti,  viz.  Augustini  et  Glaconia?  Ecclesiis  constituit,  ut  abbates 
istorum  coenobiorum  vicissim  assignatis  suceedendo  temporibus,  annum  trifarie 
dividerint  cum  sanctuarii  et  caeteris  ornatibus  altaris  ministrando."  See  Dug. 
Off.  Ch.  §  1. 

f  4  Inst.  78. 

J  Thus  on  inspecting  an  old  Saxon  charter  of  King  Edgar  to  the  abbey  of 
Pershore,  still  extant,  three  labels  are  to  be  seen  for  seals  to  be  appended  by ; 
and  Godfric,  Archdeacon  of  Worcester,  writing  to  Pope  Alexander  III.  of  this 
very  charter,  says :  "  Noverit  sanctitas  vestra,  verum  esse  quod  conscripti  hujus 
scriptum  originale  in  virtute  Sancta;  Trinitatis  sigilla  tria,  trium  personarum 
autenticarum,  ad  veritatem,  triplici  confirmatione  commendat ;  Est  autem  sigil- 
lum  primum  illustris  Regis  Edgari ;  secundum  Sancti  Dunstani  Cant.  Arch. ; 
tertii  Alferi  Ducis  Merciorum,  sicut  ex  diligenti  literarum  impressarum  in- 
spectione  evidenter  accepi."     Dug.  Off.  Chan.  §  3. 

D   3 


fessor. 


38 


CHANCELLORS   UNDER 


CHAP. 
I. 


Leofric 
Chancellor 
to  the  Con- 
fessor. 
A.D.  1045. 

WULWIUS. 


Reimbal- 

DUS. 


Vice- 
Chancellor 

SwARDUS. 


signature  of  the  Chancellor,  or  by  the  King  aflSxlng  to  them 
the  sign  of  the  cross.  A  large  state  seal  was  now  made,  upon 
the  model  which  has  been  followed  ever  since.  It  bore 
the  representation  of  the  King,  in  his  imperial  robes,  sitting 
on  his  throne,  holding  a  sceptre  in  his  right  hand  and  a 
sword  in  his  left,  with  the  inscription  "  Sigillum  Edwardi 
Anglorum  Basilei."* 

Leofric  was  the  Confessor's  first  Chancellor  f ;  but  it  is 
doubtful  whether  this  great  seal  had  been  adopted  in  his 
time,  as  he  is  not  recorded  as  having  used  it.  We  know 
that  it  was  in  the  custody  of  Wulwius  his  successor.  A 
royal  charter  to  the  church  of  Westminster,  framed  by  him, 
thus  concludes :  —  "  Ut  hoc  decretum  a  nobis  promulgatum 
pleniorem  obtineat  vigorem,  nostra  manu  subter  apposito 
signo  roboravimus,  atque  fidelibus  nostris  prassentibus  robo- 
randum  tradidimus,  nostraeque  imaginis  sigillo  insuper  assig- 
nari  jussimus,"  &c.,  with  the  attesting  clause,  "  Wulwius, 
regiae  dignitatis  Cancellarius,  relegit  et  sigillavit,"  &c.  | 

The  next  Chancellor  was  Reimbaldus,  who  likewise  sealed 
with  the  royal  seal,  as  we  find  by  another  charter  of  the 
Confessor  to  the  Church  of  Westminster,  thus  authenticated  : 
—  "  Ego,  Reimbaldus,  Regis  Cancellarius,  relegi  et  sigillavi," 
&c.  When  he  was  prevented  by  absence  or  indisposition 
from  acting,  his  duties  were  performed  by  Swaedus,  who 
appears  to  have  been  his  Vice-Chancellor.  Thus  another 
charter  of  the  Confessor,  granting  many  manors  to  the  church 
of  Westminster,  has  this  concluding  clause :  —  "Ad  ultimum, 
cartam  istam  sigillari  jussi,  et  ipse  manu  mea  propria  signum 
crucis  impressi,  et  idoneos  testes  annotari  praecepi."  Then 
follows  :  —  "  Swardus,  notarius  ad  vicem  Reimbaldi  regice 
dignitatis  cancellarii,  banc  cartam  scrips!  et  subscripsi."§ 

Lord  Coke  is  justified  in  his  contemptuous  assertion  that 
Polydor  Virgil,  in  affirming  that  the  office  of  Chancellor  came 
in  with  the  Conqueror,  "  perperara  erravit  H : "  but  he  himself 

»  See  an  engraving  of  it,  Palgrave's  History  of  England,  i.  328.,  taken  from 
the  original  in  the  British  Museum.  An  admirable  picture  by  words,  — of  the 
Chancellor  sitting  in  the  Wittenagemot,  will  be  found  in  the  preface  to  the  same 
valuable  publication,  p.  xiv. 

t  Spel.  Gloss.  109.  +  Or.  Jur.  34. 

§  '^  Inst-  78.  II  4  Inst.  78. 


THE   ANGLO-SAXON   KINGS.  39 

was  very  imperfectly  acquainted  with  its  history,  and  we  are  CHAP, 
still  left  much  in  the  dark  respecting  its  duties,  and  the  man- 
ner in  which  it  was  bestowed  in  the  Saxon  times.  Then,  as 
long  after,  the  little  learning  that  existed  being  confined  to 
the  clergy,  we  need  not  doubt  that  a  post  requiring  the  art 
of  writing  and  some  knowledge  of  law,  was  always  filled  by 
an  ecclesiastic  ;  and  as  it  gave  constant  access  to  the  person 
of  the  King,  and  was  the  highway  to  preferment,  —  even  if 
the  precedence  and  emoluments  belonging  to  it  were  not  very 
higli,  —  it  must  have  been  an  object  struggled  for  among  the 
ambitious.  Human  nature  being  ever  the  same,  we  may 
safely  believe  that  at  that  early  period,  as  in  succeeding  ages, 
it  was  the  prize  sometimes  of  talents  and  virtue,  and  sometimes 
of  intrigue  and  servility. 

As  we  approach  the  aera  of  the  Conquest,  we  find  distinct  Origin  of 
traces  of  the  Masters  in  Chancery,  who,  though  in  sacred  ^^an^eV'^ 
orders,  were  well  trained  in  jurisprudence,  and  assisted  the 
Chancellor  in  preparing  writs  and  grants,  as  well  as  in  the 
service  of  the  royal  chapel.  They  formed  a  sort  of  college  of 
justice  of  which  he  was  the  head.  They  all  sate  in  the  Wit- 
tenagemot,  and,  as  "  Law  Lords,"  are  supposed  to  have  had 
great  weight  in  the  deliberations  of  that  assembly.* 

*  Or.  Jur.  chap.  xvi.     Palgrave's  Hist.  Eng.  Preface. 


D  4 


40  CHANCELLORS   FROM   THE 


CHAPTER  11. 

OF  THB  CHANCELLORS  FROM  THE  CONQUEST  TO  THE  REIGN  OF 
HENRY  n. 

CHAP.  From  the  Conquest  downwards  we  have,  with  very  few 
interruptions,  a  complete  series  of  Chancellors.  Yet  till  we 
A.a.  1066.  reach  the  reign  of  Richard  I.,  when  records  begin  which  are 
still  extant,  containing  entries  of  the  transfer  of  the  Great 
Seal,  we  can  seldom  fix  the  exact  date  of  their  appointment ; 
and  we  glean  what  is  known  of  them  chiefly  from  the  charters 
which  they  attested,  from  contemporary  chroniclers,  and  from 
monkish  histories  of  the  sees  to  which  they  were  promoted. 

Few  of  those  who  held  the  office  under  the  Norman 
monarchs  before  Henry  II.  took  any  prominent  part  in  the 
conduct  of  public  affairs,  and  they  appear  mostly  to  have 
confined  themselves  to  their  official  duties,  in  making  out 
'*"  writs,  superintending  royal  grants,  authenticating  the  acts  of 
the  sovereign  by  affixing  the  Great  Seal  to  all  instruments 
which  ran  in  his  name,  and  by  sitting,  in  a  subordinate 
capacity,  in  the  Aula  Regia  to  assist  in  the  administration  of 
justice. 
Chancel-  The   office  of  Chief  Justiciar,   introduced  by  William, 

eariy'Nor-  ^^^o  Continued  to  confer  great  splendour  on  those  who  held 
man  reigns,  it,  while  the  highest  functions  of  the  Chancellor  were  con- 
sidered those  of  being  almoner  and  secretary  to  the  King. 
Odo,  Bishop  of  Bayeux*,  William  Fitzosborne,  and  William 
de  Warenne,  successively  Justiciars,  were  men  of  historical 
renown ;  they  assisted  William  in  his  great  military  enter- 
prise ;  they  afterwards  took  an  active  part  in  imposing  the 
yoke  on  the  conquered,  and  they  governed  the  realm  as 
viceroys  when  he  occasionally  visited  his  native  dominions. 

J.  *.  H*.^3s  William's  uterine  brother,  and,  though  an  ecclesiastic,  he  was  a 
distinguished  military  leader.  In  the  famous  Bayeux  tapestry  giving  a  pic- 
torial history  of  the  Conquest,  he  makes  the  greatest  figure  next  to  William 
and  Harold.     The  other  Justiciars  of  this  reign  were  hardly  less  eminent. 


CONQUEST   TO  THE  KEIGN   OP   HENRY   II. 


41 


Till  Thomas  a-Becket  arose  to  fix  the  attention  of  his  own     CHAP, 

age  and  of  posterity,  the  Chancellors  were  comparatively  

obscure. 

They  probably,  however,  were  William's  advisers  in  the 
great  changes  which  he  made  in  the  laws  and  institutions  of 
the  country.  English  writers,  with  more  nationality  than 
discrimination  or  candour,  have  attempted  to  show  that  he 
was  called  Conqueror,  merely  because  he  obtained  the  crown 
by  election  instead  of  hereditary  descent.*  In  all  history 
there  is  not  a  more  striking  instance  of  subjugation.  Not 
only  did  almost  all  the  land  in  the  kingdom  change  hands  — 
the  native  English  being  reduced  to  be  the  thralls  of  the 
invaders  —  but  legislative  measures  were  brought  forward, 
either  in  the  sole  name  of  the  Sovereign,  or  through  the  form 
of  a  national  council  under  his  control,  seeking  to  alter  the 
language,  the  jurisprudence,  and  the  manners  of  the  people,  j 
It  would  have  been  very  interesting  to  have  ascertained 
distinctly  by  whose  suggestion  and  instrumentality  the 
French  was  substituted  for  the  English  tongue  in  all  schools 
and  courts  of  justice  ;  the  intricate  feudal  law  of  Normandy 
superseded  the  simplicity  of  Saxon  tenures ;  trial  by  battle 
was  introduced  in  place  of  the  joint  judgment  of  the  Bishop 
and  the  Earl  in  the  county  court  ;  the  separation  was 
brought  about  between  ecclesiastical  and  civil  jurisdictions ; 
and  the  great  survey  of  the  kingdom  was  planned  and  ac- 
complished, of  which  we  have  the  result  in  Domesday,  "  the 
most  valuable  piece  of  antiquity  possessed  by  any  nation."  | 
But  while  there  is  blazoned  before  us  a  roll  of  all  the  warlike 
chiefs  who  accompanied  William  in  his  memorable  expe- 
dition, and  we  have  a  minute  account  of  the  life  and  cha- 
racter of  all  those  who  took  any  prominent  part  in  the 
battles,  sieges,  and  insurrections  which  marked  his  reign,  we 
are  left  to  mere  conjecture  respecting  the  manner  in  which 


*  As  in  the  law  of  Scotland  property  acquired  by  an  individual  is  called  his 
conquest. 

t  The  vitality  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  language  and  institutions  at  last  prevailed, 
but  there  is  hardly  to  be  found  such  a  striking  instance  of  race  tyrannising  over 
race,  as  in  England  during  the  reigns  of  the  Conqueror  and  his  immediate 
descendants, 

\  Hume, 


42 


CHANCELLORS  FROM   THE 


CHAP. 

II. 


A.D.  1067. 
Chancel- 
lors of  the 
Conqueror. 

Maduce. 


Made 
Bishop  of 
London, 
and  resigns 
Great  Seal. 


justice  was  administered  under  him  *,  and  the  measures  of  his 
civil  government  were  planned  and  executed,  t 

But  I  must  now  proceed  to  give  the  names  of  William's 
Chancellors,  with  such  scanty  notices  of  their  history  as  can 
be  furnished  from  the  imperfect  materials  which  are  preserved 
to  us. 

In  1067,  the  year  after  the  battle  of  Hastings,  when  he  had 
obtained  the  submission  of  a  considerable  part  of  England, 
although  it  was  not  till  long  after  that  he  reduced  the 
northern  and  western  counties  to  his  rule,  he  appointed  as 
his  first  Chancellor,  Maurice,  a  Norman  ecclesiastic,  who 
had  accompanied  him  as  his  chaplain  when  he  sailed  from 
St.  Vallery  for  the  coast  of  England. 

We  know  little  with  certainty  of  the  acts  of  this  func- 
tionary beyond  his  perusing  and  sealing  a  charter  by  which 
the  Conqueror,  after  the  example  of  the  Confessor,  granted 
large  possessions  to  the  abbot  and  monks  of  Westminster.  | 

In  the  usual  course  of  promotion,  Maurice,  being  Chan- 
cellor, was  made  Bishop  of  London.  Here  we  find  him 
highly  celebrated  for  his  exertions  to  rebuild  St.  Paul's.  The 
year  before  his  consecration  the  greatest  part  of  the  City  of 


*  A  very  ample  report  of  the  cause  cel^bre  between  Odo,  as  Earl  of  Kent, 
and  Lanfranc,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  at  Penenden  Heath,  before  Chief 
Justiciary  Godfrey,  has  come  down  to  us,  but  no  notice  of  any  other  judicial 
proceeding  in  this  reign  can  be  traced. 

t  In  classic  antiquity  lawgivers  were  honoured  not  less  than  conquerors,  and 
all  the  most  celebrated  laws  of  Rome  bore  the  names  of  their  authors;  but  in 
our  own  history  (horresco  referens)  oblivion  seems  to  await  all  those  who 
devote  themselves  to  legal  reform.  We  do  not  know  with  any  certainty  who 
framed  the  Statutes  of  Westminster  in  the  time  of  Edward  I.,  the  Statute  of 
Fmes,  the  Statute  of  Uses,  the  Statute  of  Wills,  or  the  Statute  of  Frauds, 
although  they  ought  to  have  been  commemorated  for  conferring  lasting  benefit 
on  their  country. 

"  Sed  omnes  illacrimabiles 

Urguentur,  ignotique  longa 
Nocte,  carent  quia  vate  sacro." 

The  Grenville  Act  for  the  trial  of  controverted  elections  was  the  first  which 
conferred  any  eclat  on  the  name  of  its  author,  and  Fox's  Libel  Act  is  almost  the 
only  other  down  to  our  own  times. 
•  L'^'.V'^'"^*^''  '^  *^"^  attested,  «  Ego,  Mauritius  Cancellarius,  favendo  legl  et 
»  r  ''.vn-  ,"'*•  ''^-  ~  '^'^^  ^^ordsof  the  Conqueror's  first  charter  are  curious, 
i.go,  Willielmus,  Dei  gratia.  Rex  Anglorum,  Dux  Normannorum,  et  Prin- 
ceps  Lenomannorum,  hoc  pra^ceptum  scribere  pracepi,  et  scriptum  hoc  signo 
Domuuco  sic  confirmando  +  stabilivi,  nostraque  imaginis  sigiUo  insuper  assi- 
gnari  curavi,    &c.  o  o  r 


CONQUEST   TO   THE   REIGN   OF   HENRY   II.  43 

London,  built  of  wood,  had  been  consumed  by  fire,  and  the     chap. 
Cathedral  where  it  now  stands,  on  the  site  of  an  ancient 


A.D.  1100. 


temple  of  Diana,  had  been  almost  entirely  destroyed.  But 
by  his  pious  exhortations,  assisted  by  a  royal  grant,  it  rose 
from  its  ashes  with  new  magnificence.* 

Maurice  enjoyed  the  dignity  of  Chancellor  on  his  first  ap- 
pointment but  for  a  short  space  of  time,  as  it  seems  to  have 
been  the  policy  of  William  never  to  allow  his  great  seal  to 
remain  long  in  the  same  hands.  Spelman  represents  him  as 
having  been  again  Chancellor  in  1077  f,  and  there  can  be  no 
doubt  that  he  continued  a  person  of  considerable  influence 
during  the  whole  of  this  and  the  succeeding  reign. 

We   have,   however,   no    distinct    account    of    the    part  Conductor 
which  he  again  took  in  public  affairs  till   Rufus  was  acci-   ■^fr*^^,^'^' 

,  ,  ,  cellorMau- 

dentally  killed  by  Sir  Walter  Tyrrel  while  hunting  in  the  rice  on  the 
New  Forest.  Henry,  the  king's  younger  brother,  who  ^^l^am 
was  of  the  party,  in  violation  of  the  superior  claims  of  Rufus. 
Robert,  then  absent  in  Normandy,  hastened  to  London  to 
claim  the  vacant  throne.  In  those  days  anointment  by 
a  prelate  was  supposed  to  give  a  divine  right  to  kings, 
and  the  commencement  of  a  reign  was  calculated  from 
the  day  of  the  coronation,  not  from  the  death  of  the  prede- 
cessor. The  privilege  of  crowning  the  Kings  of  England 
has  always  been  considered  to  belong  to  the  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury  as  Primate,  but  Anselm  from  his  quarrel  with 
the  late  King  was  now  in  exile.  Henry  in  this  extremity 
applied  to  Maurice,  the  Ex-chancellor,  and  overcame  his 
scruples  respecting  the  law  of  primogeniture  by  a  share  of 
the  royal  treasure,  which  he  had  secured  to  himself  as  he 
passed  through  Winchester,  and  by  which  history  records 
his  usurpation  was  accomplished.  On  the  third  day  from 
the  tragical  end  of  Rufus,  Maurice  placed  the  crown  on  the 
head  of  the  new  sovereign  in  the  abbey  of  Westminster. 

The  Great  Seal  was  now  again  within  his  reach,  but 
he  preferred  the  quiet  use  of  his  riches,  and  the  hope  eagerly 
cherished,  though  never  realised,  of  succeeding  to  the  primacy. 
He  died  in   1107,  still  Bishop  of  London,  having  seen  a 

•  W.  Malmesb.     De  Gestis  Pontificum,  lib.  ii. 
f   Gloss.  Series  Cancell.  Angl. 


44 


CHANCELLORS  PROM  THE 


CHAP. 
H. 

OSMOMO. 


His  charac- 
ter. 


His  literary 
works. 


rapid  succession  of  eight  or  nine  Chancellors  after  his  own 
resignation  or  dismissal. 

The  Conqueror's  second  Chancellor  was  Osmond.  Dugdale 
and  Spelman  leave  the  year  of  his  appointment  uncertain,  and 
we  might  never  have  been  informed  of  his  having  filled  this 
office,  had  it  not  been  that  in  1078  he  was  promoted  to  the 
bishopric  of  Sarum,  and  we  find  some  account  of  him  in 
the  annals  of  that  see.  He  was,  of  course,  a  Norman,  for 
now,  and  long  after,  no  Saxon  was  promoted  to  any  office, 
civil,  mihtary,  or  ecclesiastical.  Having  come  over  with 
William,  and  fought  for  him  in  the  field,  he  was  first  made 
Earl  of  Dorset, — and  now  being  girt  with  a  sword,  while  he 
held  the  Great  Seal  in  one  hand,  a  crosier  was  put  into  the 
other.* 

Of  Osmond's  conduct  in  his  office  of  Chancellor  few  par- 
ticulars are  transmitted  to  us;  but  he  is  said  to  have  been 
much  in  the  confidence  of  the  Conqueror,  who  consulted  him 
about  all  the  most  arduous  and  secret  affairs  of  state,  as 
well  as  confiding  to  him  the  superintendence  of  the  adminis- 
tration of  justice.  William  of  Malmesbury  is  his  chief 
panegyrist,  celebrating  his  chastity,  his  disinterestedness,  his 
deep  learning,  and,  above  all,  his  love  of  sacred  music,  —  re- 
presenting as  the  only  shade  on  his  character  his  great  seve- 
rity to  penitents,  which  was  caused  by  his  own  immaculate 
life.  After  his  elevation  to  the  episcopal  dignity,  he  devoted 
himself  entirely  to  his  sacerdotal  duties. 

He  is  the  first  Chancellor  I  have  to  mention  as  an  author. 
His  principal  work  was  "  A  History  of  the  Life  and  Miracles 
of  Alden,  a  Saxon  Saint,  the  first  Bishop  of  Sherborne."  He 
likewise  composed  the  service  "  secundum  usum  Sarum," 
which  remained  in  great  repute,  and  was  followed  in  the  West 
of  England  till  the  Reformation.! 

From  a  charter  of  the  Conqueror,  dated  in  1069,  confirm- 


*  Such  a  combination  long  continued  very  common,  and  the  Reformation 
even  did  not  recognise  the  separation  which  now  prevails  between  sacred  and 
secular  employments.  James  I.  had  a  bishop  for  Lord  Keeper  of  the  Great 
Seal ;  Charles  I.  had  a  bishop  for  his  Lord  Treasurer ;  Queen  Anne,  with  the 
loud  approbation  of  Swift  and  the  High  Church  party,  had  a  bishop  for  her  Lord 
Privy  Seal  and  one  of  her  ambassadors  to  negotiate  the  treaty  of  Utrecht. 

t   De  Gesiis  Pontificum,  lib.  i. 


CONQUEST   TO   THE   REIGN   OF   HENEY   II. 


45 


ing  a  grant  of  the  Confessor  to  Leofrlc,  who  was  the  first     CHAP. 
Bishop  of  Exeter,  and  from  another  charter  of  the  Conqueror,  ' 

dated  in  1073,  granting  lands  to  the  Dean  and  Canons  of 
St.  Martin's,  in  the  City  of  London,  we  know  that  the  Great 
Seal  was  at  those  times  held  by  Arpastus  *,  who  is  stated  to 
have  been  Bishop  of  Helmstadt,  in  Germany.  He  is  sup- 
posed to  have  been  one  of  the  ecclesiastical  adventurers  who 
ranged  themselves  under  the  standard  which  the  Pope  had 
blessed  when  William  proclaimed  his  grand  enterprise.  As 
a  reward  for  his  services  he  was  in  1070  appointed  Bishop  of 
Elmham,  in  Norfolk,  a  see  established  there  as  early  as  673. 
In  1075  he  removed  the  see  to  Thetford,  where  he  died  in 
1084.t 

Of  his  successor  we  know  little  but  the  name,  there  being  Baldrick 
no  description  added  to  it  to  tell  us  from  what  country  he 
sprang,  or  what  other  office  he  ever  filled;  but  a  charter  granted 
at  this  time  by  the  Conqueror  to  the  monks  of  St.  Florentius 
of  Andover  is  witnessed  and  authenticated  by  Baldrick  as 
King's  Chancellor.  |  He  was  no  doubt  King's  Chaplain,  but 
does  not  seem  to  have  reached  any  higher  ecclesiastical 
dignity.  Although  the  custody  of  the  Great  Seal  was  in  those 
days  considered  a  certain  step  to  a  bishopric,  premature  death 
or  loss  of  power  had  disappointed  the  hopes  of  this  aspirant.  § 

Next  came  Herman,  with  whose  origin  and  history  we  Herman. 
are  well  acquainted.     He  was  a  Norman  by  birth,  and  before 
the  coming  in  of  William  he  had  been  promoted  to  the  bishop- 
ric of  Sherborne.     It  is  a  curious  consideration  that  in  the 


*   He  thus  subscribes  both  charters :  — 

"  +   Ego  Arfastus  Cancellarius." 

f  Vide  Spelm.  Gloss.  109.,  where  he  is  stated  to  have  been  twice  Chancellor. 
The  see  was  soon  after  removed  to  Norwich,  where  it  has  ever  since  remained. 
Annal.  Winton.  Angl.  Sax.  I.  294.    Weaver,  827. 

I  Inspex.  Pat.  Ed.  2.   p.  2.  MS.     Lold.  Chron.  Ser.  1. 

§  It  is  said  that  the  poetical  name  for  a  belt  or  girdle  was  taken  from  this 
Chancellor,  who  is  supposed  to  have  worn  one  of  uncommon  magnificence. 

"  Athwart  his  breast  a  Baldrick  brave  he  ware 
That  shined  like  twinkling  stars  with  stones  most  precious  rare." 

Spenser. 
"  A  radiant  Baldrick  o'er  his  shoulders  tied 

Sustain'd  the  sword  that  glitter'd  at  his  side."  Pope. 

But  this  probably  arose  from  the  difficulty  of  finding  any  other  etymology  for 
the  word. 


46 


CHANCELLOES  FEOM   THE 


CHAP. 
II. 


Hiscbarac< 
ter. 


rciffn  of  the  Confessor  there  was  the  most  familiar  inter- 
course  between  England  and  Normandy ;  the  French  language 
was  spoken  at  his  Court  *,  and  many  Normans  were  employed 
by  him.  Of  these  Herman  was  one  of  the  most  favoured,  and 
he  is  supposed  to  have  assisted  in  the  artifices  which  his  native 
prince  resorted  to  for  the  purpose  of  being  designated  heir  to 
the  crown  of  England,  in  derogation  of  the  rights  of  the  true 
representative  of  the  line  of  Cerdic,  and  of  the  claims  of 
Harold,  who  aspired  to  be  the  founder  of  a  new  Saxon 
dynasty.  Immediately  after  the  battle  of  Hastings  he  sent 
in  his  adhesion  to  William,  and  he  steadily  supported  him  in 
the  protracted  struggle  which  took  place  before  the  Norman 
yoke  was  imposed  upon  the  whole  of  England.  For  reasons 
not  explained  to  us,  he  wished  to  remove  his  episcopal  see 
from  Sherborne  to  Old  Sarum,  which  has  been  so  often 
talked  of  as  a  decayed  borough,  but  which  William  of  Malmes- 
bury  describes  as  being  at  this  time  such  a  wretched  place, 
that  "a  miserable  commerce  was  carried  on  there  in  water." f 
He  was  gratified  in  this  whim,  and  his  services  were  farther 
rewarded  by  the  custody  of  the  Great  Seal. 

He  was  succeeded  by  William  Welson,  who  being  ap- 
pointed Bishop  of  Thetford  soon  gave  up  the  office  of  Chan- 
cellor, and  retired  to  the  discharge  of  his  spiritual  duties.  J 

The  Conqueror's  last  Chancellor  Avas  William  Giffard, 
who,  though  promoted  to  the  rich  See  of  Winchester,  eagerly 

He  was  a  very  dexterous  man,  who 
could  accommodate  himself  to  the  various  tastes  of  persons 
and  times.  Though  once  deprived  of  office  by  an  unexpected 
turn  of  affairs,  and  for  a  considerable  interval  baffled  in  his 
schemes  for  recovering  it,  he  at  last  contrived  to  be  rein- 
stated ;  and  he  was  Chancellor  under  three  successive  sove- 
reigns. 

He  was  not  incapable  of  giving  good  advice,  and  of  taking 
the  liberal  side  when  it  suited  his  interest.  Although  he  had 
heartily  concurred  in  the  oppression  of  the  Saxons  in  the 
early  part  of  William's  reign,  and  had  declared  that  they  were 


Welson. 


W.  GiF- 

FARU, 

Chancellor 

under  three  retained  the  Great  Seal 

reigns. 


♦  See  Thiery's  History  of  the  Norman  Conquest. 

t  De  Gest  Pont.  lib.  ii.  ^  Spel.  Gloss.  109. 


CONQUEST   TO   THE   REIGN   OF   HENRY  II.  47 

to  be  considered  aliens  in  their  native  land,  and  had  assisted     CHAP, 
in  the  measures  for  upsetting  English  law  and  extirpating 


the  English  language,  yet,  when  the  two  great  Earls,  Morcar 
and  Edwin,  appeared  still  formidable,  and  discontent  among 
the  natives  had  become  so  deep  and  general  as  to  threaten  a 
dangerous  revolt,  the  Chancellor  joined  with  several  other 
prelates  in  praying  that  the  conquered  people  might  be 
emancipated  from  some  of  the  galling  disabilities  which  had 
been  inflicted  upon  them,  and  he  induced  the  Conqueror  to 
restore  a  few  of  the  laws  of  the  Confessor,  which,  though 
seemingly  of  no  great  importance  for  the  protection  of  general 
liberty,  gave  extreme  satisfaction  by  creating  the  hope  of 
farther  concessions.  He  was  associated  with  Godfrey,  Bishop  a.d,  io87, 
of  Constance,  the  grand  Justiciar,  in  the  government  of  the 
country,  while  the  Conqueror  was  engaged  in  his  last  fatal 
campaign  against  the  French  King. 

When   Rufus   suddenly   presented   himself  in    England,   Conduct  of 
announcing  his  father's  death  and  claiming  the  crown,  GifFard  ^^^^^^^^ 
at  first  cordially  supported  him,  and  gained  him  the  good  Conqueror, 
will  of.  the  native  English  by  promises  to  them  of  good 
treatment  and  of  enjoying  the   licence  of  hunting  in  the 
royal  forests.     As  a  reward  for  his   services  he  was  con-  chancellor 
firmed  in  the  office  of  ChanceUor.     This,  however,  he  did  r^^"''''™ 
not  then  long  hold.     It  is  suspected  that,  thinking  he  dis- 
covered in  the  public  mind  a  strong  feeling  for  the  rights  of 
primogeniture,  and  influenced  by  the  promise  of  still  higher 
promotion   from   Prince   Robert,   he   was   engaged   in   the 
abortive  conspiracy  among  the  Barons  in  favour  of  that  un- 
fortunate prince.     Whatever  might  be  the  cause,  the  Great  Dismissed. 
Seal  was  taken  from  him,  and  he  was  relegated  to  his  see 
during  the  remainder  of  this  reign.     We  take  leave  of  him 
for  the  present. 

He  was  succeeded  by  a  man  more  unscrupulous  than  him-  a.v.  loss, 
self,  Robert  Bloet,  a  Norman  who,  with  several  brothers,  chancellor 
had  come  over  with  the  Conqueror.*  He  laughed  at  the  to  William 
conciliatory  policy  which  had  been  lately  adopted,  and  keenly 


*  The  family  still   subsists  in  Monmouthshire,   the  name  being  now  spelt 
Bluet. 


48 


CHANCELLORS  FROM   THE 


CHAP. 
IL 


Death  and 
character 
of  Bloet. 


abetted  the  King  in  all  the  arbitrary  proceedings  now- 
resorted  to  for  the  purpose  of  breaking  the  spirit  of  the 
English.  Although  in  high  favour,  he  could  not  obtain  a 
mitre  till  he  had  been  Chancellor  five  years,  and  then  he 
owed  his  promotion  to  a  dangerous  illness  with  which  the  King 
was  visited.  The  sees  of  Canterbury  and  Lincoln  had  been 
kept  long  vacant,  that  their  rich  temporalities  might  swell  the 
royal  revenue.  The  Keeper  of  the  King's  Conscience  had  in 
vain  pointed  out  to  him  the  impiety  of  this  practice,  till  his 
arguments  were  enforced  by  a  disease  which  left  the  royal 
spoliator  little  hope  of  recovery.  Now,  for  the  good  of  his 
soul,  he  bestowed  the  primacy  on  Anselm,  who  afterwards 
became  so  famous  a  champion  of  the  church,  and  Lincoln 
was  the  prize  of  the  Chancellor  himself.  But  there  was  still 
much  difficulty  in  getting  possession  of  the  see ;  for  no 
sooner  did  the  penitent  monarch  become  convalescent  than 
his  appetite  for  ecclesiastical  property  returned  in  full  force, 
and  it  was  only  on  the  condition  of  large  pecuniary  con- 
tributions that  he  would  accept  the  homage  of  the  new 
bishop.*  The  better  to  enable  him  to  support  these,  Bloet 
himself  set  up  as  a  wholesale  dealer  in  church  preferment, 
while  he  was  guilty  of  great  extorticai  in  his  office  of  Chan- 
cellor ;  and  he  became  famous  above  all  his  predecessors  for 
venality  and  oppression. 

Authors  difier  as  to  the  circumstances  of  his  end.  Some 
assert  that  for  his  crimes  he  was  thrown  into  prison  by  the 
King,  where  he  died;  while  others  circumstantially  state 
that  he  contrived  to  keep  the  King  in  good  humour  by  large 
presents;  that  riding  together  near  Woodstock,  the  Chan- 
cellor fell  from  his  horse  in  an  apoplectic  fit ;  and  that  being 
carried  into  the  palace,  he  presently  died,  the  King  lament- 
ing over  him.  Lord  Coke  dryly  observes  of  him,  "  that  he 
lived  without  love,  and  died  without  pity,  save  of  those 

*  «  Afterwards  repenting  himself  of  such  liberality  in  that  he  had  not  kept  it 
longer  m  his  hands  towards  the  enriching  of  his  coffers,  he  devised  a  shift  how 
to  wipe  the  bishop's  nose  of  some  of  his  gold,  which  he  performed  after  this 
manner.  He  caused  the  bishop  to  be  sued,  quarelinglie  charging  him  that  he 
had  wrongfuUie  usurped  certeine  possessions  together  with  the  citie  of  Lincoln, 
which  apperteined  to  the  see  of  Yorke.  Which  although  it  was  but  a  forged 
cavillation  and  a  shameful!  untruth ;  yet  could  not  the  bishop  be  delivered  out 
ot  that  trouble  till  he  had  paid  to  the  king  50001."— H.  Hollinsh.  ii.  34. 


CONQUEST   TO   THE   REIGN   OF   HENRY   II. 


49 


who  thought  it  pity  he  lived  so  long."  Yet  he  Is  not  CHAP, 
without  admirers;  he  was  of  agreeable  manners,  and  he 
softened  censure  by  an  ostentatious  disclaimer  of  principle,  so 
that  the  world,  seeing  that  he  was  not  so  profligate  as  he 
pretended  to  be,  gave  him  credit  for  some  portion  of  latent 
honesty.  By  one  writer  he  is  characterised  as  "  a  handsome 
man,  well  spoken,  and  of  a  serene  mind."  His  death  happened 
in  1090.* 

The  odium  which  Bloet  excited  was  much  softened  by  his  Flambard. 
successor.  Chancellor  Flambard,  —  a  monster  unredeemed 
from  his  vices  by  any  virtue  or  agreeable  quality.  His  ori- 
ginal name  was  Ranulphus  or  Ralfe,  but  he  afterwards  ac- 
quired the  nickname  of  Flambard  or  "  devouring  torch," 
which  stuck  to  him,  and  by  which  he  is  known  in  history. 
Of  the  lowest  origin,  he  reached  high  station  by  extreme 
subtlety  and  by  a  combination  of  all  sorts  of  evil  arts.  I  am 
sorry  to  say  he  is  the  first  practising  advocate  I  read  of  who 
was  made  Chancellor.  Having  begun  his  career  as  a  common 
informer,  he  took  to  the  practice  of  the  law,  and  being- "a 
pleader  never  to  be  daunted, — as  unrestrained  in  his  words 
as  in  his  actions,  and  equally  furious  against  the  meek  as 
the  turbulent  f,"  he  rose  to  great  eminence  both  in  the  civil 
and  ecclesiastical  courts.  Of  course  he  was  a  priest.  X  Bred 
in  Normandy,  he  was  familiar  with  the  language  as  well  as 
the  law,  now  introduced  into  England.  He  succeeded  in 
making  himself  useful  to  the  Ex-chancellor  Maurice,  Bishop 
of  London,  who  employed  him  and  introduced  him  at  Court. 
There  he  was  found  a  ready  and  efficient  instrument  of 
extortion  and  tyranny,  and  he  was  rapidly  promoted.  He 
first  acted  as  chaplain  and  private  secretary  to  the  King,  and  on 
the  disgrace  or  death  of  Bloet,  the  Great  Seal  was  delivered 
to  him.  His  ingenuity  was  now  sedulously  employed  in  Oppres- 
devising  new  methods  of  raising  money  for  his  rapacious  em-  p^^j^^ajd 
ployer.  The  liberty  of  hunting  was  circumscribed  by  addi- 
tional penalties ;  new  offences  were  created  to  multiply  fines ; 

•  Anglia  Sacra,  vol.  il.  694.  Hunt.  De  Contemptu  Mundi,  698.  Spel. 
Gloss.  109.  Or.  Jur.  1.  Turner's  History  of  England,  i.  406.  Lives  of  Chan- 
cellors, i.  4.     I'arkes,  22. 

■}■  William  of  Malmesbury. 

\  The  true  maxim  was  "  nuUus  causidicus  nisi  clericus." 


VOL.  I. 


E 


fiO 


CHANCELLOliS   FROM   THE 


CHAP. 

II. 


Plot 

against 

Flainbard. 


f  lis  pre- 
ferments. 


capital  punishments  were  commuted  by  pecuniary  mulcts, 
and  a  fresh  survey  of  the  kingdom  was  ordered  to  raise  the 
renders  to  the  Crown  of  those  estates  which  were  alleged,  to 
have  been  underrated  in  the  Eecord  of  Domesday,  and  to  dis- 
cover ancient  encroachments  on  the  royal  domains.*  Though 
a  churchman  he  openly  advised  the  King  to  apply  the  re- 
venues of  the  church  to  his  own  use.  So  greatly  was  Rufus 
delighted  with  these  services,  that  he  pronounced  Chancel- 
lor Flambard  to  be  the  only  man  who  to  please  a  master 
was  willing  to  brave  the  vengeance  of  all  the  rest  of  man- 

kind.t 

In  the  midst  of  the  ill-will  and  the  envy  which  the  Chan- 
cellor excited,  a  plot  was  laid  to  get  rid  of  him, — very  different 
from  the  intrigues  of  modern  times  resorted  to  for  the  same 
purpose.  Gerold,  a  mariner  who  had  formerly  been  in  his 
service,  set  on  by  rival  courtiers,  one  day  pretended  to  come 
to  him  as  a  messenger  from  the  Bishop  of  London,  and  pre- 
vailed on  him  to  step  into  a  boat  on  the  margin  of  the 
Thames,  that  he  might  visit  this  venerable  Prelate,  repre- 
sented to  be  lying  at  the  point  of  death  in  a  villa  on  the 
opposite  bank.  When  the  Chancellor  had  reached  the  middle 
of  the  river  the  boat  was  suddenly  turned  down  the  stream, 
and  he  was  soon  forcibly  taken  from  it,  put  on  board  a  ship, 
and  carried  out  to  sea.  The  intention  was,  that  he  should  be 
thrown  overboard,  but  fortunately  for  him,  before  this  was 
executed,  a  tremendous  storm  arose ;  a  superstitious  dread 
overtook  some  of  those  engaged  to  murder  him;  they 
quarrelled  among  themselves  ;  Gerold,  the  chief  conspirator, 
was  induced  by  entreaties  and  promises  to  put  him  ashore ; 
and  on  the  third  day,  to  the  amazement  and  terror  of  his 
enemies,  he  appeared  at  Court  with  the  Great  Seal  in  his 
hand,  as  if  nothing  extraordinary  had  happened. 

He  was  now  made  Bishop  of  Durham,  in  consideration  of 
a  present  of  1000/.  extracted  from  him  by  the  King,  who  had 


*  Hic  juvenem  fraudulentis  stimulationibus  inqulelavlt  Regem,  incitans  ut 
totius  Angha;  reviseret  descriptionem,  Anglicaeque  telluris  comprobans  iteraret- 
partitionem,  subditisque  reciderit,  tarn  advenis  quam  indigenis  quicquid  invsne- 
retiir  ultra  certam  dimcnsionem.      Ord.  Vital.  678. 

t  Malmes.  69.  158. 


CONQUEST   TO   THE   REIGN   OF   HENRY   II.  51 

been   taught  by   him    to  keep  ecclesiastical  benefices  long     CHAP, 
vacant,  and  then  to  sell  them  to  the  highest  bidder.  * 


According  to  some  authorities  Flambard  was  farther  ad- 
vanced to  the  offices  of  Treasurer  and  Grand  Justiciar,  but 
at  all  events  he  appears  to  have  held  the  Great  Seal  along 
with  his  other  employments  (whatever  they  were)  till  the  end 
of  this  reign. 

On  Rufus  coming  to  his  untimely  end,  the  indignation  of  Committed 
the  people  broke  out  against  his  obnoxious  minister ;  and  to 
satisfy  the  public  clamour,  Flambard  was  committed  to  the 
Tower  by  the  new  government.  Here  he  is  said  to  have  lived 
sumptuously  on  the  allowance  which  he  received  from  the 
Exchequer,  and  presents  which  were  sent  him,  till,  having 
lulled  the  vigilance  of  his  keepers,  he  contrived  to  escape.  In 
the  bottom  of  a  pitcher  of  wine  sent  to  solace  him  was  con- 
cealed a  coil  of  rope.  He  invited  the  knights  who  guarded 
him  to  dine  with  him  and  partake  of  the  wine ;  they  remained 
drinking  till  late  in  the  evening,  and  when  they  had  at  last 
reclined  on  the  floor  to  sleep,  the  Ex-chancellor,  with  the  aid 
of  this  rope,  let  himself  down  from  the  window*,  and  was 
received  by  his  friends,  who  conducted  him  to  the  sea-shore 
and  safely  landed  him  in  Normandy.  He  was  there  kindly  Exile  and 
entertained  by  Duke  Robert,  and  notwithstanding  his  many  Flambard. 
misdeeds,  and  the  perils  he  had  run,  he  was  afterwards  re-  a.d.  1105. 
stored  to  his  see,  and  he  peaceably  ended  his  days  in  his 
native  land.  A  month  before  he  died  he  caused  himself  to 
be  carried  from  the  castle  to  the  high  altar  of  the  Cathedral 
of  Durham,  and  there,  in  the  presence  of  the  clergy  and  lay- 
men of  rank  in  the  county,  he  began  with  many  groans  to 
repent  him  of  his  conduct  towards  the  church,  confessing  that 
his  proceedings  had  been  prompted  not  by  necessity  but  by 
the  purest  avarice.  After  this  confession,  he  proceeded  to 
make  restitution ;  and  the  charter  is  preserved,  sealed  on  the 
occasion  with  his  episcopal  seal,  by  which  he  restores  to  the 
monks  the  lands  of  which  he  had  deprived  them.  The  peni- 
tent language  of  this  charter  is  very  strong,  and  we  may 
hope  that  it  was  sincere :  —  "  Ea  omnia  qua?  els  voluntate  et 

*  This  window,  with  the  mullion  to  which  the  rope  was  attached,  may  still 
be  admired  by  antiquaries  in  the  Tower. 

E  2 


52  CIIANCELLOKS  FROM   THE 

CHAP,     cupiditate  mea  abstuleram,  sciatis  me  elsdem  in  perpetuum 
^^'        possidcnda,  mali  facti  poenitens,  et  mlsericordiam  quaerens, 
super  altare    Sancti    Cuthberti   per  annulum   reddidisse."  * 
Nevertheless  he  was  branded  to  all  posterity  as  "  the  plun- 
derer of  the  rich,  the  exterminator  of  the  poor,  and  the  con- 
fiscator  of  other  men's  inheritances."  f 
A.n.  1 100.        Henry  T.  was  no  sooner  placed  on  the  throne  by  the  means 
we  have  glanced  at  in  the  life  of  Lord  Chancellor  Maurice,  now 
GiFFARD,      Bishop  of  London  :f,  than  he  restored  the  Great  Seal  to  WiL- 
ciianceiior    lj^jj  Giffard,  BishoD  of  Winchester,  who,  from  the  infamous 

the  third  '  ^  ..„,.. 

time.  conduct  of  the  last  two  Chancellors,  an  spite  of  his  inconsist- 

encies and  want  of  steady  principle,  had  come  to  be  regarded 
with  some  respect ;  and  the  new  Sovereign  aimed  at  popu- 
larity by  this  appointment,  as  well  as  by  the  commitment 
and  threatened  punishment  of  Flambard. 

When  Duke  Robert  returned  from  the  taking  of  Jerusalem 
and  invaded  England,  claiming  the  crown  both  as  his  birthright 
and  under  the  agreement  with  Rufus,  it  was  generally  felt  that, 
from  his  incapacity  to  govern,  notwithstanding  his  personal 
bravery,  he  had  not  for  a  moment  any  chance  of  success, 
and  Lord  Chancellor  GifFard  adhered  steadily  to  the  youngest 
brother,  to  whom  he  had  sworn  allegiance.  He  continued  to 
hold  the  Great  Seal  under  him  for  six  years,  until,  after  the 
conquest  of  Normandy  and  the  imprisonment  of  Robert,  the 
formidable  dispute  broke  out  with  Anselm  respecting  inves- 
titures. GifFard's  feelings  as  a  churchman  outweighed  his 
gratitude  to  the  family  of  the  Conqueror,  and  the  leaning 
which,  as  Chancellor,  he  must  have  had  in  favour  of  the 
power  of  the  Crown.  He  took  a  decided  part  with  the  Pri- 
mate, and  re-echoed  the  words  of  Pascal,  the  Pope,  "  Priests 
are  called  gods  in  Scripture,  as  being  the  vicars  of  God; 
and  will  you,  by  your  abominable  pretensions  to  grant  them 
their  investiture,  assume  the  right  of  creating  them."  § 
A.D.  1107.  Henry  dismissed  him  from  the  office  of  Chancellor,  and 
andb.lnTi-  ^^"^*^^^  ^^^  ^^^  kingdom.  After  the  compromise  with 
mei.t  of       Anselm,  he  was  allowed  to  return  to  his  diocese,  but  he  was 

GilFard. 

Communicated  to  me  by  one  of  the  present  prebendaries, 
t  William  of  Malmesbury,  ^  Ante,  p.  42. 

§  Eadmcr,  p.  6 1 . 


CONQUEST  TO  THE  REIGN  OF  HENRY  II.  53 

never  restored  to  favour.      He  lived  some  years  in  tran-     CHAP, 
quillity,  and  dying  at  Winchester  was  buried  in  the  cathedral  ' 

there.  He  is  famed  for  having  built  the  palace  in  South- 
wark,  near  London  Bridge,  in  which,  for  many  centuries, 
the  Bishops  of  Winchester  resided  when  they  visited  the 
metropolis,  and  the  site  of  which  still  belongs  to  the  see.  He 
likewise  founded  a  convent  for  monks  at  Framley,  and 
another  for  nuns  at  Taunton.* 

On  the  dismissal  of  Giffard,  Henry  would  have  been  glad 
to  have  appointed  a  layman  for  his  Chancellor,  but  persons 
in  orders  only  were  then  considered  qualified  to  hold  the 
office.     He  selected  one  who,  though  a  priest,  had  not  yet 
received  much  preferment,  and  who  might  be  expected  to  be 
submissive  to  the  royal  will.     This  was  Roger,  afterwards  Roger, 
Bishop  of  Sarum,  who  was  of  obscure  origin  and  of  defective   Salisbury, 
education,  but  who,  from  his  parts  and  his  pliancy,  made  a  Chancellor, 
distinguished  figure  in  this  and  the  succeeding  reign. 

Roger  began  his  career  as  a  country  parson,  —  the  incum-  His  origin 
bent  of  a  small  parish  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Caen,  in  ^n^  history. 
Normandy.  The  story  goes,  that  Prince  Henry,  then  in  the 
employment  of  his  brother  Robert,  accidentally  entered  with 
some  of  his  companions  the  little  church  in  which  Roger  was 
saying  mass.  The  priest  recollecting  that  soldiers  do  not 
generally  like  long  prayers,  and  being  more  anxious  for 
favour  on  earth  than  in  heaven,  dispatched  the  service  with 
extraordinary  rapidity.  Whereat  they  were  all  so  well 
pleased  that  the  Prince  jestingly  said  to  him,  "  Follow  my 
camp,"  —  Avhich  he  did ;  —  and  this  was  the  first  step  in  the 
preferment  of  the  man  who  was  afterwards  Lord  Chancellor, 
Bishop  of  Salisbury,  and  Chief  Justiciar,  and  who  had  great 
influence  in  disposing  of  the  Crown  of  England. 

Henry  at  first  employed  him  only  as  chaplain,  but  as  he  Roger's 
kept  up  his  reputation  for  short  prayers  and  showed  other 
courtier-like  qualities,  though  he  was  rather  illiterate,  he 
was  appointed  private  secretary,  and  gained  the  entire  good 
will  of  the  Prince.  Since  the  commencement  of  the  present 
reign  he  had  been  a  sort  of  humble  dependant  at  court,  — 

*  Or.  Jur.  1.     Spel.  Gloss.  109.      De  Ge.stis  Pont.  lib.  i. 
E  3 


54 


CHAP. 

II. 


His  con- 
duct as 
Clianccllor. 


Made 
Chief  Jus- 
ticiar. 


A.v.  1120. 
Roger's 
couduct  on 
settlement 
of  the 
Crown. 


CHANCELLORS  FROM  THE 

generally  liked,  but  not  much  respected,  —  and  hardly  con- 
sidered fit  to  be  promoted  to  any  high  station.  Henry,  afraid 
of  clerical  pride  and  obstinacy,  —  in  his  present  difficulty  to 
find  a  pliant  priest,  conferred  the  Great  Seal  upon  him,  with 
the  title  of  Chancellor. 

Koger's  faculties  always  expanded  with  his  good  fortune. 
He  now  showed  much  dexterity  in  business,  and  executed  all 
the  duties  of  his  office  entirely  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  King, 
and  even  of  the  public.  Without  seeming  to  desert  the  in- 
terest of  his  order,  he  supported  the  royal  prerogative,  and 
he  was  mainly  instrumental  in  bringing  about  the  accommo- 
dation with  Anselm,  which  suspended  to  a  future  time  the 
collision  between  the  crown  and  the  mitre.  Henry  rewarded 
him  with  the  Bishopric  of  Salisbury,  and  grants  of  many 
manors. 

When  he  had  filled  the  office  of  Chancellor  for  some  years, 
he  resigned  it  for  the  still  higher  one  of  Chief  Justiciar  *, 
which  he  held  till  near  the  conclusion  of  this  reign.  He  was 
now  really  prime  minister,  although  the  title  was  not  yet 
known  in  any  European  monarchy,  —  and  during  the  King's 
residence  in  Normandy,  sometimes  for  years  together,  he 
governed  England  as  Regent. 

He  is  much  celebrated  for  his  skill  in  conducting  the  ne- 
gotiations respecting  the  succession  to  the  Crown  after  the 
melancholy  shipwreck  in  which  the  King's  only  son  perished. 
Matilda,  his  daughter,  married  first  to  the  Emperor  Henry  V., 
and  then  to  Geoifry,  Count  of  Anjou,  was  the  great  object  of 
his  affections ;  and  his  solicitude  now  was  that  she  might  suc- 
ceed him  in  all  his  dominions.  But  the  laws  by  which  the 
Crown  was  to  descend  were  then  by  no  means  ascertained. 
Although  Queen  Boadicea  had  ruled  over  the  Britons, — among 
the  Anglo-Saxons  no  female  had  mounted  the  throne:  the 
Salic  law  was  supposed  to  prevail  in  Normandy,  and  no  one 
could  say  whether  with  the  Norman  dynasty  it  was  to  be 
considered  as  transferred  into  England,  Supposing  females 
to  be  excluded  from  the  succession,  it  Avas  doubtful  whether 
the  exclusion  would  extend  to  a  male  derivins:  his  descent 


*   n.  Hunt.  lib.  vii.  p.  219. 


CONQUEST  TO  THE  REIGN  OF  HENRY  II.  55 

from  the  royal  stock  through  a  female.     Roger,  to  suit  his     CHAP. 
present  purpose,  now  laid  it  down  ex  cathedra  as  incontro- 


vertible doctrine,  "  that  the  Crown,  like  a  private  inheritance, 
should  descend  to  the  daughter  and  heiress  of  the  person  last 
seised ; "  and  he  was  greatly  instrumental  in  obtaining  from 
the  Barons  of  England  as  well  as  Normandy  a  recognition 
of  Matilda  as  successor  to  her  father  in  both  countries.  He 
even  succeeded  in  prevailing  upon  them  to  swear  fealty  to  her 
—  himself  setting  the  example. 

He  continued  in  high  favour  with  Henry  for  several  years ;   Dismissal 
but  afterwards  from  some  dispute,  the  nature  of  which  has  ".D.'^'nss. 
not  been  explained  to  us,  he  was  dismissed  from  the  office 
of  Chief  Justiciar,  which  was  given  to  De  Vere,  Earl  of 
Oxford. 

No  sooner  did  a  demise  of   the  Crown  take  place  than  a.d.  1135. 
Roger  forgetting  what  he  owed  to  the  late  King,  and  his  supports 
oath  to  Matilda,  and   listening    to   the    offers  of   her   rival  usurpation 
Stephen,   the  grandson  of  the  Conqueror  by  his  daughter, 
married  to  the  Count  of  Blois,  —  was  active  in  persuading  the 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury  to  give  the  royal  unction  to  the 
usurper,  and  influenced  many  of  the  Barons  to  declare  in 
his   favour,  on   the  new    constitutional   doctrine    which    he 
propounded,  "  that  males  only  could  mount  the  throne  of 
England,  but  that  a  male  might  claim  through  a  female."    He 
defended  his  consistency,  —  asserting  that  circumstances  only 
had  changed,  and  that  he  still  remained  true  to  his  principles. 

Stephen,  getting  possession  of  the  government,  Roger,  the 
Ex- chancellor,  was  rewarded  for  his  bad  law  and  his  perfidy 
first  with  the  Great  Seal,  and  then  with  the  office  of  Lord 
Treasurer.  He  was  now  in  all  things  highly  favoured  by  the 
new  king,  and,  under  a  licence  from  him,  erected  at  Devizes 
one  of  the  largest  and  strongest  castles  in  England,  where  he 
appears  to  have  displayed  a  sort  of  sovereign  state  and  in- 
dependence. 

Before  long  he  quarrelled  with   Stephen,  who  had   con- 
vened a  council  at   Oxford,  to  which  the  Bishops  were  all 
summoned.     Roger  refused  to  attend,  and  set  at  defiance  all 
the  threats  held  out  to  induce  him   to  submit.     A  strong   Roger  be- 
force  being  sent  against  his  castle  at  Devizes,  he  showed  a  i,'is^castle. 

£  4 


56  CHANCELLORS   FR03I   THE 

CHAP,     determination  to  hold  out  to  the  last  extremity,  and  he  would 
^''        probably  have  made  a  long  defence,  and  might  have  been 
rescued   by  the  assistance  of  other  turbulent  and  faithless 
Barons   if  an  expedient  had  not   been   resorted   to  which 
Surrenders,  strongly  marks  the  barbarous  manners  of  the  times.     The 
Bishop  had  a  natural  son,  to  whom  he  was  much  attached. 
The  King  having  got  possession  of  this  youth,  threatened  to 
hang  him  before  the  walls  of  the  castle,  in  his  father's  sight, 
unless  the  castle  were  immediately  delivered  up.    The  menace 
had  the  desired  effect,  and  the  Bishop  unconditionally  sur- 
rendered.    His   sacred  office   protected   him  from  personal 
His  death,    violence,  but  he  soon  after  fell  ill  of  a  quartan  ague,  and  died 

on  the  4th  of  December,  1139. 
His  career        We  havc  the  following  graphic  sketch  of  the  career  of  this 
brwimtm   Chancellor  from  William  of  Malmesbury.     «  On  the  3d  of 
ofMaimes-  the  idcs  of  December,  Roger  Bishop  of  Salisbury,  by  the 
"'^^'  kindness  of  death,  escaped  the  quartan  ague  which  had  long 

afflicted  him.  To  me  it  appears  that  God  exhibited  him  to 
the  wealthy  as  an  example  of  the  mutability  of  fortune,  that 
they  should  not  trust  in  uncertain  riches.  He  first  in- 
gratiated himself  with  Prince  Henry  by  prudence  in  the 
management  of  domestic  matters,  and  by  restraining  the  ex- 
cesses of  his  household.  Roger  had  deserved  so  well  of  him 
in  his  time  of  need,  that,  coming  to  the  throne,  he  denied  him 
nothing ;  giving  him  estates,  churches,  prebends,  and  abbeys ; 
committing  the  kingdom  to  his  fidelity ;  making  him  Chan- 
cellor and  Bishop  of  Salisbury.  Roger  decided  causes,  had 
the  charge  of  the  treasury,  and  regulated  the  expenditure  of 
the  kingdom.  Such  were  his  occupations  when  the  King 
was  in  England;  such,  without  an  associate  or  inspector, 
when  the  King  resided  in  Normandy.  And  not  only  the 
King,  but  the  nobility  —  even  those  who  were  secretly  stung 
with  envy  by  his  good  fortune,  and  more  especially  the  in- 
ferior ministers  and  the  debtors  of  the  King  —  gave  him 
almost  whatever  he  could  fancy.  Did  he  desire  to  add  to  his 
domain  any  contiguous  possession  ?  —  he  would  soon  lay  hold 
of  it  by  entreaty,  or  purchase,  or  force.  He  erected  splendid 
mansions  of  unrivalled  magnificence  on  all  his  estates. 
His  cathedral  he  dignified   to   the   utmost  with   matchless 


CONQUEST   TO   THE   REIGN   OF   HENRY   II.  57 

buildings  and  ornaments.     In  the  beginning  of   Stephen's     CHAP, 
reign   his    power    was    undiminished,    the    King    repeating  ' 


often  to  his  companions,  *  By  the  birth  of  God,  I  would  give 
him  half  England,  if  he  asked  for  it.  Till  the  time  be 
ripe,  he  shall  tire  of  asking  before  I  tire  of  giving.'  But 
Fortune,  who  in  former  times  had  flattered  him  so  long  and 
so  transcendently,  at  last  cruelly  pierced  him  with  scorpion 
sting.  The  height  of  his  calamity  was,  I  think,  a  circum- 
stance which  even  I  cannot  help  commiserating ;  —  that 
though  in  his  fall  he  exhibited  to  the  world  a  picture  of  such 
wretchedness,  yet  there  were  very  few  who  pitied  him ;  —  so 
much  envy  and  hatred  had  his  excessive  prosperity  drawn  on 
him  from  all  classes,  not  excepting  those  very  persons  whom 
he  had  advanced  to  honour."* 

The  precise  time  when  Roger  gave  up  the  custody  of  the  Other 
Great  Seal  in  exchange  for  the  office  of  Chief  Justiciar  is  not  lo^^ "f^ ' 
ascertained ;  and  there  is  much  obscurity  with  respect  to  the  Henry  I. 
Chancellors  after  him  during  the  remainder  of  the  reign  of 
Henry  I.     Waldric,  Godfrey  Bishop  of  Bath,  Herbert 
Bishop  of  Norwich,  Geoffrey  Rufus  Bishop  of  Durham, 
Ranulphus,    or    Arnulph,    and    Reginald    Prior     of 
Montague,  are  enumerated  in  different  lists  of  Chancellors, 
and  are  casually  noticed  by  different  writers  as  having  held 
the  Great  Seal  in  this  interval  f ;  but  the  superior  splendour 
of  Roger  of  Salisbury  threw  them  all  into  obscurity;  and 
little  is  known  respecting  any  of  them,  with  the  exception 
of  Geoffrey  Rufus  and  Ranulphus,  and  it  would  have  been 
Avell  for  the  memory  of  these  two  if  they  had  been  as  little 
known  as  all  the  rest. 

Geoffrey  Rufus  is  famous  for  being  recorded  as  the  Geoffrey 
first  that  openly  bought  the  office  of  Chancellor  for  money. 
There  was  an  ancient  legal  maxim,  "  Quod  Cancellaria  non 
emenda  est|,"  yet  the  Pipe  Roll  of  31  Henry  I.  states  that 
Geoffrey  Rufus,  Bishop  of  Durham,  purchased  the  Chancery   Bought 
from  the    King  for    3006Z.   13s.  4c/.,   a    sum  equivalent  to   cIlaTiccllor, 

*    Gesta  Reg.  Angl.  p.  637. 

t  Or.  Inst.  1.      Spel.  Gloss.  109. 

\  Tliis  probably  arose  from  the  semi-sacred  nature  of  the  office,  including 
the  care  of  the  king's  chapel  and  the  keeping  of  his  conscience,  so  that  the 
purchase  of  it  might  be  considered  to  savour  of  simony. 


58 


CHANCELLORS   FROM   THE 


CHAP. 
II. 


Ranul- 
raus. 


45,000/.  of  present  money*;  and  he  must,  no  doubt,  have 
been  guilty  of  much  extortion  and  oppression  to  indemnify 
himself  for  so  great  an  outlay.  From  the  fractional  sum  which 
the  Great  Seal  then  fetched,  we  might  almost  suppose  that  it 
had  been  put  up  to  auction  and  sold  to  the  highest  bidder. 
In  subsequent  reigns  we  shall  find  other  instances  of  its  being 
disposed  of  for  money ;  but  we  are  never  distinctly  informed 
whether  this  was  by  public  auction  or  private  contract,  f 

Of  Ranulphus  Henry  of  Huntingdon  relates,  that  from 
the  general  hatred  excited  by  his  misdeeds,  he  was  supposed 
to  have  come  to  his  end  by  a  special  visitation  of  Divine 
Providence.  The  King  having  kept  his  Christmas  at  Dunsta- 
ble, proceeded  to  Berkhamstead.  "  Here  there  was  a  manifesta- 
tion of  God  worthy  of  himself.  Ranulphus,  the  King's  Chan- 
cellor, had  laboured  under  sickness  for  twenty  years.  Never- 
theless, at  court  he  was  ever  more  eager  than  a  young  man 
after  all  manner  of  wickedness,  oppressing  the  innocent  and 
grasping  many  estates  for  his  own  use.  It  was  his  boast,  that 
while  his  body  languished  his  mind  was  still  vigorous.  As 
he  was  conducting  the  royal  party  to  his  castle,  where  the 
King  proposed  to  stay  some  time  as  his  guest,  and  he  had 
reached  the  top  of  a  hill  from  which  the  stately  structure 
might  be  descried,  —  while  he  was  pointing  to  it  with  great 
elation,  he  fell  from  his  horse,  and  a  monk  rode  over  him. 
In  consequence,  he  was  so  bruised  that  he  breathed  his  last 
in  a  few  days.  Ecce  quanta  superbia  quam  vilissirne,  Deo 
volente,  deperiit.''^  X 


*  Et  idem  Cancellarius,  viz.  "  Gaufridus  debet  MMMetvil.  et  xiijs.  et  iiijd. 
pro  sigillo."  This  is  the  most  ancient  roll  in  the  series,  and  for  many  years  was 
supprsed  to  belong  to  the  5th  Stephen.  But,  first,  Prynne  discovered  it  had  been 
wrongly  assigned,  and  fixed  it  to  the  18th  Henry  I.  : — then  Madox  (though  he 
always  quotes  it  as  5  Steph.  in  the  body  of  his  "  Exchequer  "),  in  a  learned  Latin 
"  Disceptatio,"  following  the  "  Dialogus  de  Scaccario,"  at  the  end  of  his  work, 
clearly  shows  that  it  belongs  to  Henry's  reign,  but  leaves  the  precise  year 
uncertain :  — lastly,  Mr.  Joseph  Hunter,  in  his  Preface  to  the  Roll  itself,  pub- 
lished by  the  Record  Commission,  proves,  without  the  possibility  of  a  doubt, 
that  the  Roll  is  that  of  31  Henry  1. 

i  Tlie  office  of  Common-law  Judge  was  likewise  venal.  The  same  year 
Richard  Fitz-Alured  fined  in  fifteen  marks  of  silver  that  he  might  sit  with 
Ralph  Basset  at  the  King's  Pleas,  «  Ricardus  filius  Aluredi  dabat  xxv.  marcas 
argenti  ut  sederet  cum  Radulfo  Basset  ad  Plaeita  Regis." — Mad.  Ex.  iv.  S. 

\  Hen.  Hunt.  lib.  vii.  p.  382.  The  last  reflection  is  too  quaint  for  trans- 
lation. 


CONQUEST   TO   THE   REIGN   OF   HENRY   II.  59 

We  shall  not  attempt  giving  any  further  details  respecting     CHAP, 
the  Chancellors  of  Henry  I.     It  is  to  be  regretted  that  the  ' 


accounts  of  them  which  have  descended  to  us  are  so  very 
scanty.  From  the  character  of  this  Sovereign,  who  was  not 
only  a  great  warrior,  but  the  brightest  wit  and  most  accom- 
plished scholar  of  his  age,  we  may  believe  that  those  who 
were  selected  by  him  to  hold  his  great  seal,  and  consequently 
to  be  in  constant  familiar  intercourse  with  him,  were  dis- 
tinguished by  their  talents,  acquirements,  and  agreeable 
manners.  We  should  be  particularly  glad  to  know  which 
of  them  was  the  author  of  the  Code  which  passes  under  the 
name  of  Henry  I.,  but  which  must  have  been  compiled  by  a 
jurist  under  his  orders,  —  a  work  so  useful  to  instruct  us  in 
the  manners  and  customs  of  the  times,  and  showing  the  broad 
distinction  still  made  between  the  English  and  the  Normans. 
But  though  the  names  of  these  functionaries  are  preserved  as 
having  filled  the  office  of  Chancellor,  dark  night  envelops 
their  history  and  their  character, 

AVhen,  on  the  usurpation  of  Stephen,  Roger,  Bishop  of  ad.  use. 
Salisbury,  had  by  his  treachery  to  the  family  of  Henry,  his   chancellor 
benefactor,  acquired  such  influence  with  the  new  Sovereign,   *°  ^'"S 
—  after  presiding  as  Chancellor  at  the  Convention  of  Estates  succeeded 
held  at  Oxford,  when  the  charter  was  passed  confirmino;  the  ^^  ^'^ 

•^  "  nephew 

liberties  of  the  church,  the  barons,  and  the  people,  —  he  Alex- 
bestowed  the  oflSce  on  his  nephew  Alexander,  and  made  a**^^*^- 
him  Bishop  of  Lincoln.* 

The  new  holder  of  the  Great  Seal  was  not  without  good  His  con- 
qualities  ;  but  it  is  said  that  having  been  brought  up  in  great  Chancellor. 
luxury  by  his  uncle,  he  had  contracted  an  inordinate  taste 
for  expence,  which  soon  brought  him  into  difficulty  and  dis- 
grace. Wishing  to  excel  other  chiefs  by  his  splendour  and 
his  largesses,  he  tried  to  supply  the  deficiency  of  his  own 
resources  by  preying  upon  others  who  were  in  his  power. 
Still  his  extravagance  exceeded  all  his  means  of  supplying  it. 
His  vanity  was  gratified  by  being  called  "the  Magnificent" 

*  1  Pari.  Hist.  5.  There  is  extant  among  the  archives  of  tlie  Dean  and 
Chapter  of  Exeter  the  original  of  the  famous  "  Charta  Stcphani  Regis  de  Li- 
bcrtatibus  Ecclesia;  Angllfe  et  Regni ; "  dated  at  Oxford,  Rcgni  mei  anno 
primo,  A.  D.  1136,  and  witnessed  "  Rogeuo  Cancellario." 


60  CHANCELLORS   FROM   THE 

CHAP,     at  the  Court  of  Kome.    He  went  thither  in  1 142,  and  again  in 
^^"         1 144,  with  a  view  to  settle  the  disputes  between  the  King  and 
the  Pope,  and  he  had  the  singular  good  luck  in  these  negotia- 
tions to  please  both  parties.     With  the  approbation  of  the 
King  he  was  appointed  legate  by  the  Pope,  with  power  to 
convene  a  Synod,  at  which  several  useful  canons  were  made 
to  repress  the  enormities  of  the  times.     He  made  a  third 
journey  to  the  Pope,  then  in  the  south  of  France,  where,  in 
the  month  of  August,  in  the  year  1147,  growing  sick,  as  was 
supposed  from  the  heat  of  the  climate,  he  returned  home  and 
died. 
Character         During  his  career  he  had  been  more  than  once  in  arms 
°^^^*-'^-      against  his  Sovereign.     Besides  founding  convents,  he  built 
three  strong  castles,  Banbury,  Sleford,  and  Newark.     These 
excited  the  jealousy  of  Stephen,  who  compelled  him  to  sur- 
render them,  and,  after  getting  possession  of  Newark,  this 
capricious  tyrant  for  some  time  detained  him  in  prison.  How- 
ever, he  was  speedily  restored  to  favour,  and  at  his  death  was 
denominated  "  Flos  et  Cacumen  Regni  et  Regis."* 
Roger  His  successor  as  Chancellor  was  the  natural  son  of  his 

Chancellor  "^^le  "  RoGER  THE  Great,"  Bishop  of  Salisbury.  This 
promotion  shows  strongly  the  power  and  influence  which  the 
family  had  attained ;  for  the  new  Chancellor  displayed  no 
personal  good  qualities  to  compensate  for  the  stain  on  his 
birth.  He  is  mentioned  by  the  monkish  historians  under  the 
name  of  "Roger  Pauper."  He  seems  neither  to  have 
possessed  the  wealth  nor  the  pliancy  of  his  father.  Taking 
part  with  the  Barons  who  held  out  their  castles  against  the 
King,  he  was  made  prisoner.  He  might  have  been  set  at 
liberty  if  he  would  have  changed  sides ;  but  this  he  constantly 
refused  to  do,  even  when  threatened  with  the  penalties  of 
treason.  As  a  singular  favour  he  was  allowed  to  abjure  the 
realm,  and  he  is  supposed  to  have  died  in  exile. f 
A.D.  ii4'j.  We  ought  here  to  mention  the  Chancellors  of  Queen 
Qiucn          Matilda.     Though  not  enumerated  by  historians  among  the 

31atil(ia.  •  p   T-i       1        1        1 

sovereigns  ot  JLngland,  she  was  crowned  Queen,  and  while 
Stephen  was  her  prisoner,  —  by  the  prowess  and  fidelity  of 

•   Hen.  Hunt.  lib.  vii.  p.  290.     Guil.  Neib.  1.  i.  c.  6. 
t  Ord.  Vit.  p]).  919,  920. 


BERT  her 
Chancellor. 


1151. 


CONQUEST   TO   THE   EEIGN   OF    HENRY   II.  61 

her  natural  brotlier,  Robert  Earl  of  Gloucester,  she  was  in  CHAP, 
the  enjoyment  of  supreme  power  throughout  the  greatest  part 
of  the  kingdom.  Making  the  city  of  Gloucester  her  me- 
tropolis, she  filled  up  all  the  great  offices  of  state  with  her 
adherents.  She  was  the  first  English  sovereign  that  ever  in- 
trusted the  Great  Seal  to  the  keeping  of  a  layman.  For  her 
Chancellor  she  had  William  Fitzgilbert,  a  knight  who  Fitzgu- 
had  gallantly  fought  for  her ;  and  she  granted  the  office  in 
reversion  to  Alberic  de  Vere,  Earl  of  Oxford,  to  be  held  by 
William  de  Vere  his  brother,  when  it  should  be  rendered  up 
by  William  Fitzgilbert. 

But  Stephen  was  released  from  prison,  and  after  a  pro-  a.d.  ii50, 
tracted  struggle,  being  successful  in  the  field,  this  grant  was 
nullified    by  the  arrangement  which  allowed  him  to  reign 
during  ms  life,  —  the  sceptre  on  his  death  to  descend  to  the 
issue  of  Matilda. 

There  are  three  other  Chancellors  of  this  reign  whose  Other 
names  have  been  discovered  by  antiquaries,  Philip,  Robert  i^^^^^f  ' 
de  Gant,  and  Reginald,  Abbot  of  Walden  * ;  but  every  Stephen, 
thing  respecting  them  is  left  in  impenetrable  obscurity. 
What  part  they  took  in  the  civil  war,  whether  they  mitigated 
or  aggravated  its  horrors,  and  whether  they  were  steady  to 
their  party,  or  changed  sides  as  interest  prompted,  must  re- 
main for  ever  unknown.  Of  this  disturbed  period  little  can 
be  learned  respecting  the  administration  of  justice  or  change 
of  laws.  The  contending  parties  were  both  exclusively 
Norman ;  the  descendants  of  the  conquered  were  equally 
oppressed  by  both,  and  no  one  had  yet  arisen  to  vindicate  the 
reputation  or  to  defend  the  rights  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race. 
The  darkest  hour  is  immediately  before  break  of  day,  and  the 
next  Chancellor  we  have  to  introduce  to  the  reader  was  of 
Saxon  origin ;  he  was  one  of  the  most  distinguished  men  of 
any  race  that  this  island  has  ever  produced,  and  he  is  now 
invoked  as  a  Saint  by  all  the  votaries  of  the  Romish  church. 
We  have  a  full  and  minute  biography  of  him  by  a  contem- 
porary who  was  his  kinsman,  and  the  various  events  of  his  life, 
which  make  a  conspicuous  figure  in  our  national  annals,  are 
as  well  known  and  authenticated  as  if  he  had  flourished  in  the 
eighteenth  century. 

*    Spel.  Glos.  109. 


C2 


BEIGN   OF    HENllY   II. 


CHAPTER   III. 


LIFE   OF   LORD   CHANCELLOR   THOMAS   a   BECKET. 


CHAP. 
III. 


Hen.  2. 
A.D.  1154. 


Parentage, 


King  Stephen  having  died  in  the  year  1154,  he  was  suc- 
ceeded by  the  son  of  Matilda,  the  first  of  the  Plantagenet 
line,  —  a  prince  for  vigour  and  ability  equal  to  any  who  ever 
filled  the  throne  of  England.  From  early  youth  he  had 
given  presage  of  his  discrimination  and  talents  for  govern- 
ment, and  one  of  the  first  acts  of  his  reign  after  his  arrival 
in  England,  was  to  appoint  as  his  Chancellor  the  lamous 
Thomas  a  Becket.* 

Gilbert  Beck  or  Becket,  the  father  of  this  most  extraor- 
dinary man,  was  of  Saxon  descent,  a  merchant  in  London, 
and  though  only  of  moderate  wealth  had  served  the  office  of 
sheriff  of  that  city.  His  mother,  whose  name  was  Matilda, 
was  certainly  of  the  same  race,  and  born  in  the  same  con- 
Story  of  dition  of  life  as  her  husband;  —  although,  after  her  son  had 
btfing'thT  become  chancellor  and  archbishop,  a  martyr  and  a  saint,  —  a 
daughter  of  romantic  story  was  invented  that  she  was  the  daughter  of  an 
Emir  in  Palestine ;  that  Gilbert,  her  future  consort,  having 
joined  a  crusade  and  being  taken  prisoner  by  her  father,  she 
fell  in  love  with  him ;  that  when  he  escaped  and  returned  to 
his  native  country,  she  followed  him,  knowing  no  words  of 
any  western  tongue  except  "  London  "  and  "  Gilbert ;  "  that 
by  the  use  of  these  she  at  last  found  him  in  Cheapside ;  and 
that  being  converted  to  Christianity  and  baptized,  she  became 
his  wife,  t 


an  Emir. 


*  We  are  not  informed  in  whose  custody  the  Great  Seal  was  between  the 
king's  accession  and  the  appointment  of  Becket. 

t  That  monkish  chroniclers  and  old  ballad-mongers  should  have  repeated  and 
credited  this  fable  is  not  surprising ;  but  I  cannot  conceal  my  astonishment  to 
find  it  gravely  narrated  for  truth  by  two  recent,  most  discriminating  and  truthful 
historians,  Sharon  Turner  and  Tliierry,  who,  while  they  were  enlivening,  one 
would  have  thought  must  have  had  some  suspicion  that  they  were  deluding  their 
readers.  Becket  himself,  in  an  epistle  in  which  he  gives  an  account  of  his 
origin,  is  entirely  silent  about  his  Syrian  blood ;  and  Fitzstephen,  who  describes 


THOMAS   a   BECKET.  63 

Thomas,   their  onh'-  child,  was  born  in  London   in   the     CHAP. 

•  •  TTT 

year  1119,  in  the  reign  of  Henry  I.     Being  destined  for  the 


Church,  his  education  was  begun  at  Merton  Abbey  in  Birthing. 
Surrey,  and  from  thence  he  was  transferred  to  the  schools  of  Education. 
London,  which  (making  ample  allowance  for  exaggerated 
praise)  seem  then  to  have  been  very  flourishing.*  He  was 
afterwards  sent  to  finish  his  studies  at  Paris,  where  he  not 
only  became  a  proficient  in  philosophy  and  divinity,  but  like- 
wise in  all  military  exercises  and  polite  acquirements,  and 
was  made  an  accomplished  cavalier.  One  great  object  of  his 
residence  in  Paris  was  to  get  rid  of  his  English  accent,  which 
was  then  a  mark  of  degradation  and  a  bar  to  advancement. 
When  he  returned,  it  might  well  have  been  supposed  from 
his  conversation  and  manners,  that  his  ancestor  had  fought  at 


himself  as  "  his  fellow-citizen,  chaplain,  and  messmate,  remembrancer  in  his  chan- 
cery, and  reader  of  papers  in  his  court,"  says  expressly  that  he  was  born  of 
parents  who  were  citizens  of  London.  I  should  much  sooner  expect  to  find  the 
statement  believed,  that  his  mother  when  with  child  of  him  dreamed  that  she 
carried  Canterbury  Cathedral  in  her  womb,  or  that  the  midwife,  when  she  first 
received  him  into  the  world,  exclaimed,  "  Here  comes  an  archbishop," — for 
which  there  is  uncontradicted  authority,  "  Eum  in  lucem  editum  obstetrix  in 
manibus  tollens,  ait,  Archiepiscopum  quendam  a  terra  elevavi." — Fitzst.  10. 
The  story  of  the  Emir's  daughter  first  appears  in  the  compilation  called 
Quadrilogus,  not  written  till  long  after.  Lib.  i.  c.  2.  There  has  been  a  suppo- 
sition equally  unfounded  recently  started,  that  Becket  was  of  the  Norman  race. 
See  Ed.  Rev.  CLXXIII.,  July,  1847,  p.  137.  His  Saxon  pedigree  appears 
from  all  contemporary  authorities. 

*  "  In  Lundonia  tres  principales  ecclesia2  scholas  celebreshabent  de  privilegio 
et  antiqua  dignitate.  Disputant  scholares,  quidam  demonstrative,  dialectice 
alii ;  hii  rotant  enthymemata  ;  hii  perfectis  melius  utuntur  syllogismis.  Qui- 
dam ad  ostentationem  exercentur  disputatione,  quas  est  inter  coUuctantes ;  alii 
ad  veritatem,  quas  est  perspectionis  gratia.  Oratores  aliqui  quandoque  orationi- 
bus  rhetoricis  aliquid  dieunt  apposite  ad  persuadendum,  curantes  artis  pra>cepta 
servare  et  ex  contingentibus  nihil  omittere.  Pueri  diversarum  scholarum 
versibus  inter  se  conrixantur ;  aut  de  principiis  artis  grammatic£B,  vel  regulis 
prasteritorum  vel  supinorum,  contendunt.  Sunt  alii  qui  in  epigrammatibus, 
rythmis  et  metris,  utuntur  veteie  ilia  trivial!  dicacitate;  licentia  Fescennina 
socios,  suppressis  nominibus,  liberius  lacerant ;  loedorias  jaculantur  et  scom- 
mata;  salibus  Socraticis  sociorum  vel  forte  majorum,  vitia  tangunt;  vel  mor- 
dacius  dente  rodunt  leonino  audacibus  dithyrambis.  Auditores,  multum  ridere 
parati, 

Ingeminant  tremulos  naso  crispante  cachinnos." 

— Descriptio  poluUgnam<B  civitatis  Limdonia:,  4.  Fitzstephen  is  equally  eloquent 
in  describing  the  sports  of  the  Londoners.  "  Plurimi  civium  delectantur, 
ludentes  in  avibus  coeli,  nisis,  accipitribus  et  hujusmodi,  et  in  canibus  mili- 
tantibus  in  sylvis.  Habentque  cives  suum  jus  venandi  in  Middlesexia,  Hert- 
fordsira  et  tota  Chiltra,  et  in  Cantia  usque  ad  aquam  Crayse,  p.  9.  But  he 
shakes  our  faith  in  all  his  narratives  by  asserting  that,  in  the  reign  of  Stephen, 
London  was  capable  of  sending  into  the  field  20,000  cavalry,  and  60,000  in- 
fantry, p.  4. 


g4  KEIGN   OF    HENRY   11. 

CHAP.     Hastings  under  the  banner  of  the  Conqueror,  and  that  his 

'"•       family  had  since  assisted  in  continuing  the  subjugation  of  the 

conquered  race. 

Holds  Like   Sir  Thomas  More,   one  of  his   most  distinguished 

office  under  gucccssors,  he  began  his  career   of  business   by  holding  a 

Sherjttof  '  ~  n      t         ^^^         'iy>      r-r  1  !• 

London.       situation  in  the  office  of  the  Sherift  ot  Liondon  ;  but  this  was 
not  at  all  to  his  taste,  and  he  soon  contrived  to  insinuate 
himself  into  the  good  graces  of  a  great  baron  of  Norman  blood 
resident  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  metropolis,  with  whom 
he  gaily  spent  his  time  in  racing,  hunting,  and  hawking,  — 
amusements  forbidden  to  the  Saxons. 
Patronised        His  next  patron  was  Theobald,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury, 
blid^'A*'  h    ^^^^  finding  him  a  youth  of  uncommon  parts,  and  captivated 
bisiiop  of      with  his  graceful  and  winning  address,  made  him  take  deacon's 
buTv.^*^'        orders,  and  conferred  upon  him  the  livings  of  St.  Alary  le  Strand 
andOthford  in  Kent,  with  prebends  in  the  cathedrals  of  London 
and  Lincoln.     His  ambition  for  high  preferment  was  now 
kindled ;   but  he  found   himself  deficient   in   a  knowledge 
of  the  civil  and  canon  law,  then  the  great  means  of  advance- 
ment both  in  church  and  state, —  and  he  prevailed  on  his  patron 
to  send  him  to  Bologna,  which  had  been  for  some  time  the 
most  famous  university  in  the  world  for  such  studies.     After 
residing  there  a  year,  attending  the  lectures  of  the  celebrated 
Gratian,  he  went  to  Auxerre  in  Burgundy,  where  there  was 
likewise  a  flourishing  juridical  school,  and  he  returned   to 
England  fully  qualified  for  any  situation,  however  exalted, 
to  which  fortune  might  raise  him. 
Made  He  was  now  promoted  to  the  archdeaconry  of  Canterbury, 

con^)f  Can-  ^^  officc  of  Considerable  trust  and  profit.  Displaying  great 
terbury,  talcuts  for  busiucss,  he  gained  the  entire  confidence  of  the 
primate,  and  was  employed  by  him  in  two  delicate  negotia- 
tions with  the  court  of  Rome.  The  first  was  to  recover  for 
the  see  of  Canterbury  the  legatine  power  which  properly 
belonged  to  the  primacy,  and  of  which  it  had  been  stript. 
This  point  he  carried,  to  the  great  delight  of  Theobald,  who 
attached  the  highest  importance  to  it. 
A.D.  1153.  The  next  was  a  matter  of  more  national  importance.  Not- 
withstanding the  solemn  treaty  between  Stephen  the  reigning 
king,  and  Henry  the  son  of  Matilda,  the  right  heir  to  the 


THOMAS  a   BECKET.  65 

crown.  Intrigues  were  going  on  to  defeat  the  succession  of  CHAP, 
the  Angevin  line,  and  a  plan  was  in  contemplation  to  have 
Eustace,  the  son  of  Stephen,  crowned  King  of  England  in  his 
father's  lifetime.  Theobald  and  the  majority  of  the  prelates 
remaining  true  to  their  engagement,  deputed  Archdeacon 
Becket  to  obtain  from  Pope  Eugenius  a  bull  against  any 
bishop  officiating  at  the  coronation  of  the  son  of  Stephen. 
This  mission  was  attended  with  considerable  difficulty,  for  Missions  to 
young  Henry  Plantagenet  had  already  shown  himself  hostile  ^''"'^• 
to  the  encroachments  of  the  papal  see,  and  there  was  an 
apprehension  of  danger  from  the  union  of  the  crown  of 
England  with  his  immense  continental  possessions,  extending 
from  Picardy  to  the  Pyrenees ;  —  and  one  of  the  cardinals 
who  favoured  Eustace  observed  to  Becket,  that  "  it  would 
be  easier  to  hold  a  ram  by  the  horns  than  a  lion  by  the  tail." 
But  Becket's  great  abilities  in  negotiation  proved  successful, 
the  intended  coronation  was  prevented,  and  on  the  death  of 
Stephen,  Henry  was  peaceably  proclaimed  king. 

The  new  Sovereign  was  then  in  Normandy.  On  his  arrival  a.d.  1 154.  i 
in  England  he  was  informed  by  Archbishop  Theobald,  who  chrnceibr 
crowned  him,  of  the  services  of  the  Archdeacon  of  Canterbury ; 
and  a  Becket,  then  the  handsomest  and  the  most  accomplished 
young  man  in  the  kingdom,  was  presented  to  him.  Henry 
was  at  once  captivated  by  his  appearance  and  his  agreeable 
acquirements,  and  soon  admitted  him  to  his  familiarity  and 
confidence.  The  future  Saint,  at  this  stage  of  his  career,  has 
incurred  the  suspicion  of  having  forgotten  what  was  due  to 
the  priestly  character  and  to  the  strict  rules  of  morality,  for 
the  purpose  of  securing  an  influence  over  the  dissipated 
Sovereign.  He  not  only  joined  him  in  military  exercises 
and  in  the  sports  of  the  field,  but  in  all  sorts  of  court 
festivities,  and  it  is  to  be  feared  in  revelries,  which  could 
only  be  palliated  by  the  habitual  licence  of  Norman  mannei's; 
although  some  of  his  biographers  stand  up  for  his  immaculate 
purity  in  the  midst  of  the  most  alluring  temptations. 

Archbishop  Theobald  was  at  first  the  King's  chief  favourite   Intimacy 
and  adviser,  but  his  health  and  his  influence  declining,  Becket  j^j*^      ^"""^ 
was  found  apt  for  business  as  well  as  amusement,  and  gra- 
dually became  intrusted  with  the  exercise  of  all  the  powers 

VOL.  I.  F 


—1157. 


$8  REIGN   OF   HENEY   II. 

CHAP,  of  the  crown.  He  received  the  wardenshlp  of  the  Tower  of 
"^'  London,  the  custody  of  the  castle  of  Berkhamstead,  and  a 
grant  of  the  honour  of  Eye,  with  the  service  of  140  knights. 
A.B.  1154  The  exact  time  of  his  appointment  as  Chancellor  has  not 
been  ascertained,  the  records  of  the  transfer  of  the  Great  Seal 
not  beginning  till  a  subsequent  reign,  and  old  biographers 
being  always  quite  careless  about  dates.*  But  he  certainly 
had  this  dignity  soon  after  Henry's  accession,  and  to  him  are 
ascribed  by  historians  the  restoration  of  the  laws  of  Henry  I., 
the  resumption  of  the  grants  by  Avhich  Stephen  had  im- 
poverished the  crown,  the  restoration  of  the  English  exiles 
who  had  fled  to  the  Continent  during  the  late  troubles,  and 
the  other  wise  and  liberal  measures  which  characterised  the 
commencement  of  this  reign.  While  he  continued  Chancellor, 
the  office  of  Grand  Justiciar  does  not  seem  to  have  been 
filled  up,  and,  except  the  King,  he  had  no  superior.  Tall  in 
stature,  with  a  placid,  handsome,  and  commanding  counte- 
nance, his  figure  pleased  the  eye  ;  while  his  subtle  reasonings, 
his  polished  elocution,  and  facetious  gaiety,  won  the  heart. 
His  loftiness  of  mind,  that  was  proud  and  ceremonious  with 
rank  and  power,  softened  into  affability,  gentleness,  and 
liberality  towards  his  inferiors  and  dependents.  Popularity 
being  his  passion,  he  studied  to  be  attractive,  and  he  knew 
that  the  condescensions  of  greatness  have  still  greater  in- 
fluence than  its  power,  f  He  was  the  first  to  give  the  office 
of  Chancellor  the  pre-eminence  and  splendour  which  have 
since  belonged  to  it. 

We  may  imagine  the  joy  of  the  Saxon  race  in  witnessing 
his  elevation.  For  nearly  a  century  they  had  been  treated  as 
aliens  and  serfs  in  their  own  country ;  no  one  of  Saxon  blood 
had  been  promoted  to  any  office  of  distinction,  civil,  military, 
or  ecclesiastical.  The  tradition  was,  that  the  Danish  dynasty 
established  by  Canute,  had  been  overturned  by  too  great 
leniency  being  shown  to  the  native  English:  and  William 
and  his  descendants  were  resolved  to  avoid  a  similar  error. 
The   Anglo-Saxon   language  was  proscribed  at    court:   the 

*    Spelman  makes  him  Chancellor  in  1 154,  and  Dugdale  not  till  1157. 
t   Gervase,  1668. 


THOMAS   a   BECKET.  67 

Normans  would  at  this  time  as  little  have  condescended  to     CHAP, 
learn  it  as  the  language  of  the  wild  Irish  whom  they  soon 


after  conquered;  and  every  opportunity  was  taken  to  show  a.i).ii54— 
contempt  for  the  dress,  the  habits,  and  the  manners  of  the   ^'^^'^^ 
subjugated  descendants  of  Hengist  and  Horsa. 

Becket  had  risen  by  acquiring  the  dialect  and  accomplish- 
ments of  the  dominant  caste,  but  he  was  too  noble-minded 
now  to  be  ashamed  of  his  origin :  he  proclaimed  his  lineage, 
and  professed  himself  a  protector  of  the  rights  and  liberties  of 
all  his  countrymen. 

It  is  doubtful  whether  at  this  time  the  Chancellor  had  any  His  duties 
separate  judicial  duties ;  but  we  know  that  Becket  sat  as  a  celior^"^" 
member  of  the  Supreme  Court  or  Aula  Regis ;  that  he  sealed 
all  the  King's  grants  with  the  Great  Seal ;  that  he  had  the  care 
of  the  royal  chapel;  and  that  he  acted  as  secretary  to  the 
King  in  domestic  affairs,  and  in  all  foreign  negotiations. 

Of  his  conduct,  habits,  and  demeanour,  while  he  continued   Fitzste- 
Chancellor,  we  have  a  very  graphic  and  trustworthy  account   count*  of" 
from  his  secretary;  —  and  instead   of  diluting  it,   after  the  his  habits, 
modern  fashion,  into   a  mixture  from   which    all    its   pun- 
gency and  raciness  would  evaporate,  I  think  I  shall  much 
better  convey  an  accurate  notion  of  the  character  of  the 
individual,  and  of  the  manners  of  the  times,  by  a  literal  trans- 
lation of  a  few  of  the  most  remarkable  passages  of  this  in- 
teresting work : 

*'  The  Chancellor's  house  and  table  were  open  to  all  of 
every  degree  about  the  court  who  wished  to  partake  of  his 
hospitality,  and  who  were,  or  appeared  to  be,  respectable. 
He  hardly  ever  sat  down  to  dinner  without  earls  and  barons 
whom  he  had  invited.  He  ordered  the  rooms  in  which  he 
entertained  company  to  be  daily  covered  during  winter  with 
clean  straw  and  hay,  and  in  summer  with  clean  rushes  and 
boughs  *,  for  the  gentlefolks  to  lie  down  upon,  who  on  account 
of  their  numbers  could  not  be  accommodated  at  the  tables,  so 
that  their  fine  clothes  might  not  be  soiled  by  a  dirty  floor. 
His   house  was  splendidly  furnished  with   gold    and    silver 


*   A  custom  which  continued  in  England  down  to  the  time  of  Erasmus,  and 
which  he  describes  in  nearly  the  same  words. 

F  2 


gg  REIGN   OP    HENRY   II. 

CHAP,     vessels,  and  was  plentifully  supplied  with  the   most  costly 

^^''       meats  and  wines. 
~~j^^       «  The  prime  nobility  of  England  and  the  neighbouring  king- 
1 157.  doms  sent  their  sons  to  be  servants  to  the  Chancellor.     He 

o-avc  these  young  men  handsome  entertainment  and  a  liberal 
education,  and  when  he  had  seen  them  duly  admitted  into 
the  order  of  knighthood  he  returned  them  back  to  their 
fathers  and  relations.  Some  he  retained  near  his  own  person. 
The  King  himself  intrusted  his  own  son,  the  heir  apparent  of 
the  kingdom,  to  be  brought  up  by  him,  and  the  Chancellor 
maintained  the  prince  with  all  suitable  honour,  together  with 
many  sons  of  the  nobility  of  the  same  age,  and  all  their  train, 
instructors,  and  servants. 

"  Many  nobles  and  knights  paid  homage  to  the  Chan- 
cellor, which  he  received  with  a  saving  of  their  allegiance  to 
the  King,  and  he  then  maintained  and  supported  them  as 
their  patron. 

"  When  he  was  going  beyond  sea  he  had  a  fleet  of  six  or 
more  vessels  for  his  own  use,  and  he  carried  over  free  of 
expence  all  who  wished  to  cross  at  the  same  time.  When  he 
was  landed  he  recompensed  the  masters  of  his  ships  and  the 
sailors  to  their  hearts'  content.  Hardly  a  day  passed  in  which 
he  did  not  give  away  magnificent  presents,  such  as  horses, 
hawks,  apparel,  gold  or  silver  furniture,  or  suras  of  money. 
He  was  an  example  of  the  sacred  proverb  :  —  Some  hountifully 
give  away  what  belongs  to  them,  and  still  always  abound  ;  while 
others  seize  what  does  not  belong  to  them,  and  are  always  in 
want.  So  gracefully  did  the  Chancellor  confer  his  gifts,  that 
he  was  reckoned  the  charm  and  the  delight  of  the  whole 
Latin  world. 

"  The  Chancellor  was  in  high  favour  with  the  King,  the 
clergy,  the  army,  and  the  people,  on  account  of  his  eminent 
virtues,  his  greatness  of  mind,  and  his  good  deeds,  which 
seemed  to  spring  spontaneously  from  his  heart.  Serious 
business  being  finished,  the  King  and  he  consorted  as  young 
comrades  of  the  same  station,  —  whether  in  the  palace,  in 
church,  in  private  society,  or  in  excursions  on  horseback. 
Story  of  "  One  cold  wintry  day  they  were  riding  together  through 

the  cimnl    ^^  Streets  of  London  when  they  observed  an  old  beggar-man 


THOMAS   a   BECKET.  69 

coming  towards  them,  wearing  a  worn-out  tattered  garment.  CHAP. 
Said  the  King  to  the  Chancellor,  *  Do  you  see  that  man?' — 
Chancellor.  '  I  see  him.' — King.  '  How  poor !  how  wretched !  cellor,  and 
how  naked  he  is !  Would  it  not  be  great  charity  to  give  him  the  beggar- 
a  thick  warm  cloak?' — Chancellor.  ^  Great  indeed ;  and  you,  a.d.ii54-. 
as  King,  ought  to  have  a  disposition  and  an  eye  for  such  'i^'^- 
things.'  Meanwhile  the  beggar  comes  up ;  the  King  stops, 
and  the  Chancellor  along  with  him.  The  King  in  a  mild 
tone  addresses  the  beggar,  and  asks  him  *  if  he  would  like  to 
have  a  good  cloak  ? '  The  beggar,  not  knowing  who  they 
were,  thought  it  was  all  a  joke.  The  King  to  the  Chancellor. 
— ^You  indeed  shall  have  the  grace  of  this  great  charity;' 
and  putting  his  hands  on  a  very  fine  new  cloak  of  scarlet  and 
ermine  which  the  Chancellor  then  wore,  he  struggled  to  pull 
it  off,  Avhile  the  Chancellor  did  his  best  to  retain  it.  A  great 
scufile  and  tumult  arising,  the  rich  men  and  knights  who 
formed  their  train,  in  astonishment,  hastened  to  find  out  what 
sudden  cause  of  contest  had  sprung  up,  but  could  gain  no 
information :  both  the  contending  parties  were  eagerly  en- 
gaged with  their  hands,  and  seemed  as  if  about  to  tumble  to 
the  ground.  After  a  certain  resistance  the  Chancellor  allowed 
the  King  to  be  victorious,  —  to  pull  oiF  his  cloak,  —  and  to 
give  it  to  the^  beggar.  The  King  then  told  the  whole  story 
to  his  attendants,  who  were  all  convulsed  with  laughter. 
There  was  no  want  of  offers  from  them  of  cloaks  and  coats  to 
the  Chancellor.  The  old  beggar-man  walked  off  with  the 
Chancellor's  valuable  cloak,  enriched  beyond  his  hopes,  re- 
joicing and  giving  thanks  to  God.* 

"  Sometimes  the  King  took  his  meals  in  the  dining-hall  of 
the  Chancellor  for  the  sake  of  amusement,  and  to  hear  the 
stories  told  at  his  table  and  in  his  house.  While  the  Chan- 
cellor was  sitting  at  table  the  Kino;  would  be  admitted  into 
the  hall  on  horseback,  sometimes  with  a  dart  in  his  hand, 
returning  from  the  chase  or  riding  to  cover ;  sometimes  he 
merely  drank  a  cup  of  wine,  and  having  saluted  the  Chan- 


*  It  is  impossible  not  to  admire  the  finesse  with  which  Fitzstephen  tells  this 
story,  particularly  the  courtly  acquiescence  of  the  Chancellor  after  a  proper 
resistance,  and  the  profusion  of  offers  of  coats  and  cloaks  to  the  Chancellor,  then 
the  favourite,  and  the  distributor  of  the  favours  of  the  Crown. 

F  3 


70 


REIGN   OF    HENRY   II. 


CHAP. 
III. 


His  con- 
duct as 
Chancellor. 


A.D.  1158. 
Becket 
tutor  to  the 
Prince. 


Becket's 
embassy  to 
PVance. 


cellor,  retreated  ;  sometimes  jumping  over  the  table  he  sat 
down  and  partook  of  the  banquet.  Never  in  any  Christian 
age  were  two  men  more  familiar  or  friendly." 

Becket  continued  Chancellor  till  the  year  1162,  without 
any  abatement  in  his  favour  with  the  King,  or  in  the  power 
which  he  possessed,  or  in  the  energy  he  displayed,  or  in  the 
splendour  of  his  career.  He  not  only  presided  in  the  Aula 
Regis  and  superintended  the  domestic  administration  of  the 
kingdom,  but,  when  the  necessities  of  the  state  so  required, 
he  himself  went  on  foreign  embassies,  and  led  armies  into  the 
field. 

The  King's  eldest  son  was  still  a  boy  and  a  pupil  of  the 
Chancellor,  to  whom  it  was  thought  that  his  education  might 
be  better  intrusted  than  to  any  other,  both  for  literature  and 
chivalry.  According  to  the  custom  of  that  time,  which  con- 
tinued for  centuries  afterwards,  it  was  usual  to  contract  mar- 
riage between  the  children  of  sovereign  princes  long  before 
they  reached  the  age  of  puberty,  and  Henry  the  son  of  a 
Count,  thought  it  would  add  to  the  splendour  of  his  family 
and  to  the  stability  of  his  throne,  if  his  infant  heir  were 
affianced  to  a  daughter  of  the  King  of  France.  To  bring 
about  this  alliance,  which  was  opposed  by  the  Emperor  of 
Germany,  Henry  proposed  that  the  Chancellor  should  him- 
self proceed  to  the  French  court,  and  he  at  once  accepted  the 
embassy. 

"  He  prepared,"  says  Fitzstephen,  "  to  exhibit  and  pour 
out  the  opulence  of  English  luxury,  that  among  all  persons 
and  in  all  things  the  Sovereign  might  be  honoured  in  his 
representative,  and  the  representative  in  himself.  He  took 
with  him  about  two  hundred  mounted  on  horseback,  of  his 
own  family,  knights,  priests,  standard-bearers  and  squires, 
—  sons  of  noblemen,  forming  his  body-guard,  and  all  com- 
pletely anned.  .AH  these,  and  all  their  followers,  were  fes- 
tively arrayed  in  new  attire,  each  according  to  his  degree. 
He  likewise  took  with  him  twenty-four  changes  of  raiment, 
almost  all  to  be  given  away,  and  left  among  the  foreigners  he 
was  to  visit.  He  carried  along  with  him  all  kinds  of  dogs 
and  birds  for  field  sports  used  by  kings  and  rich  men.  In 
his  train  he  liad  eight  waggons;   each  waggon  Avas  drawn 


THOMAS   a   BECKET.  71 

by  five  horses  equal  to  war  horses,  well  matched,  and  with     CHAP, 
imiforin  harness  ;   each  horse  was  taken  care  of  by  a  stout 


young  man  dressed  in  a  new  tunic.  Two  Avaggons  carried  ^  ^  ^j^g. 
nothing  but  ale  made  with  water  and  malt  *,  in  casks  fastened 
with  iron,  to  be  given  to  the  French.  The  furniture  of  the 
Chancellor's  chapel  filled  one  waggon,  his  chamber  another, 
his  kitchen  another ;  others  were  loaded  with  eatables  and 
drink  for  the  use  of  himself  and  his  train.  He  had  twelve 
sumpter  horses  ;  eight  carried  the  Chancellor's  gold  and  silver 
plate.  Coffers  and  chests  contained  the  Chancellor's  money 
in  good  store,  sufficient  for  his  daily  expenses,  and  the 
presents  which  he  meditated,  together  with  his  clothes, 
books,  and  articles  of  the  like  nature.  One  horse,  which 
preceded  all  the  rest,  carried  the  holy  vessels  of  his  chapel, 
the  holy  books,  and  the  ornaments  of  the  altar. 

"  Likewise  each  waggon  had  chained  to  it,  either  above  or 
below,  a  large,  strong,  and  fierce  mastiff,  which  seemed  able 
to  contend  with  a  bear  or  a  lion,  and  on  the  top  of  every 
sumpter  horse  there  was  a  monkey  with  a  tail,  or  an  ape, 
mimicking  the  human  countenance.  On  entering  the  French 
towns  and  villages  the  procession  was  headed  by  about  250 
young  men  on  foot,  in  groups  of  six,  or  ten,  or  more,  singing 
some  verses  in  their  own  tongue,  after  the  manner  of  their 
country.  Then  came  at  a  little  distance  harriers  and  other 
dogs  coupled,  together  with  their  keepers  and  whippers-in. 
Soon  after  the  waggons,  strengthened  with  iron  and  covered 
over  with  great  skins  of  animals  sewed  together,  rattled  over 
the  stones  of  the  streets :  at  a  short  distance  followed  the 


•  I  find  no  mention  of  hops  in  the  text,  and  I  suspect  that  the  ale  so  boasted 
of  was  only  the  ancient  Scandinavian  drink  described  by  Tacitus  as  "  a  corrup- 
tion of  barley,"  and  still  manufactured  in  Flanders  under  the  name  of  "  bierre 
blanche." — Some  say  that  hops  were  unknown  in  England  till  the  end  of  the 
reign  of  Henry  VIII.,  when  the  liquor  made  bitter  by  them  was  called  by  the 
new  name  of  "  beer."     Hence  the  popular  lines  — 

"  Hops,  Reformation,  Carp,  and  Beer, 
Came  to  England  all  in  one  year," 

According  to  Virgil,  the  northern  nations  knew  how  to  flavour  their  wort 
with  acids  : 

"  et  pocula  laeti 

Fermento  atque  acidis  imitantur  vitea  sorbis." 
F  4 


A.o.  1158. 


72  REIGN   OF   HENRY   II. 

CHAP,  sumpter  horses,  rode  by  their  grooms,  who  sat  upon  their 
^^'-  haunches.  The  Frenchmen  running  out  from  their  houses 
at  all  this  noise,  inquired  whose  family  can  this  he  ?  Being 
answered,  *  Behold  the  Chancellor  of  the  King  of  England 
going  on  a  mission  to  the  King  of  France,'  they  exclaimed, 
«  How  wonderful  must  be  the  King  of  England  himself  whose 
Chancellor  travels  in  such  state  P 

"  After  the  sumpter  horses  followed  esquires  carrying  the 
shields  of  the  knights  and  leading  the  saddle  horses ;  then 
came  other  knights,  —  then  pages,  —  then  those  who  bore 
hawks, — then  the  standard  bearers  and  the  upper  and  lower 
servants  of  the  Chancellor's  household,  —  then  soldiers  and 
priests  riding  two  and  two  ;  — last  of  all  came  the  Chancellor, 
surrounded  by  some  of  his  friends. 

"  As  soon  as  the  Chancellor  landed  in  France,  he  sent 
forward  a  messenger  to  inform  the  French  King  of  his 
approach.  The  King  appointed  to  meet  him  at  Paris  by  a 
certain  day.  It  is  the  custom  for  the  French  Kings  to  purvey 
for  all  persons  coming  to  court  and  while  they  remain  there ; 
and  the  King  now  wishing  to  purvey  for  the  Chancellor,  by 
an  edict  published  by  him  at  Paris,  prohibited  all  persons 
from  selling  any  thing  to  the  Chancellor  or  his  people.  This 
coming  to  the  knowledge  of  the  Chancellor,  he  sent  on  his 
servants  to  St.  Denis  and  the  neighbouring  towns,  that, 
changing  their  dress  and  concealing  their  names,  they  should 
buy  for  him  bread,  flesh,  fish,  wine,  and  aU  eatables  in 
abundance,  and  when  he  entered  the  "  Hotel  du  Temple," 
which  he  was  to  occupy  in  Paris,  they  ran  up  and  informed 
him  that  he  would  find  it  supplied  with  provisions  fully  suffi- 
cient for  the  use  of  a  thousand  men  for  three  days. 

"  He  gave  away  all  his  gold  and  silver  plate  and  changes 
of  raiment,  —  to  one  a  robe,  to  another  a  furred  cloak,  to  a 
third  a  pelisse,  —  to  this  man  a  palfrey,  and  to  that  a  war 
horse.  Why  should  I  enter  into  further  particulars  ?  He 
won  favour  above  all  men.  He  successfully  completed  his 
embassy :  he  gained  his  object :  whatever  he  solicited  was 
granted  to  him. 

"  In  returning,  he  apprehended  and  lodged  in  prison  Vedo 


THOMAS   a  BECKET.  '      73 

de  la  Val,  an  enemy  of  the  King  of  England,  and  a  notorious     CHAP. 
public  robber."  * 


That  this  union  might  not  afterwards  be  broken  off,  and 
might  cement  a  good  understanding  between  the  two  coun- 
tries, —  according  to  the  treaty  which  the  Chancellor  had 
concluded,  Margaret  the  infant  princess  was  put  under  the 
care  of  a  Norman  baron,  who  was  to  superintend  her  educa- 
tion ;  and  her  dower,  consisting  of  a  great  domain  in  the 
Vexin,  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  Knights  Templars  till 
the  celebration  of  the  marriage. 

It  is  said  that  the  Chancellor  continued  zealously  to  cul-  a.d.  1159. 
tivate  peace ;  but  in  spite  of  his  efforts,  war  with  France  scutage^ 
became  inevitable.  The  duchy  of  Toulouse  had  belonged  to 
the  father  of  Eleanor,  who  had  been  married  to  the  King  of 
France,  and  being  divorced  from  him,  was  now  Queen  of 
England.  Henry  claiming  this  territory  in  her  right,  —  under 
some  pretence  Louis  insisted  that  he  was  entitled  to  dispose 
of  it,  —  and  both  parties  prepared  to  settle  the  dispute  by  an 
appeal  to  arms.  The  Chancellor,  with  his  usual  penetration, 
saw,  that  instead  of  the  feudal  militia,  who  were  to  fight  with- 
out pay  for  forty  days,  it  would  be  much  better  to  commute 
personal  service  for  a  pecuniary  contribution,  by  which  a 
regular  army  might  be  equipt  and  maintained.  He  therefore 
introduced  the  pecuniary  aid,  called  scutage,  of  3/.  to  be  levied 
on  every  knight's  fee ;  and  the  number  of  60,000  knights'  fees 
established  by  the  Conqueror  still  remaining,  he  thus  col- 
lected 180,000/.,  and  engaged  a  numerous  force  of  mercenaries, 
whose  attendance  in  the  field  was  to  be  extended  to  three 
months.  With  them  marched,  from  the  love  of  glory,  an 
illustrious  host,  consisting  of  English  Barons,  and  many  from 
Henry's  continental  dominions;  —  a  Prince  of  Wales, — 
Malcolm  King  of  Scotland,  and  Raymond  King  of  Arragon, 
to  whose  infant  daughter  had  been  affianced  the  King's  son, 
Richard,  afterwards  Coeur  de  Lion,  then  an  infant  in  his 
nurse's  arms.  But  of  all  who  composed  this  great  army,  the  Bccket's 
bravest  and  the  most  active  warrior  was  Lord  Chancellor  a  ""''t*""y 

prowess. 

Beckct,  who  had  enlisted  a  body  of  700  knights  at  his  own 

*    Fitzstephen. 


REIGN   OF    HENRY   II. 


CHAP. 
III. 


A.  n.  1159. 
Siege  of 
Toulouse. 


Single 
combat 
with  En- 
jlleran  de 
Trie. 


expense,  and,  marching  at  their  head,  was  the  foremost  in 
every  enterprise. 

Louis  was  shut  up  with  a  small  force  in  the  city  of  Toulouse, 
to  which  Henry  laid  siege.  Becket  represented  that  it  might 
easily  be  taken  by  assault,  oiFering  to  lead  on  the  storming 
party  himself,  and  it  is  generally  allowed  that  this  blow  might 
at  once  have  put  a  glorious  termination  to  the  war;  but 
Henry,  when  congratulated  on  the  prospect  of  having  in  his 
power  such  an  illustrious  captive,  conceived  conscientious 
scruples  against  offering  violence  to  his  liege  lord,  whom  he 
had  sworn  to  guard  and  protect.  The  Chancellor  laid  down 
for  law  that  the  King  of  France,  by  assuming  the  command 
there  in  person,  had  deliberately  put  himself  in  the  situation 
of  an  enemy  on  equal  terms  with  his  opponent.  During  this 
discussion  a  great  French  army  came  to  the  rescue  of  their 
King:  the  golden  opportunity  was  lost,  and  Henry  was  obliged 
to  retreat  Avith  the  bulk  of  his  forces  into  Normandy.  "  The 
Chancellor,  with  his  own  followers  and  the  single  aid  of  Henry 
of  Essex,  the  King's  Constable,  remained  to  preserve  the 
English  authority  in  that  quarter,  all  the  other  leaders  having 
refused  to  do  so.  Armed  with  helmet  and  coat  of  mail,  he 
afterwards,  with  his  own  brave  band,  took  three  very  strong 
castles  which  had  been  deemed  impregnable.  Nay,  more,  he 
crossed  the  Garonne  with  a  military  force,  attacked  the  enemy, 
and  having  established  the  authority  of  the  King  in  all  that 
province,  he  returned  triumphant  and  honoured."* 

In  a  subsequent  campaign,  the  Chancellor,  besides  700 
knights  of  his  own  family,  had  under  his  command  1200 
cavalry  and  4000  infantry,  whom  he  had  taken  into  pay,  for 
the  space  of  forty  days.  "  Each  soldier  serving  on  horseback 
received  from  him  three  shillings  a  day  to  provide  horses  and 
attendants,  and  was  entertained  at  the  Chancellor's  table. 
He  himself,  although  in  holy  orders,  encountered  Engleran 
de  Trie,  a  valiant  French  knight,  who,  in  full  armour,  rode 
furiously  against  him,  his  lance  in  the  rest: — the  priest  un- 
horsed the  knight,  and  made  prize  of  his  charger.  Of  the 
whole  army  of  the  King  of  England,   the   soldiers  of  the 


*   Fitzst. 


THOMAS   k   BECKET.  75 

Chancellor  were  always  the  first,  the  most  daring,  and  the     CHAP, 
most  distinguished  for  their  exploits,  he  himself  instructing 


them,  encouraging  them,  and  leading  them  on."* 

Peace  being  at  last  restored,  the  Chancellor  unbuckled  his  a.d.  iieo. 
sword,  again  put  on  his  robes  at  Westminster,  and  returned    . 'f  •■"  ." 

'     o  I  '  cial  merits. 

to  the  discharo-e  of  his  civil  duties.  His  administration  of 
justice  was  vigorous  and  impartial,  no  favour  being  shown  to 
Saxon  or  Norman,  to  layman  or  ecclesiastic.  Hitherto  he 
preferred  the  interests  of  the  Crown  to  those  of  his  own 
order. 

During  the  late  war  the  rich  prelates  and  abbots  of  the 
Norman  race,  whose  military  zeal  had  greatly  subsided  since 
they  could  no  longer  plunder  a  vanquished  people,  excused 
themselves  from  yielding  to  the  summons  to  serve  in  the  field, 
because,  said  they,  HoIt/  Church  forbade  them  to  shed  blood ; 
and  farther,  on  the  same  pretence,  they  refused  to  pay  the 
tax  substituted  for  personal  service,  which,  they  said,  was  in- 
directly violating  a  divine  precept.  But  the  Chancellor  over- 
ruled their  scruples,  and  compelled  them  to  pay  up  the 
arrears.  Upon  this  the  heads  of  the  Church  uttered  the  most 
violent  invectives  against  him.  Foliot,  Bishop  of  London, 
publicly  accused  him  of  plunging  a  sword  into  the  bosom  of 
his  mother,  the  Church ;  and  Archbishop  Theobald,  his  former 
patron,  threatened  to  excommunicate  him.  Becket  still 
showed  an  entire  indifference  to  ecclesiastical  censures,  and 
established  Henry's  right  to  personal  service  or  scutage  for 
all  the  lands  held  by  the  Church.  One  day,  at  a  meeting  of 
the  clergy,  some  bishops  affected  to  talk  in  high-flown  terms 
of  their  being  independent  of  the  royal  authority ;  but  the 
Chancellor,  who  was  present,  openly  contradicted  them,  and, 
in  a  severe  tone,  reminded  them  that  they  were  bound  to  the 
King  by  the  same  oath  as  men  of  the  sword,  "to  be  true  and 
faithful  to  the  King,  and  truth  and  faith  to  bear  of  life  and 
limb  and  earthly  honour." 

Some  have  supposed  that  Becket  all  this  time,  while  he  held  His  views 
the  office  of  Chancellor,  was  hypocritically  acting  a  part  to  tj^ns*"**^"' 
secure   Henry's   favour,  that  he   might   be  elevated  to  the 

•    Fitzst. 


76 


REIGN  OF   HENRY  II. 


CHAP. 
III. 

A.n.  1160. 


Conversa- 
tion with 
Prior  of 
Leicester. 


primacy,  with  the  premeditated  purpose  of  then  quarrelling 
with  the  King,  and  taking  part  against  him  in  the  contro- 
versies which  had  been  going  on  between  the  civil  and  eccle- 
siastical authorities.  But  notwithstanding  his  conversation 
with  the  Abbot  of  Leicester,  it  is  much  more  probable  that 
his  change  of  sentiments  and  policy  was  brought  about  by 
change  of  situation,  and  that  hitherto  he  had  served  the  King 
with  sincerity  and  zeal,  although  it  was  foreseen  by  those  well 
acquainted  with  his  character,  that  he  might  become  a  very 
dangerous  subject  if  placed  in  a  high  situation  independent  of 
the  Crown. 

It  would  appear  that  he  himself,  while  Chancellor,  and  a 
devoted  friend  and  servant  of  Henry,  had  a  presentiment 
of  his  future  destiny,  and,  we  may  believe,  an  earnest  desire 
to  avoid  it.  The  age  and  infirmities  of  Theobald  showing  that 
the  primacy  must  soon  be  vacant,  the  general  expectation  was 
that  the  Chancellor  would  succeed  to  it,  not  only  from  his 
extraordinary  merits  and  success,  but  such  being  the  usual 
course  of  promotion.* 

In  this  state  of  things,  Becket,  residing  at  St.  Gervas,  near 
Rouen,  fell  dangerously  ill ;  and  such  interest  did  his  con- 
dition excite,  that  he  had  a  visit  from  the  King  of  England 
and  the  King  of  France  on  the  same  day.  Afterwards,  when 
the  danger  was  over,  and  he  was  convalescent,  he  one  day  sat 
playing  at  chess  dressed  in  a  cloak  with  sleeves,  like  a  young 
courtier.  "  Aschatinius,  Prior  of  Leicester,  coming  from  the 
King's  Court,  then  in  Gascony,  entered  to  pay  him  a  visit, 
and  addressing  him  with  familiarity,  on  account  of  their  long 
intimacy,  said,— -'How  is  it  that  you  wear  a  cloak  with 
sleeves  ?  This  dress  is  fitter  for  those  who  go  a-hawking ;  but 
you  are  an  ecclesiastical  character, — one  in  individuality  but 
many  in  dignity — Archdeacon  of  Canterbury, — Dean  of  Hast- 
ings,—  Provost  of  Beverley,  —  canon  here  and  prebendary 
there, — nay,  the  proxy  of  the  Archbishop,  and  (as  the  report 
goes  at  Court)  archbishop  soon  to  be.'     To  this  speech  the 


*  Fitzstephen  in  describing  the  nature  of  the  office  of  Chancellor  says,  "  All 
ecclesiastical  preferments  are  disposed  of  by  his  advice ;  so  that,  by  God's  grace 
and  his  own  merits,  he  is  almost  sure  to  become  an  archbishop  or  bishop  if  he 
pleases." 


THOMAS   a   BECKET.  77 

Chancellor  made  answer,  among  other  things:  —  'Truly  I     CHAP, 
know  three    poor   priests  in  England,  any  one  of  whom  I  '___ 


would  rather  wish  to  be  promoted  to  the  primacy  than  myself; 
for  if  by  any  chance  I  were  appointed,  knowing  my  Lord  the 
King  previously  so  well,  I  should  be  driven  either  to  lose  his 
favour,  or  (which  Heaven  forefend !)  to  sacrifice  the  service  of 
God.'     Nevertheless  this  afterwards  fell  out  as  he  foretold."* 

In  April,  1161,  Archbishop  Theobald  died.     Henry  de-  a.d.  iisi. 
clared  that  Becket  should  succeed, — no  doubt  counting  upon   ^^^j^_  " 
his  co-operation  in  carrying  on  the  policy  hitherto  pursued  in  bishop 
checking  the  encroachments  of  the  clergy  and  of  the  see  of 
Home,    and    hoping    that   his    obsequious    minister,    uniting 
supreme   and   ecclesiastical   dignity,    the   remainder   of   his 
reign   would  be  characterised  by  internal   tranquillity  and 
harmony,  so  that  he  might  turn  his  undivided  attention  to 
schemes  of  foreign  aggrandisement. 

The  same  opinion  of  Becket's  probable  conduct  was  gene-  Objection 
rally  entertained,  and  a  cry  was  raised  that   "the  Church  apnoint-*^*^ 
was  in  danger."     The  English  bishops  sent  a  representation  ment  as 
to  Henry  against   the   appointment,  and  the  electors  long  on'^tjir  °^ 
refused  to  obey  his  mandate,  saying  that  "  it  was  indecent  ground  of 
that  a  man  who  was  rather  a  soldier  than  a  priest,  and  who  i,ostile  to 
had  devoted  himself  to  hunting  and  falconry  instead  of  the  the  Church, 
study  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  should  be  placed  in  the  chair 
of  St.  Augustine." 

Matilda,  the  King's  mother,  with  more  penetration  into 
character,  interfered  to  prevent  the  election  on  another 
ground,  and  warned  her  son  that  when  once  Becket  was 
independent  of  him,  being  consecrated  archbishop,  he  would 
turn  out  a  rival  and  an  enemy,  and  would  disturb  the  peace 
of  the  kingdom.  Henry's  eagerness  for  the  appointment  was 
only  inflamed  by  opposition,  and  he  resolved  to  carry  it  in 
spite  of  all  obstacles. 

Becket   himself  still   pretended   indiiference  or  aversion,    Foliot, 
occupied   himself  with  the    duties    of   Chancellor,  and  con-   Here*fbrd 
tinned  his  usual  courtly  life  and  secular  habits.     His  rival,   rival  of 
Gilbert  Foliot,  Bishop  of  Hereford,  a  prelate  from  his  youth 

*   Fifzst. 


78  KEIGN   OF   HENRY   II. 

CHAP.  upwai*ds,  of  rigid  morals  and  severe  demeanour,  who  was 
^"*  liimself  looking  to  the  primacy,  had  been  in  the  habit  of 
asserting  that  the  Chancellor  was  impatiently  watching  the 
demise  of  Theobald,  and  being  in  Normandy  when  he  heard 
of  that  event,  immediately  hastened  to  England  in  the  hope 
of  succeeding:  him.  The  ecclesiastics  with  whom  the  election 
was,  remaining  obstinate,  Becket  with  seeming  unconcern 
attended  to  business  at  Harfleur,  or  hunted  in  the  forests 
around  Rouen. 
An.  1162.  At  the  end  of  a  year  the  King,  determined  to  be  trifled 
with  no  longer,  communicated  to  the  Chancellor  at  Falaise 
that  he  must  prepare  for  a  voyage  to  England,  and  that  in 
a  few  days  he  should  certainly  be  Archbishop  of  Canterbury. 
It  would  be  difficult  to  analyse  the  feelings  of  the  future 
Martyr  at  this  announcement.  He  probably  experienced 
a  glow  of  pleasure  at  the  near  prospect  of  greatness,  and  yet 
was  so  far  his  own  dupe  as  to  persuade  himself  that  he  was 
unwilling  to  have  it  thrust  upon  him.  His  biographer  in- 
forms us,  that,  casting  a  smile  of  irony  on  his  dress,  he  re- 
plied, —  "  that  he  had  not  much  the  appearance  of  an  arch- 
bishop, and  that  if  the  King  was  serious,  he  must  still  beg 
leave  to  decline  the  preferment,  because  it  would  be  im- 
possible for  him  to  perform  the  duties  of  the  situation  and  at 
the  same  time  retain  the  favour  of  his  benefactor," 

The  legate,  Henry  of  Pisa,  happening  to  be  present, 
assisted  in  combating  these  scruples,  and  Becket,  taking  an 
aifectionate  leave  of  the  King,  sailed  for  England,  agreeing 
to  be  consecrated  as  Primate  if  the  election  should  fall  upon 
him. 
Becket  On  the  3d  of  June,  1162,  the  prior  and  monks  of  Canter- 

A^ch-  bury,  with  the  suffragan  bishops,  assembled  at  Westminster, 

bishop  of  and  now,  with  one  exception,  concurred,  after  many  prayers 
bury,^i*i62.  ^"^  masscs.  In  electing  Becket  as  Archbishop.  The  dis- 
sentient was  Follot,  who  observed,  when  the  ceremony  was 
over,  that  "  the  King  had  worked  a  miracle  in  having  that 
day  turned  a  layman  into  an  archbishop,  and  a  soldier  into  a 
samt."  Many  of  the  nobles  who  happened  to  be  present 
testified   their   approbation  by   loud   applause,   and   Prince 


THOMAS   a    BECKET.  79 

Henry,  under  a  commission  from  his  father,  gave  the  royal     CHAP. 
assent  to  the  election. 


Down   to    this   time  Becket,   notwithstanding   his    many  ^  ^  jjg^ 
ecclesiastical  benefices,  was  only  in  deacon's  orders,  which   Becket 
were  then  supposed  to  be  consistent  with  most  of  the  pursuits   ^rch- 
and  habits  of  a  layman ;  but  he  was  now  ordained  priest  by  l>ishop. 
the  Bishop  of  Rochester,  and,  proceeding  to  Canterbury,  he 
was  consecrated  by  the  Bishop  of  Winchester,  assisted  by 
many  other  bishops.     He  was  enthroned  with  extraordinary 
solemnity.     The    ceremony    was    almost    as    pompous    as    a 
coronation,  all  ranks  being  eager  to  gratify  the  King,  and  to 
pay  court  to  the  favourite. 

The  universal  expectation  was,  that  Becket  would  now 
play  the  part  so  successfully  performed  by  Cardinal  Wolsey 
in  a  succeeding  age  ;  that.  Chancellor  and  Archbishop,  he 
would  continue  the  minister  and  personal  friend  of  the  King ; 
that  he  would  study  to  support  and  extend  all  the  prero- 
gatives of  the  Crown,  which  he  himself  was  to  exercise  ;  and 
that  in  the  palaces  of  which  he  was  now  master  he  would 
live  with  Increased  magnificence  and  luxury.  When  we 
judge  of  his  character,  we  must  ever  bear  in  mind  that  all  this 
was  easily  within  his  reach,  and  that  if  he  had  been  actuated 
by  love  of  pleasure  or  mere  vulgar  ambition,  such  would 
have  been  his  career. 

Never  was  there  so  wonderful  a  transformation.    Whether  Sudden 
from  a  predetermined  purpose,  or  from  a  sudden  change  of  ^^  Bec'kefs 
inclination,  he  immediately  became  in  every  respect  an  al-  character 
tered  man.     Instead  of  the  stately  and  fastidious  courtier,  juct, 
was  seen  the  humble  and  squalid  penitent.     Next  his  skin 
he  wore  haircloth,  populous  with  vermin  ;  he  lived  upon  roots, 
and  his  drink  was  water,  rendered  nauseous  by  an  infusion  of 
fennel.      By  way  of  further  penance  and  mortification,  he 
frequently  inflicted  stripes  on  his  naked  back.     Daily  on  his 
bended  knees  he   washed  the  feet  of  thirteen  beggars,  re- 
freshed them  with  ample  food,  and  gave  each  of  them  four 
pieces  of  silver.     He  wandered  alone  in  his  cloister,  shedding 
many  tears,  from  the  thought  of  his  past  sins,  and  his  great 
occupation  was  to  pray  and  read  the  Scriptures.     He  wore 
the  habit  of  a  monk  ;   and  the  monks,  astonished  at  the  sane- 


80  REIGN   OF   HENRY    II. 

CHAP,     tity  he  displayed,  already  talked  of  his  conversion  as  a  most 
"'■       evident  miracle  of  Divine  grace,  poured  out  upon  him  at  his 


A.D.  1162.    consecration. 

He  resigns  The  wouder  of  mankind  was  still  further  excited  by  the 
^^P'^^'^^  next  step,  which  he  speedily  took,  without  ever  consulting 
the  King,  or  any  previous  notice  of  his  intention  ;  he  sent  the 
Great  Seal  to  Henry,  in  Normandy,  with  this  short  message, 
"  I  desire  that  you  will  provide  yourself  with  another  Chan- 
cellor, as  I  find  myself  hardly  sufl&cient  for  the  duties  of  one 
office,  and  much  less  of  two." 

The  fond  patron,  who  had  been  so  eager  for  his  elevation, 
Avas  now  grievously  disappointed  and  alarmed.  He  knew 
Becket  too  well  to  believe  that  this  resignation  proceeded 
from  real  humility  and  dislike  of  temporal  power  ;  he  there- 
fore looked  upon  it  as  an  indication  of  a  higher  and  more 
dangerous  ambition,  believing  that  the  Archbishop  would 
have  continued  his  Chancellor  if  he  had  not  aspired  to  be- 
come his  competitor,  and  to  exalt  the  mitre  above  the  crown. 
He  at  once  saw  that  he  had  been  deceived  in  his  choice,  and 
that  the  worst  predictions  of  his  mother  were  likely  to  be 
speedily  verified. 

He  resolved,  however,  to  treat  the  Archbishop  with  pa- 
tience and  forbearance,  though  with  firmness,  and  that,  while 
he  showed  to  the  world  that  he  would  be  master  in  his  own 
dominions,  he  should  not  appear  the  aggressor  in  the  con- 
troversy which  he  anticipated.  He  therefore  still  allowed 
Prince  Henry  to  remain  under  the  tuition  of  the  Arch- 
bishop. 
The  King  The  two  old  friends  first  met  at  Southampton,  on  the 
meet  and  King's  retum  from  Normandy.  Becket  went  thither  to  do 
quarrel.  homage  for  the  temporalities  of  his  see,  and  was  received 
courteously,  though  coldly.  Having  intimated  his  incapa- 
city to  fulfil  the  duties  of  two  offices,  he  was  required  to 
resign  that  of  archdeacon  of  Canterbury,  which  was  of  great 
value,  and  which  he  wished  to  retain.  Here  the  King  had 
clearly  the  law  on  his  side,  and  he  succeeded.  But  Becket 
immediately  resolved,  by  an  appeal  to  the  law,  to  be  re- 
venged. On  the  ground  of  vindicating  the  rights  of  his  see, 
he  demanded  of  the  King  the  castle  and  town  of  Eochester 


A.D.    1163. 


THOMAS   a   BECKET.  81 

with  other  possessions  ;  —  of  the  Earl  of  Clare,  a  favourite  of    CHAP. 
the  King,  the  castle  of  Tunbridge,  —  and  of  other  noblemen 
various  other  properties,  which  he   alleged   had   once   be- 
longed to  the  church  of  Canterbury,  and  to  which  no  length 
of  time  could  ever  confer  a  title  as  lay  fee. 

How  far  he  might  have  been  able  to  establish  these  claims 
may  be  doubtful,  but  before  they  could  be  brought  to  a  legal 
inquiry  he  set  up  others  which  he  could  not  support,  and  the 
King  being  determined  to  curb  ecclesiastical  encroachments 
by  new  laws,  which  the  Archbishop  resolutely  resisted,  a 
fatal  rupture  took  place  between  them. 

William  de  Eynsford,  a  military  tenant  of  the  Crown, 
having  ejected  from  a  rectory  in  Kent,  the  advowson  of 
which  belonged  to  him,  a  priest  presented  to  it  by  Becket, 
was  immediately  excommunicated  by  him,  contrary  to  a  well 
established  law,  which  had  been  respected  ever  since  the  Con- 
quest, that  the  tenants  of  the  Crown  should  not  be  excom- 
municated without  the  Kinsf's  knowledge  and  consent. 
Henry,  by  a  messenger,  sent  him  orders  to  absolve  Eynsford, 
but  received  for  answer  that  it  belonged  not  to  the  King  to 
inform  him  whom  he  should  absolve  and  whom  excom- 
municate. After  many  remonstrances  and  menaces,  the  royal 
mandate  was  at  last  obeyed.  Henry  had  at  this  time  great 
advantages  in  asserting  the  royal  prerogative,  for  his  reputa- 
tion was  high  from  the  success  of  his  government  both  at 
home  and  abroad ;  his  barons  all  concurred  in  his  policy ; 
and  the  power  of  the  Church  was  weakened  from  there  being 
two  rival  popes ;  —  each  claiming  to  be  the  successor  of 
St.  Peter ;  —  one  under  the  title  of  Victor  IV.,  residing  at 
Rome,  and  patronised  by  the  Emperor ;  and  another  under 
the  title  of  Alexander  III.,  who  kept  his  court  in  France, 
protected  by  Louis  VII.  Henry  had  sent  in  his  adhesion  to 
the  latter,  but  with  significant  doubts  of  his  title.  Alexander, 
who  was  only  restrained  by  his  peculiar  situation  from  carry- 
ing the  pretensions  of  the  triple  crown  as  high  as  any  of  his 
predecessors,  looking  on  Becket  as  a  great  prop  of  his  power, 
had  received  him  with  high  distinction  at  Tours,  and  secretly 
abetted  him  in  all  his  designs. 

The  grand  struggle  which  the  Church  was  then  making   Struggh 

VOL.  I.  G  between 


82 


REIGN   OF    HENRY    II. 


CHAP. 
III. 

civil  ami 
ecclesias- 
tical autho- 
rity. 


Conference 
between 
tho  King 
and  the 
prelates. 


A.  I).  1164. 
Constitu- 
tions of 
Clarendon. 


was,  that  all  churcliracn  should  be  entirely  exempted  from 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  secular  courts,  whatever  crime  they 
might  have  committed.  A  priest  in  Worcestershire,  having 
about  this  time  debauched  a  gentleman's  daughter,  had  pro- 
ceeded to  murder  the  father.  On  a  demand  that  he  should 
be  delivered  up  and  brought  to  trial  before  the  King's  judges, 
Becket  insisted  on  the  privileges  of  the  Church,  —  confined 
the  criminal  in  the  bishop's  prison  lest  he  should  be  seized  by 
the  King's  officers,  —  passed  upon  him  merely  sentence  of 
degradation,  and  insisted  that,  when  degraded,  he  could  not 
affain  be  broufjht  to  trial  for  the  same  oftence. 

Henry,  thinking  that  he  had  a  favourable  opportunity  for 
bringing  the  dispute  to  a  crisis,  summoned  an  assembly  of 
all  the  prelates  at  Westminster,  and  himself  put  to  them 
thi.'  plain  question  :  "  Whether  they  were  willing  to  submit 
to  the  ancient  laws  and  customs  of  the  kingdom  ? "  Their 
reply,  framed  by  Becket,  was :  "  We  are  willing,  saving  our 
own  order.''^  There  v/as  only  one  dissenting  bishop  :  he  was 
willing  to  give  an  unqualified  answer  in  the  affirmative,  but 
Becket  sorely  upbraided  him  for  his  servility.  The  King, 
seeing  what  was  comprehended  in  the  reservation,  retired 
with  evident  marks  of  displeasure,  deprived  Becket  of  the 
government  of  Eye  and  Berkhamstead,  and  all  the  appoint- 
ments which  he  held  at  the  pleasure  of  the  Crown,  and 
uttered  threats  as  to  seizing  the  temporalities  of  all  the 
bishops,  since  they  would  not  acknowledge  their  allegiance  to 
him  as  the  head  of  the  state.  The  legate  of  Pope  Alexander, 
dreading  a  breach  with  so  powerful  a  prince  at  so  unseason- 
able a  juncture,  advised  Becket  to  submit  for  the  moment ; 
and  he  with  his  brethren,  retracting  the  saving  clause,  abso- 
lutely promised  "to  observe  the  laws  and  customs  of  the 
kingdom," 

To  avoid  all  future  dispute,  Henry  resolved  to  follow 
up  his  victory  by  having  these  laws  and  customs,  as  far  as 
the  Church  was  concerned,  reduced  into  a  code,  to  be 
sanctioned  by  the  legislature,  and  to  be  specifically  acknow- 
ledged by  all  the  bishops.  This  was  the  origin  of  the  famous 
"  Constitutions  of  Clarendon." 

We  Protestants  must  approve  of  the  Avhole  of  them,  for 


THOMAS   a   BECKET.  83 

they  in  a  great  measure  anticipate  the  measures  which  were  CHAP. 
taken  when  the  yoke  of  the  Church  of  Rome  was  thrown  oif 
at  the  Reformation;  but,  in  justice  to  Becket,  we  must  ^  ^  ng4 
acknowledge  that  they  were  in  various  particulars  an  inno- 
vation upon  the  principles  and  practices  which  had  long  pre- 
vailed. Not  only  did  they  provide  that  clerks  accused  of  any 
crime  should  be  tried  in  the  King's  courts ;  that  all  suits  con- 
cerning advowsons  and  presentations  should  be  determined 
according  to  the  course  of  the  common  law;  and  that  the 
clergy  should  no  longer  pretend  to  the  right  of  enforcing 
payment  of  debts  contracted  by  oath  or  promise,  whereby 
they  were  drawing  all  questions  of  contract  and  property 
before  their  tribunals ;  but  that  all  appeals  in  spiritual 
causes  should  be  carried  from  the  archdeacon  to  the  bishop, 
from  the  bishop  to  the  primate,  and  from  the  •primate  to  the 
king,  without  whose  consent  it  should  go  no  farther ;  that  no 
clergyman  should  leave  the  realm  without  the  King's  licence ; 
that,  on  a  vacancy,  the  revenue  of  episcopal  sees  should 
belong  to  the  Crown ;  that  the  members  of  each  chapter,  or 
such  of  them  as  the  King  might  please  to  summon,  should  sit 
in  the  King's  chapel  till  they  made  the  new  election  with  his 
consent ;  and  that  the  bishop  elect  should  do  homage  to  the 
Crown.* 

Under  these  constitutions,  Henry  would  have  disposed  of 
all  ecclesiastical  dignities  by  his  own  authority,  would  have 
prevented  all  appeals  to  Rome,  and  would  have  been  himself 
"  the  Head  of  the  Church."  Being  submitted  to  the  great 
council  called  at  Clarendon,  they  were  unanimously  and  joy- 
fully carried  by  the  barons.  The  prelates  were  then  called 
upon  individually  to  set  their  seals  to  them,  and  to  promise 
to  observe  them.  No  one  ventured  to  oppose  the  King's 
will,  except  Becket.     He  for  some  time  resolutely  refused  his 


*  One  of  the  articles  shows  that  the  right  of  sitting  in  the  House  of  Lords 
now  belonging  to  bishops,  and  greatly  prized  by  them,  was  originally  forced 
upon  them  at  a  time  when  they  thought  it  an  indignity  to  sit  in  any  assembly 
except  by  themselves,  as  a  separate  order  :  "  That  the  archbisliops,  bishops, 
and  otlier  spiritual  dignitaries  sliould  be  regarded  as  barons  of  the  realm,  should 
possess  the  privileges  and  be  subjected  to  the  burthens  belonging  to  that  rank, 
and  should  he  hound  to  attend  the  kiny  in  his  great  councils,  and  assist  at  all  trials, 
till  sentence  cither  of  death  or  loss  of  members  be  given  against  the  criminal." 

G   2 


REIGN    OF    HENRY    II. 


CHAP. 

III. 


A.o.  1164. 
Beckot 
swears  to 
Cunstitii- 
tions  of 
Clarendon. 


assent,  though  urged  to  compliance  by  prelates  as  well  as 
barons  of  the  greatest  authority  in  the  kingdom. 

What  follows  subjects  him  to  the  imputation  of  occasional 
weakness  or  duplicity,  and  disregard  of  the  sacred  obligation 
of  an  oath.  At  a  private  meeting  of  the  prelates,  Richard  de 
Hastings,  Grand  Prior  of  the  Templars,  throwing  himself  on 
his  knees  before  him,  and  with  many  tears  entreating  him 
that  if  he  paid  any  regard  to  his  own  safety  or  that  of  the 
Church,  he  shguld  yield,  he  exclaimed,  "  It  is  my  master's 
pleasure  that  I  should  forswear  myself,  which  I  resolve  to  do, 
and  to  repent  afterwards  as  I  may."  He  then  marched  at 
their  head  to  the  King,  and  took  an  oath,  "  with  good  faith 
and  without  fraud  or  reserve,  to  observe  the  Constitutions." 

They  were  immediately  sent  over  to  Pope  Alexander,  and 
it  was  hoped  he  would  ratify  them,  thinking  only  of  his 
recent  obligations  to  the  Sovereign  of  England;  but  he 
plainly  seeing  that  they  went  to  establish  the  independency 
of  England  on  the  papacy,  condemned  them  in  the  strongest 
terms,  abrogated  and  annulled  them,  absolved  all  who  had 
taken  an  oath  to  submit  to  them,  and  threatened  with  excom- 
munication all  who  should  presume  to  enforce  them. 

Becket,  who  had  been  overwhelmed  with  remorse  from  the 
moment  of  his  weakness,  followed  Henry  to  Woodstock  — 
some  think  with  the  intention  of  abdicating  the  primacy ;  — 
but,  not  being  able  to  obtain  an  interview,  and  being  en- 
couraged by  the  spirited  conduct  of  the  Pope,  he  resolved  to 
make  ample  atonement  for  the  offence  he  had  committed,  and 
from  this  time  to  his  death  showed  a  fortitude,  perseverance, 
and  self-devotedness,  which  have  never  been  surpassed.  He 
refused  to  exercise  any  part  of  his  archiepiscopal  functions 
till  he  received  the  special  pardon  and  absolution  of  the  Pope, 
and  proportioning  his  discipline  to  the  enormity  of  his  sup- 
posed offence,  he  redoubled  his  austerities  to  punish  himself 
for  his  momentary  consent. 

Much  less  with  a  view  to  his  own  safety  than  in  the  hope 
of  more  eflFectually  embarrassing  the  King  by  his  absence 
from  the  realm,  he  twice  attempted  to  cross  the  Channel ;  but 
was  driven  back  by  contrary  winds,  and  being  brought  into 


THOMAS   a  BECKET.  85 

the  royal  presence,  he  was  asked  by  Henry  "if  he  thought     CHAP, 
that  one  island  could  not  hold  them  both  ?" 


A  great  council  was  called  at  Northampton,  where  Henry  ^  ,,  hq^ 
planned  to  accomplish  the  utter  destruction  of  his  competitor.    Great 
He  was  peremptorily  summoned  and  compelled  to  attend.    Northamp- 
When  seated  among  the  peers,  various  charges  were  brought  '*^"- 
against   him,  of  which  several  were   alleged  to  amount  to 
high  treason,  and  others  sought  to  make  him  accountable  for 
larger  sums  of  money  than  it  was  possible  for  him  to  repay. 

This  is  the  earliest  state  trial  of  which  there  is  any  account  Trial  of 
extant ;  and  we  have  a  very  minute  and  seemingly  very  ac- 
curate report  of  it.*     It  lasted  a  good  many  days,  the  court 
sitting  on  Sundays  as  well  as  week  days.     The  judges  were 
English  prelates,    and  Norman  as  well  as  English  barons. 
The  high  treason  consisted  in  the  Archbishop  not  having  ap- 
peared when  summoned  in  one  of  the  King's  courts,  although 
he  had  sent  four  knights  to  appear  for  him.     He  was  found   Found 
guilty,  and  his  person  being  admitted  to  be  sacred,  he  was  ^"'  ^' 
sentenced  to  forfeit  all  his  goods  and  chattels,  —  a  penalty 
commuted  for  a  fine  of  500/. 

Judgment  was  then  prayed  against  him  that  he  might  Further 
refund  300Z.  of  the  rents  which  he  had  received  as  warden  of  ^^°l^^  ' 
Eye  and  Berkhamstead.  He  coolly  answered  that  he  would  against 
pay  it ;  for  although  he  had  expended  a  larger  sum  in  repairs, 
money  should  never  prove  a  cause  of  dissension  between  him 
and  his  Sovereign.  The  next  item  was  500/.  alleged  to  have 
been  advanced  to  him  when  he  was  Chancellor,  and  lay 
before  Toulouse.  He  maintained  that  it  was  a  gift,  but  he 
was  obliged  to  give  sureties  for  the  amount.  Then  followed 
a  demand  which  testified  a  total  disregard  of  justice,  and  a 
fixed  determination  to  ruin  him  —  44,000  marks  alleged  to 
have  been  received  from  vacant  bishoprics  and  abbeys  during 
his  chancellorship.  He  pleaded  that  he  had  been  publicly 
released  of  all  such  obligations  under  the  King's  authority, 
by  the  Earl  of  Leicester  and  the  Prince  when  he  was  con- 
secrated, and  that  it  was  well  known  that  he  had  spent  all 
these  sums  in  the  public  service.     His  plea  Avas  overruled. 

*   St.  Tr.  vol.  i.  p.  1. 

G    3 


86  REIGN   OF    HENRY   II. 

CHAP.     The  object  was  to  force  his  resignation,  and  Foliot  strongly 
^"-        (not  disinterestedly)  advised  him  to  yield  ;  but  he  would  now 


AD  1164      sooner  submit  to  martyrdom. 

The  following  morning,  having  first  celebrated  the 
mass  of  St.  Stephen  with  the  office  beginning  "  Princes 
sat  and  spake  against  me,"  he  proceeded  to  Court,  arrayed 
in  his  pontifical  robes,  and  bearing  in  his  hand  the  archi- 
episcopal  cross.  The  King,  astonished  at  this  parade, 
retired  with  the  barons  into  an  inner  apartment,  and 
was  soon  after  followed  by  the  bishops.  Becket  remained 
alone  with  his  attendants  in  calm  and  intrepid  dignity. 
Henry  used  the  most  violent  language  against  him,  in  which 
he  was  joined  by  his  courtiers.  Bloodshed  being  dreaded,  the 
bishops  came  to  him  in  a  body,  and  Hilary  of  Chichester  said 
to  him  in  an  upbraiding  tone,  "  You  were  our  primate,  but 
by  opposing  the  royal  customs  you  have  broken  your  oath  of 
fealty  to  the  King.  A  perjured  archbishop  has  no  right  to 
our  obedience."  "  I  have,"  was  his  only  reply.  The  bishops 
seated  themselves  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  hall,  and  solemn 
silence  long  prevailed.  At  length  the  door  opened,  and  the 
Earl  of  Leicester,  at  the  head  of  the  barons,  desired  him  to 
listen  to  his  sentence.  "  My  sentence ! "  interrupted  the  arch- 
bishop. "  Son  and  Sir  Earl,  hear  me  first;  you  know  with 
what  fidelity  I  served  the  King, — how  reluctantly,  to  please 
him,  I  accepted  my  present  office,  and  in  what  manner  I  was 
declared  by  him  free  from  all  similar  claims.  For  what  hap- 
pened before  my  consecration  I  ought  not  to  answer,  nor  will 
I.  Know,  moreover,  that  ye  are  my  children  in  God ;  neither 
law  nor  reason  allows  you  to  judge  your  father.  I  therefore 
decline  your  tribunal,  and  refer  my  quarrel  to  the  de'cision  of 
the  Pope.  To  him  I  appeal ;  and  shall  now,  under  the  pro- 
tection of  the  Catholic  Church  and  the  apostolic  see,  depart." 
As  he  slowly  withdrew,  some  courtiers  threw  straw  at  him 
which  they  picked  up  from  the  floor,  and  the  voice  of  one 
whom  he  recognised  called  out  to  him,  "  Traitor!"  A  feel- 
ing of  his  ancient  knightly  prowess  was  for  a  moment  excited, 
and  as  soon  suppressed.  Turning  round  he  rejoined,  "  Were 
it  not  that  my  order  forbids  me,  that  coxoard  should  repent 
of  his  insolence."     At  the  gate  the  populace  received  him 


THOMAS   a  .BECKET.  87 


with  acclamations,  and  he  was  conducted  in  triumph  to  his     CHAP. 
dweUino;. 


He  then  asked  permission  to  go  beyond  the  seas,  and  being  jj^  escapes 
told  that  he  should  have  his  answer  next  morning,  concluded  to  the  Con- 
that  a  plan  had  been  laid  to  assassinate  him  in  the  night. 
He  pretended  that  he  was  going  to  seek  sanctuary,  and  he  had 
a  bed  prepared  for  himself  in  a  church ;  but  this  was  only  to 
further  his  escape,  against  which  they  had  taken  great  pre- 
cautions. By  the  help  of  a  disguise  he  eluded  the  vigilance 
of  the  guards  stationed  at  the  north  gate  of  the  town,  and 
assuming  the  name  of  "  Brother  Christian,"  and  travelling 
as  a  pilgrim,  —  after  many  adventures  and  perils  he  reached 
Sandwich,  and  was  safely  landed  at  Gravelines. 

Forthwith  he  visited  the  King  of  France,  who  was  de- 
lighted to  receive  and  encourage  him,  as  an  instrument  to 
disturb  the  government  of  the  King  of  England.  He  next 
proceeded  to  Sens,  the  court  of  Pope  Alexander,  whose 
feelings  were  more  divided,  and  who  was  obliged  to  act  with 
more  caution.  The  Pontiff,  however,  although  he  was  un- 
willing to  incur  the  direct  hostility  of  Henry,  behaved  with 
generosity  to  the  illustrious  exile  who  had  suffered  so  much 
for  the  cause  of  the  Church.  Becket  having  resigned  his 
mitre,  on  the  ground  that  there  had  been  something  un- 
canonical  in  his  original  election,  was  immediately  reinstated 
by  him  with  the  archiepiscopal  dignity,  and  a  secure  resi- 
dence was  assigned  to  him  in  the  convent  of  Pontigny.  Here  Becket 
he  put  on  the  habit  of  a  Cistercian  monk,  and  for  some  years  fi^lte^jj^^the 
found  an  asylum ;  but  he  lived  in  state,  and  received  strangers  Abbey  of 
with  great  magnificence,  having  ample  funds  from  the  volun-  °"  '°"^' 
tary  contributions  of  his  admirers.  The  persecution  he  had 
undergone  had  made  all  his  errors  be  forgotten,  and  he  was 
now  high  in  the  favour  of  mankind.  With  general  applause 
he  compared  himself  to  our  blessed  Saviour,  who  had  been 
condemned  by  a  lay  tribunal,  and  who,  he  said,  "  was  crucified 
anew  in  the  present  oppressions  under  which  his  Church 
laboured."  He  still  pretended  to  be  the  spiritual  father  of  the 
King  and  all  the  people  of  England ;  propounded  the  doctrine 
that  kings  reign  solely  by  the  authority  of  the  Church,  and 
threatened  to  pronounce  sentence  of  excommunication  against 


88 


REIGN    OF    HENRY    II. 


CHAP. 
III. 

Measures 
of  the 
King. 


AD.  1167. 
Becket 
goes  to 
Rome. 


A.D.   1168. 


the  King,  whereby  his  subjects  would  be  absolved  from  their 
allegiance. 

Henry,  on  the  other  hand,  sequestrated  all  Becket's  pro- 
perty in  England ;  banished  his  servants  and  dependants,  to 
the  number  of  400 ;  suspended  the  payment  of  Peter's  pence ; 
made  overtures  for  an  alliance  with  the  Emperor  Frederic 
Barbarossa,  the  enemy  of  Alexander ;  and  indicated  an  inten- 
tion of  recognising  the  Antipope  Pascal  III.  as  the  true 
successor  of  St.  Peter. 

The  exiled  Archbishop,  being  forced  from  his  retreat  at 
Pontigny,  by  a  threat  of  Henry  to  confiscate  the  possessions 
of  all  the  Cistercian  abbeys  in  England,  took  shelter  some 
time  at  Sens,  and  afterwards  removed  to  the  city  of  Rome, 
of  which  Alexander  had  got  possession  on  the  death  of  Victor 
the  succeeding  Antipope.  In  this  interval  he  wrote  many 
letters,  which  are  still  extant,  to  support  his  cause, — some 
addressed  to  the  Pope,  some  to  the  English  bishops,  and 
some  to  Henry  himself,  whose  heart  he  attempted  to  touch  by 
addressing  him  in  a  very  different  strain  from  that  to  which 
they  had  been  accustomed  when,  as  boon  companions,  they 
had  both  rather  laughed  at  sacred  things.* 

The  English  nation,  and  even  the  English  clergy,  took  p%rt 
with  their  sovereign,  and  treated  the  primate  as  a  factious 
and  turbulent  demagogue,  who  was  looking  only  to  gratify 
his  own  vanity  and  to  aggrandise  his  own  power  f;  but  in  the 
continental  dominions  of  England  there  was  a  strong  dispo- 
sition to  regard  him  as  a  martyr  and   a  hero,  and   Henry 


•  Speaking  of  Henry's  supposed  persecution  of  the  Church,  he  says,  "  the 
Daughter  of  Zion  —  the  Spouse  of  the  great  King  —  is  held  captive  in  your 
hand." — Ep.  Beck.  lib.  iv.  ep.  63. 

t  This  appears  clearly  from  the  letters  addressed  to  him  which  are  preserved. 
Thus  writes  the  Bishop  of  Lisieux  ; — "  Some  think  that  your  struggle  does  not 
proceed  from  virtue  but  from  pride  ;  that  still  the  Chancellor  in  spirit,  you  are 
striving  that  none  should  resist  your  will ;  that  you  seek  to  make  the  diadem 
subordinate  to  the  Church,  and  that  you  hope  that  having  overcome  royalty,  your 
power  will  be  without  limit  or  control."  L.  i.  ep.  85.  So  the  clergy  in  an 
address  to  him,  after  ironically  reciting  his  pretences  to  piety,  they  advise  him 
to  continue  in  a  course  of  humility  and  charity,  and  abstaining  from  injury  and 
menaces,  to  advance  his  cause  by  patience,  meekness,  and  dependence  on  Heaven. 
"  Study  with  paternal  care  to  feed  the  sheep  committed  to  your  charge,  that  they 
may  have  life,  peace,  and  security."  Ibid.  John  of  Salisbury  wrote  him  a 
private  letter  in  a  still  severer  strain,  concluding  with  the  words,  "  Take  it  as 
you  please," — "  vos  accii)iatis  ut  placet,"  and  was  excommunicated  for  his 
pains — Ep.  31. 


THOMAS   a   BECKET.  89 

trembled  for  the  consequences  of  being  put  under  the  ban  of  chap. 
the  Church.  Alexander  now  could  afford  to  support  Becket 
more  openly,  and  conferred  legatine  powers  upon  him,  which 
rendered  him  more  formidable.  Had  England  alone  been 
concerned,  Henry  might  probably,  like  his  successor  of  his 
own  name,  have  entirely  thrown  off  the  yoke  of  Rome ;  but 
he  was  obliged  to  temporise;  for  the  Pope  and  Louis,  of 
whom  he  held  his  fair  provinces  in  France  as  liege  sovereign, 
were  stirring  up  a  most  formidable  resistance  to  his  authority. 

The  crisis  was  hastened  by  the  offence  taken  on  account  a.d.  ii69. 
of  the  coronation  of  Henry,  the  King's  son,  by  the  Arch-  J'Sl'*" 
bishop  of  York,  in  derogation  of  the  rights  of  the  see  of  son  by 
Canterbury,  and  in  the  teeth  of  a  papal  bull  enjoining  that  no  o/york  °^ 
Ena-lish  prelate  except  the  primate  should  officiate  at  this  against 

*  ^  r  r  Papal  bull. 

ceremony. 

Henry  saw  with  alarm  that  the  thunder  which  he  had  so 
long  feared  was  about  to  burst  upon  him,  and  he  was  ready 
to  resort  to  any  expedient  which  should  not  permanently 
disable  him  from  future  resistance,  for  the  purpose  of  now 
averting  the  storm.  Negotiations  were  repeatedly  attempted 
without  effect ;  —  the  King  in  the  terms  proposed  always  in- 
sisting on  a  salvo  to  "  his  royal  dignity," — and  the  Archbishop 
on  a  salvo  to  "  tlie  honour  of  God," — each  of  which  was  in- 
dignantly rejected  as  a  cloak  for  treachery.  Henry  tried  to 
gain  over  tlie  King  of  France  to  his  side,  by  an  appeal  to 
their  common  interests  as  sovereigns,  saying,  "  There  have 
been  many  Kings  of  England,  some  of  greater,  some  of  less 
authority  than  myself;  there  have  also  been  many  Arch- 
bishops of  Canterbury,  holy  and  good  men,  and  entitled  to 
every  sort  of  respect.  Let  Becket  but  act  towards  me  with 
the  same  submission  which  the  greatest  of  his  predecessors 
have  paid  to  the  least  of  mine,  and  there  shall  be  no  con- 
troversy between  us."  Louis,  struck  with  this  mode  of 
putting  the  case,  professed  to  condemn  the  primate,  but  was 
soon  again  carried  away  by  a  common  feeling  of  animosity 
to  Henry. 

At  last  it  was  agreed  that  the  King  of  England  and  the  A.n.  1170. 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury  should  have  a  personal  interview  j'"*^'^^'^*^ 
in  a  spacious  meadow  near  the  town  of  Fereitville,  on  the   Becket  and 


90  REIGN    OF   HENllY   II. 

CHAP,     borders  of  Touraine.     Henry  pretended  to  be  desirous  of  a 

^^^'        cordial  and  permanent  reconciliation,  but  still  fostered  secret 

^^^^  j^^      schemes  of  vengeance,  and  privately  took  an  oath  that  he 

Fert-itville.    would  stop    short  of  giving   the  Archbishop  "  the   kiss  of 

A.v.  1170.    pg^^^n  which,  like  eating  salt  with  an  enemy  among  eastern 

nations,  would  have  for  ever  prevented  him  from  executing 

or  being  privy  to  any  act  of  violence  against  him.* 

However,  they  met  with  apparent  cordiality.  As  soon  as 
Becket  appeared,  the  King  galloped  up  with  his  cap  in  his 
hand,  and  respectfully  saluted  him ;  and,  as  if  there  never 
had  been  any  difference  between  them,  addressed  him  with 
the  easy  familiarity  which  had  distinguished  their  foi'mer 
friendship.  Henry,  carrying  his  politeness  to  an  excess 
which  might  have  excited  the  suspicion  of  the  Archbishop, 
exclaimed,  "  As  for  the  men  who  have  betrayed  both  you  and 
me,  I  will  make  them  such  return  as  the  deserts  of  traitors 
require."  The  Archbishop,  probably  likewise  dissembling 
his  real  feelings,  —  as  if  melted  to  submission  and  tenderness, 
—  alighted  from  his  horse,  and  threw  himself  at  the  feet  of  his 
Sovereign.  But  the  King  immediately  raised  him,  and, 
holding  his  stirrup,  insisted  that  he  should  remount,  saying, 
"  In  short,  my  Lord  Archbishop,  let  us  renew  our  ancient 
affection  for  each  other."  Then  returning  to  his  attendants, 
he  observed,  "  I  find  the  Archbishop  in  the  best  disposition 
towards  me ;  were  I  otherwise  towards  him,  I  should  be  the 
worst  of  men."  The  articles  agreed  between  the  high  con- 
tracting parties  were,  —  That  the  King  should  restore  to  the 
Archbishop  the  possessions  of  the  see  of  Canterbury,  taking 
him  into  his  grace  and  favour, — and  in  mercy  make  amends 
to  that  Church  for  the  injury  it  had  sustained  at  the  late 
coronation  of  his  son:  —  in  return  for  which  the  King  was 
promised  love,  honour,  and  every  service  which  an  Archbishop 

*  We  have  a  lively  description  from  an  eye-witness  of  the  effect  produced 
upon  Henry  by  receiving  a  dispatch  disclosing  a  new  machination  of  the  arch- 
bisliop,  and  we  may  conceive  how  mucli  it  must  have  cost  him,  even  for  a  short 
time,  to  affect  moderation.  "  He  threw  his  cap  from  his  head,  imfastened  his 
belt,  cloak,  and  vest,  scattered  them  to  a  distance,  with  his  own  hand  tore  off 
the  silk  covering  from  his  l)ed,  and  began  to  gnaw  pieces  of  straw."  "  Pileum 
de  capite  projecit,  —  balteum  discussit,  pallium  et  vestes  longius  abjecit, — 
stratum  sericeum  quod  erat  supra  lectum  manu  propria  reraovit — et  coepit  stra- 
minis  masticare  festucas." — L.  i.  ep.  44. 


THOMAS   a   BECKET.  91 

could  render  in  the  Lord  to  his  earthly  Sovereign;  —  that     CHAp. 
the  Archbishop    should   return    to   England  to   resume  the 


exercise  of  his  sacred  functions,  and  that  the  King  should  ^  ^  ^^q 
furnish  him  with  a  sum  of  money  to  discharge  his  debts,  and 
defray  the  expenses  of  his  journey. 

Henry  was  then  asked  to  seal  the  compact  with  '"■  the  kiss  Peace  of 
ofpeace,^^  but  he  declined, — making  this  excuse: — "In  my 
own  country  I  will  kiss  his  face,  hands,  and  feet,  a  hundred 
times ;  but  now  let  it  be  postponed.  To  salute  him  in  Eng- 
land will  be  thought  an  act  of  favour  and  affection  ;  it  would 
look  like  compulsion  here." 

The  French  King  construed  this  refusal  as  a  proof  of  Henry  re- 
unextinguished  resentment,  and  counselled  Becket  not  to  Becket  the 
leave  France  ;  but  the  Archbishop  said  that  "  duty  called  *'«« »/ 
him  to  England,  whatever  perils  he  might  encounter."  After 
some  interval,  during  which  the  kiss  of  peace  was  studiously 
avoided  by  Henry,  Becket  took  leave  of  him  with  a  fore- 
boding mind,  emphatically  telling  him  he  was  afraid  he 
should  see  him  no  more.  Henry  exclaimed,  "  Do  you  take 
me  for  a  traitor?"  Becket  added  these  pathetic  words, 
which,  however  he  may  have  feigned  on  other  occasions,  he 
probably  spoke  with  sincerity :  "  Necessity  obliges  me,  in  the 
lowly  state  to  which  I  am  reduced,  to  revisit  ray  afflicted 
Church.  I  go.  Sir,  with  your  permission,  perhaps  to  perish 
for  its  security,  unless  you  protect  me.  But  whether  I  live 
or  die,  yours  I  am,  and  yours  I  shall  ever  be,  in  the  Lord. 
Whatever  may  befall  me,  may  the  blessing  of  God  fall  upon 
you  and  your  children !" 

Henry  promised  to  meet  him  at  the  sea- coast,  to  supply   iienry 
him  there  with  the  stipulated  pecuniary  aid,  and  to  accom-  ^'r^aks  ins 

.  .  engage- 

pany  lum  to  England ;  but  failed  in  all  these  promises,  and  ment. 
Becket  was  obliged  to  borrow  300/.  for  the  payment  of  his 
debts  and  expenses,  from  the  Archbishop  of  Rouen,  and  to 
embark  under  the  superintendence  of  John  of  Oxford,  with 
whom  he  had  had  a  personal  feud,  and  who  was  set  over  him 
as  a  spy. 

Finding  the  King  still  so  hostile,  he  determined  to  make   Bucket 

,1  ,      .  p   ,1  •      1  •  resolves  on 

the  most  vigorous  use  ot  the  weapons  now  m  his  own  power,   veno-eance. 
and  to  maintain  his  independence  and  ascendancy  to  the  last 


92 


KEIGN  OF   HENRY  II. 


CHAP. 
III. 

A.D.    1170. 


Becket  re- 
turns to 
England. 


Ileccption 
at  Canter- 
bury. 


extremity.  The  Pope,  before  he  heard  of  the  peace  of 
Fercitville,  had  issued  letters  of  excommunication  against  the 
Archbishop  of  York  and  the  Bishops  of  London  and  Salis- 
bury for  officiating  at  the  coronation  of  the  King's  son,  con- 
trary to  the  papal  bull.  Becket  having  received  these  letters, 
at  first,  for  the  sake  of  peace,  had  wisely  resolved  to  suppress 
them ;  but  in  a  fit  of  irritation  he  now  dispatched  them  to 
England,  before  himself,  by  a  trusty  messenger,  who  had  in- 
structions to  elude  the  search  for  bulls  from  Rome,  now 
strictly  made  at  all  the  outports,  and  who  succeeded  in  pub- 
lishing them  at  Canterbury,  so  as  to  give  effect  to  them 
according  to  the  canon  law.  The  three  excommunicated 
prelates  inveighed  against  the  Archbishop's  implacable  hatred 
of  his  opponents  and  unquenchable  thirst  for  agitation ;  they 
denounced  him  to  the  young  King  as  a  person  who  was 
coming  to  tear  the  crown  from  his  head ;  and  they  hastened 
to  Normandy  to  inflame  the  resentment  and  to  invoke  the 
vengeance  of  Henry. 

Becket  being  informed  that  it  would  be  dangerous  for  him 
to  land  at  Dover,  Avhere  the  castle  was  garrisoned  by  the 
King's  troops,  directed  his  ship  to  Sandwich,  then  a  port 
belonging  to  his  see,  where  he  was  sure  of  a  good  reception 
from  his  tenants.  After  he  had  disembarked  he  experienced 
some  rudeness  from  the  sheriff  of  Kent,  who  hastened  to  the 
spot  with  a  band  of  soldiers,  and  without  venturing  to  offer 
any  violence  to  him,  told  him  that  he  was  entering  the  land 
with  fire  and  sword,  that  he  had  excommunicated  the  Arch- 
bishop of  York  and  two  other  prelates  for  merely  doing  their 
duty,  and  that  unless  he  took  better  counsel  it  would  be 
safer  for  him  to  remain  in  foreign  parts.  The  Archbishop 
boldly  asserted  his  right  to  punish  the  prelates  for  dis- 
obedience to  their  canonical  superiors,  and,  denying  all  trea- 
sonable intentions,  expressed  his  resolution  to  defend  the 
liberties  of  the  Church. 

His  march  to  Canterbury  was  a  triumphal  procession. 
There,  to  honour  his  return,  banquets  of  unexampled  splen- 
dour were  prepared ;  the  cathedral  was  hung  with  silks  and 
precious  vestments,  and  as  he  walked  up  to  take  possession 
of  his  throne,  the  notes  of  the  organ  were  drowned  by  the 


THOMAS   a   BECKET. 


93 


sound  of  trumpets,  the  ringing  of  bells,  and  the  shouts  of  the     CHAP, 
multitude,  thrown  into  all  the  raptures  of  religious  enthusiasm.  ' 


Encouraged  by  this  expression  of  public  feeling,  he  made  a  ^d.  ii7o. 
progress  to  London,  intimating  that,  under  his  archiepiscopal  Visit  to 
and  legatine  powers,  he  there  meant  to  begin  his  visitations 
on  those  ecclesiastics  whose  conduct  had  been  uncanonical  in 
his  absence.  The  dignitaries  of  the  church,  who  had  taken 
part  against  him,  now  under  great  apprehensions,  expos- 
tulated with  him  for  disturbing  the  public  tranquillity. 
He  answered,  "that  the  peace  of  sinners  was  no  peace;  that 
the  Pope  had  sent  a  mandate  ordering  evil  peace  to  be 
broken ;  that  Jerusalem  in  her  wealth  and  self-indulgence 
might  think  she  was  at  peace,  but  that  the  Divine  vengeance 
was  hovering  over  her."  He  was  every  where  greeted  with 
the  loudest  acclamations  of  the  multitude,  who  believed  that 
he  had  been  persecuted,  and  among  whom  a  notion  very 
generally  prevailed  that  he  had  quarrelled  with  the  King  in 
standing  up  for  the  Saxon  race.  As  he  approached  South- 
wark  the  metropolis  was  emptied  of  its  inhabitants  —  the 
clergy,  the  laity,  men  and  women  of  all  ranks  and  ages  pour- 
ing forth  to  meet  him,  and  celebrating  with  hymns  of  joy  his 
triumphant  entrance. 

He  was  very  desirous  of  seeing  Prince  Henry,  over  whom.   Is  ordered 
as  his  pupil,  he  hoped  to  exercise  great  influence ;  but  the   Ca*nte*r°  ' 
King's   ministers,  who    carried    on  the  government   in    the  ^^u- 
Prince's  name,  became  alarmed,  and  sent  a  peremptory  order 
to  the  Archbishop  immediately  to  return  to  Canterbury,  and 
not  to  march  through  any  towns  or  castles  on  his  way  back. 
He    obeyed  —  travelling   privately  in  company  with  a  few 
knights,  to  protect  him  from  insult.     When  he  arrived  at 
Canterbury,  meeting  with  many  indignities  from  those  con- 
nected with  the  government,  he  had  a  presentiment  of  his 
fate :  he  told  his  clergy  that  the  quarrel  could  not  now  end 
without  effusion  of  blood,  and  he  wrote  to  the  Pope  that  the 
sword  of  death  hung  over  him,  but  that  he  was  ready  to  perish 
in  the  cause  which,  however  unworthy,  he  had  been  called  by 
Providence  to  support. 

On   Christmas    day,    celebrating    high   mass  himself,  and   Excommu- 
preaching  to  the  people,  he  took  occasion  to  say  that  one  of  "/,ree^^re 

latcs. 


94  REIGN   OF   HENRY   II. 

CHAP,     their  Archbishops  had  been  a  martyr,  and  that  it  was  possible 
'"■        they  might  have  another,  but  he  should  never  flinch  from  his 


A.n.  1170.    ^^^y  ;  ^"^^  ^^c  concluded  the  service  of  this  sacred  anniversary 
with  pronouncing  the  excommunication  of  the  three  prelates, 
with  all  the  energy  and  fierceness  which  could  be  engendered 
by  religious  fanaticism  and  personal  resentment. 
Dec.  L'9.  On  the  fourth  day  afterwards,  about  two  in  the  afternoon, 

Arr?val  at     entered  abruptly  the  Archbishop's  apartment  the  four  knights 
Canterbury  whosc  names  have  become  so  famous  in  the  martyrdom  of 
knights        St.  Thomas,    Reginald  Fitzurse,  William  Tracy,   Hugh  de 
sworn  to      Morvillc,  and  Richard  Brito.     They  had  been  present  at  the 
Becket.        court  of  Henry  in  Normandy  when,  on  the  arrival  of  the 
three  excommunicated  prelates  and  their  account  of  Becket's 
insolent  proceedings  in  England,  the  King  had  exclaimed:  — 
"  Of  the  cowards  who  eat  my  bread,  is  there  not  one  who  will 
free  me  from  this  turbulent  priest?" — Construing  this  ex- 
pression into  a  royal  licence,  or  recommendation,  or  command, 
they  bound  themselves  by  oath  to  return  to  England  and 
avenge  their  Sovereign.    To  avoid  suspicion  they  travelled  by 
separate  routes,  and  they  met  at  Saltwood,  near  Canterbury, 
the  residence  of  Robert  de  Broc,  a  baron  included  in  the 
excommunication,  to  axTange  their  operations.    Henry  was  not 
aware  of  their  departure,  and  sent  other  messengers  to  arrest 
Becket.     The  four  knights,  however,  having  collected  a  large 
military  force  from  the  neighbouring  castles,  entered  the  city 
of  Canterbury,  and  ordered  the  mayor  to  arm  the  citizens  and 
have  them  ready  for  the  King's  service.     He  hesitated,  sus- 
pecting their  design,  when  he  was  commanded,  as  he  valued 
his  own  safety,  to  keep  all  quiet  within  the  walls  whatever 
might  happen. 
They  enter       They  were  unarmed  when  they  appeared  before  the  Arcli- 
sence.  bishop,  and  seating  themselves  without  saluting  him,  they  first 

tried  to  gain  his  submission  by  intimidations,  and  in  the  King's 
name  ordered  him  forthwith  to  absolve  the  excommunicated 
prelates.  With  the  greatest  calmness  and  intrepidity  he  re- 
plied, that  the  Pope  alone  could  decide  the  case  of  the  Arch- 
bishop of  York ;  but  that  he  himself  would  absolve  the  others, 
on  condition  that  they  previously  took  the  accustomed  oath  of 
submitting  to  the  determination  of  the  Church.   "  From  whom 


THOMAS   a   BECKET.  95 

had  you   your   archbishopric?"  demanded  Reginald.     "Its     CHAP, 
temporals  from  the  King,"  said  Becket,  "  its  spirituals  from 


God  and  the  Pope."  The  barons  murmured,  and  gnashed  ^^  j,.  1170. 
their  teeth.  Becket,  still  undaunted,  said  to  them,  —  "  In 
vain  you  menace  me.  If  all  the  swords  in  England  were 
brandishing  over  my  head,  your  terrors  could  not  move  me. 
Foot  to  foot,  you  would  find  me  fighting  the  battle  of  the 
Lord."  It  so  happened  that  three  of  them  had  been  in  his 
service  when  he  was  Chancellor,  and  had  sworn  allegiance  to 
him.  Alluding  to  this  circumstance,  he  added,  in  a  tone  of 
tenderness,  "  Knowing  what  has  passed  between  you  and  me, 
I  wonder  that  you  should  threaten  me  in  my  own  house." 
"  We  will  do  more  than  threaten,"  cried  Reginald,  fiercely, 
—  and  with  his  accomplices  left  the  apartment.  They  then 
rushed  through  the  hall  to  the  fore-court,  where  was  stationed 
the  band  that  had  accompanied  them,  and  called  "  to  arms." 
Reginald  having  put  on  his  mail,  seized  an  axe,  and  began  to 
batter  the  gate  Avhich  had  been  shut  against  them. 

The  Archbishop's  attendants  were  in  an  agony  of  alarm  ;  Calm  and 
but  he,  neither  in  look,  tone,  or  gesture,  betrayed  the  slightest  condu^t'o'f 
symptom  of  apprehension.  In  this  moment  of  suspense,  the  Becket. 
voices  of  the  monks  singing  vespers  in  the  adjoining  choir  were 
heard,  and  it  being  suggested  that  the  church  offered  the 
best  chance  of  safety,  Becket  agreed  to  join  the  worshippers 
there,  thinking  that,  at  all  events,  if  he  were  murdered  before 
the  altar,  his  death  would  be  more  glorious,  and  his  memory 
would  be  held  in  greater  veneration  by  after  ages.  He  then 
ordered  the  cross  of  Canterbury  to  be  carried  before  him, 
and  slowly  followed  his  friends  through  the  cloister.  He 
entered  the  church  by  the  north  transept,  and  hearing  the 
gates  barred  behind  him,  he  ordered  them  to  be  re-opened, 
saying,  that  the  temple  of  God  was  not  to  be  fortified  like  a 
castle.  He  was  ascending  the  steps  of  the  choir  when  the 
four  knights,  with  twelve  companions,  all  in  complete  armour, 
burst  into  the  church,  their  leader  calling  out,  "  Hither,  to 
me,  ye  servants  of  the  King." 

As  it  was  now  dusk  the  Archbishop  might  have  retreated 
and  concealed  himself,  for  a  time  at  least,  among  the  crypts 
and  secret  passages  of  the  building,  with  which  he  was  well 


AD.    1170. 


96  REIGN   OF   HENRY    II. 

CHAP,     acquainted ;  but,  undismayed,  he  turned  to  meet  the  assassins, 

'"•        followed  by  his  cross-bearer,  the  only  one  of  his  attendants 

who  had  not  fled.     A  voice  was   heard  —  "Where   is  the 

traitor?"     Silence  for  a  moment  prevailed  ;  but  when  Fitz- 

urse  demanded — "Where  is  the  Archbishop?"  he  replied, 

"  Here  I  am  ;  the  Archbishop,  but  no  traitor !     Keginald, 

I  have  granted  thee  many  favours.  What  is  thy  object  now  ? 

If  you  seek  my  life,  let  that  suffice ;  and  I  command  you, 

in  the  name  of  God,  not  to  touch  one  of  my  people." 

Assassina-         Being  again  told  that  he  must  instantly  absolve  the  pre- 

*'"",''^        lates,  he  answered,  "  Till  they  make  satisfaction  I  will  not 

Bucket 

absolve  them."  "  Then  die,"  said  Tracy.  The  blow  aimed 
at  his  head  only  slightly  wounded  him,  as  it  was  warded  off 
by  the  faithful  cross-bearer,  whose  arm  was  broken  by  its 
force.  The  Archbishop,  feeling  the  blood  trickle  down  his 
face,  joined  his  hands  and  bowed  his  head,  saying,  "  In  the 
name  of  Christ,  and  for  the  defence  of  his  Church,  I  am 
ready  to  die."  To  mitigate  the  sacrilege,  they  wished  to 
remove  him  from  the  church  before  they  despatched  him  ; 
but  he  declared  he  should  there  meet  his  fate,  and  retaining 
the  same  posture,  desired  them  to  execute  their  intentions  or 
their  orders,  and,  uttering  his  last  words,  he  said,  "  I  humbly 
commend  my  spirit  to  God,  who  gave  it."  He  had  hardly 
finished  this  prayer  when  a  second  stroke  quickly  threw  him 
on  his  knees,  and  a  third  laid  him  prostrate  on  the  floor,  at 
the  foot  of  the  altar.  There  he  received  many  blows  from 
each  of  the  conspirators,  and  his  brains  were  strewed  upon 
the  pavement. 

Thus  perished,  in  the  fifty-third  year  of  his  age,  the  man 
who,  of  all  English  Chancellors  since  the  foundation  of  the 
monarchy,  was  of  the  loftiest  ambition,  of  the  greatest  firm- 
ness of  purpose,  and  the  most  capable  of  making  every 
sacrifice  to  a  sense  of  duty  or  for  the  acquisition  of  renown. 

To  the  general  historian  it  belongs  to  narrate  the  escape 
of  the  conspirators  and  their  subsequent  destiny,  —  the  in- 
dignation and  horror  of  the  whole  Christian  world  when  the 
deed  was  made  public,  —  the  remorse  of  Henry,  and  the 
humiliations  to  which  he  submitted  by  way  of  penance  and 
atonement,  —  together  with  the  permanent  consequences  of 


THOMAS   ii   BECKET.  97 

this  memorable  controversy  upon  religion  and  the  state.     I     CHAP. 
must  content  myself  with  a  short  notice  of  subsequent  occur- 
rences connected  personally  with  Becket,  and  an  attempt  at 
a  fair  estimation  of  his  character. 

The  government  tried  to  justify  or  palliate  the  murder.  The  Horror  of 
Archbishop  of  York  likened  Thomas  a  Becket  to  Pharaoh,      ^  ^^°^  ^' 
who  died  by  the  Divine  vengeance,  as  a  punishment  for  his 
hardness  of  heart ;  and  a  proclamation  was  issued,  forbidding 
any  one  to  speak  of  Thomas  of  Canterbury  as  a  martyr  :  but 
the   feelings   of  men  were   too  strong   to   be   checked   by 
authority ;   pieces  of  linen  which   had   been  dipped  in  his 
blood  Avere  preserved  as  relics ;   from  the  time  of  his  death 
it  was  believed   that   miracles  were  worked  at  his  tomb ; 
thither  flocked  hundreds  of  thousands,  in  spite  of  the  most 
violent  threats  of  punishment ;  at  the  end  of  two  years  he   Becket 
was  canonised  at  Rome,  and,  till  the  breaking  out  of  the  *'*"'^"'^^  • 
Reformation,  St.  Thomas  of  Canterbury,  for  pilgrimages  and 
prayers,  was  the  most  distinguished  Saint  in  England. 

Henry  VIII.,  when  he  wished  to  throw  off  the  authority   Quo  war 
of  the  Pope,  thinking:  that  as  long  as  the  name  of  St.  Thomas   ^^1"*°  ^^ 

i    ^  o  o  ^  Henry 

should  remain  in  the  calendar  men  would  be  stimulated  by  VIII.  to 
his  example  to  brave  the  ecclesiastical  authority  of  the  Sove-  ^^^^l 
reign,  instructed  his  Attorney- General  to  file  a  quo  warranto 
information  against  him  for  usurping  the  office  of  a  Saint,  and 
he  was  formally  cited  to  appear  in  court  to  answer  the 
charge.  Judgment  of  ouster  would  have  passed  against  him 
by  default  had  not  the  King,  to  show  his  impartiality  and 
gueat  regard  for  the  due  administration  of  justice,  assigned 
him  counsel  at  the  public  expense.  The  cause  being  called, 
and  the  Attorney-General  and  the  advocate  for  the  accused 
being  fully  heard,  with  such  proofs  as  were  offered  on  both 
sides,  sentence  was  pronounced,  that  "  Thomas,  sometime 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  had  been  guilty  of  contumacy, 
treason,  and  rebellion ;  that  his  bones  should  be  publicly 
burnt,  to  admonish  the  living  of  their  duty  by  the  punish- 
ment of  the  dead ;  and  that  the  offerings  made  at  his  shrine 
should  be  forfeited  to  the  Crown."  A  proclamation  fol- 
lowed, stating,  that  "  forasmuch  as  it  now  clearly  appeared 
that  Thomas  Becket  had  been  killed  in  a  riot  excited  by  his 

VOL.  I.  H 


98 


REIGN   OF   HENRY    II. 


CHAP. 
III. 


Character 
of  Becket. 


By  liis 

vitupera- 

tors. 


own  obstinacy  and  intemperate  language,  and  had  been  after- 
wards canonised  by  the  Bishop  of  Rome  as  the  champion  of 
his  usurped  authority,  the  King's  Majesty  thought  it  expe- 
dient to  declare  to  his  loving  subjects  that  he  was  no  saint, 
but  rather  a  rebel  and  traitor  to  his  Prince,  and  therefore 
strictly  charged  and  commanded  that  he  should  not  be 
esteemed  or  called  a  saint ;  that  all  images  and  pictures  of 
him  should  be  destroyed,  the  festivals  in  his  honour  be 
abolished,  and  his  name  and  remembrance  be  erased  out  of 
all  books,  under  pain  of  his  Majesty's  indignation  and  im- 
prisonment at  his  Grace's  pleasure."* 

But  the  permanent  reputation  of  Becket  must  depend  on 
the  qualities  he  displayed,  and  the  actions  he  performed  in 
his  lifetime  ;  not  on  the  decrees  of  popes  or  the  proclamations 
of  kings  since  his  death.  In  considering  his  merits  and 
defects,  it  is,  above  all,  requisite  to  guard  against  religious 
prejudices,  by  which  he  has  been  elevated  into  a  hero  of 
almost  spotless  virtue,  or  degraded  into  a  hypocrite,  stained 
with  the  crimes  of  ingratitude  and  perjury. 

The  early  part  of  his  career,  so  brilliant  and  so  successful, 
is  not  liable  to  any  severe  censure.  His  participation  in  the 
irregularities  of  his  youthful  Sovereign  is  denied,  and  when 
repented  of  might  be  forgiven.  All  the  functions  of  the  office 
of  Chancellor  he  is  allowed  to  have  fulfilled  most  satisfactorily, 
and  the  measures  which  he  recommended  as  minister  were 
just  and  prudent.  His  military  prowess  and  skill  we  cannot 
read  of  without  being  dazzled;  and,  with  the  exception  of 
Ignatius  Loyola,  there  is  probably  no  such  striking  meta- 
morphosis of  a  soldier  into  a  saint.  The  grand  dispute  re- 
specting his  character  and  conduct  begins  from  the  time 
when,  being  consecrated  Archbishop,  he  resigned  the  Great 
Seal.  As  he  proved  such  a  champion  of  the  supremacy  of 
the  Pope,  it  is  perhaps  not  surprising  that  in  recent  times 
his  vituperators  are  bigoted  Protestants,  and  his  unqualified 
eulogists  are  intolerant  Roman  Catholics. 

The  former  contend  that  Becket,  being  in  reality  little 
better   than  an  infidel,  had  nothino;  in  view  but   his  own 


•   Walk.  Con.  iii.  385.  841,     Burn.  Ref.  152. 


THOMAS   a    BECKET.  91 

aggrandisement,  which  he  thought  he  could  most  promote  CHAP, 
by  exalting  the  power  of  the  Church; — that  he  had  long 
aimed  at  the  primacy,  with  the  intention,  as  soon  as  he 
had  obtained  it,  to  trample  on  the  Crown ;  and  that,  to  dis- 
arm the  suspicion  of  the  King,  he  pretended  to  conform  to 
all  his  notions  respecting  ecclesiastical  as  well  as  secular 
affairs ;  —  that  from  the  moment  of  his  elevation  he  threw  off 
the  mask,  and  did  every  thing  in  his  power  to  annoy  and 
injure  his  benefactor,  as  if  animated  by  the  most  deadly  spite 
against  him ;  —  that  he  proved  his  want  of  principle  by 
swearing  to  observe  the  Constitutions  of  Clarendon,  and 
immediately  afterwards,  regardless  of  his  oath,  infringing 
them  himself,  and  stirring  up  others  to  resist  them ;  — 
that  during  his  banishment,  though  he  displayed  firmness 
worthy  of  a  better  cause,  he  continued,  from  selfish  motives, 
to  refuse  all  reasonable  terms  of  accommodation,  and  to  plot 
against  his  Sovereign  and  his  country ;  —  that  when  at  last 
restored,  he  broke  the  engagements  into  which  he  had  entered, 
persecuted  his  opponents  with  implacable  resentment,  and 
showed  that,  according  to  his  long-fostered  design,  he  was  still 
determined  to  make  priests  in  the  West,  like  Brahmins  in  the 
East,  the  dominant  caste,  for  the  purpose  of  himself,  as  their 
leader,  exercising  absolute  sway ; — that  he  provoked  his  tragi- 
cal end; — and  that,  although  the  deed  of  his  assassins  cannot 
be  strictly  defended,  there  is  reason  to  rejoice  in  it,  as  the 
hazards  and  the  evils  of  his  daring  enterprise  were  thus 
shown  to  be  greater  than  the  advantages  to  be  attained  by 
it,  —  ecclesiastical  encroachment  was  effectually  checked,  — 
and  no  more  Odos,  Dunstans,  Anselms,  or  Beckets  appear  in 
our  annals. 

On  the  other  hand,  say  the  undiscriminating  worshippers  By  liis 
of  Papal  supremacy, — Becket  having  had  the  primacy  pressed  ^"  °^^  ^* 
upon  him  by  the  King  for  the  purpose  of  subverting  the 
authority  of  the  Church,  so  necessary  to  the  maintenance  of 
true  religion,  then,  for  the  first  time,  thought  seriously  of  the 
duties  and  obligations  of  this  new  dignity,  and  his  eyes  were 
at  once  opened  to  the  necessity  of  a  new  course  of  life,  both 
for  his  own  sake  and  for  the  good  of  others.  Although,  like 
Wolsey  in  a  subsequent  age,  he  might  have  joined  in  his 

H    2 


100  REIGN  OP   HENRY   II. 

CHAP,  own  person  all  civU  and  spiritual  power,  enjoyed  ease,  wealth, 
^"*  and  pleasure,  and  reigned  in  the  King's  name,  he  saw  that 
such  a  course,  however  agreeable,  would  be  sinful; — that 
great  sacrifices  were  required  from  him,  and  that  he  must 
thenceforth  exclusively  dedicate  himself  to  the  discharge  of  his 
spiritual  duties.  He  therefore  afforded  the  single  instance 
which  has  ever  occurred  of  tlie  Chancellorship  being  volunta- 
rily resigned,  either  by  layman  or  ecclesiastic.  He  meditated 
nothing  beyond  what  belonged  properly  to  his  sacred  office, 
when  the  King  began  the  persecution  against  him,  which  only 
ended  with  his  murder.  The  Constitutions  of  Clarendon, 
however  consonant  to  the  doctrines  of  WicklifFe,  afterwards 
adopted  by  Luther,  were  inconsistent  with  the  clear  precepts 
of  the  gospel,  and  the  privileges  and  immunities  conferred 
upon  the  apostles  and  their  successors,  and,  at  all  events,  were 
inconsistent  with  established  law  and  custom.  In  a  moment 
of  weakness  Becket  promised  to  observe  them  ;  but  this  was 
to  save  himself  from  fatal  violence  which  then  threatened, 
and  at  last  overtook  him.  A  forced  promise  is  not  binding, 
and  from  this  promise  he  was  formally  absolved  by  the  Vicar 
of  Christ.  The  unfounded  charges  brought  against  him  at 
Northampton,  and  the  unjust  pecuniary  demands  then  made 
upon  him,  with  the  threats  of  personal  outrage,  rendered  it 
necessary  for  him  to  seek  an  asylum  on  the  Continent,  to  ap- 
peal to  foreign  nations,  and  to  put  himself  under  the  protection 
of  the  common  Father  of  Christians.  While  at  Pontlgny, 
Sens,  and  at  Rome,  he  was  always  willing  to  make  any  per- 
sonal sacrifice  for  reconciliation,  so  that  the  cause  of  religion 
was  safe  ;  but  the  King,  under  pretence  of  guarding  his  royal 
dignity,  was  still  bent  on  prosecuting  his  scheme  for  annihilat- 
ing the  influence  of  the  clergy,  which  nothing  but  the  heroic 
courage  of  one  man  hindered  him  from  accomplishing.  The 
conditions  solemnly  ratified  at  Fereitvllle  the  King  was  the 
first  to  violate.  The  excommunication  of  the  three  prelates 
was  in  strict  accordance  with  the  canon  law,  which  was  parcel 
of  the  law  of  the  land ;  and  Becket's  only  chance,  either  of 
personal  safety  or  of  preserving  the  liberties  of  the  country, 
was  then  to  enforce  the  rights  which  clearly  belonged  to  his 
office  and  to  his  ordei'.  His  martyrdom  must  be  considered  one 
of  the  most  splendid  that  has  occurred  since  the  propagation 


THOMAS   a   BECKET.  101 

of  the  gospel  to  edify  Christians,  for,  not  ignorant  of  what     CHAP. 
was  prepared  for  him,  and  being  able  at  any  time,  by  a  slight 


concession,  to  avert  his  fate,  he  braved  the  assassins  whom  he 
could  not  withstand,  and  he  received  the  deadly  wounds  they 
inflicted  upon  him  with  a  constancy  which  could  only  have 
proceeded  from  a  fervent  faith  in  the  promises  of  revelation, 
and  the  immediate  aid  of  its  divine  Author. 

Setting  aside  exaggeration,  and  miracle,  and  religious  pre-  Just  esti- 
judice,  I  must  confess  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  this  last  ^aracte"' 
view  of  Becket  is  not  only  the  more  merciful,  but  the 
more  just.  I  cannot  doubt  his  sincerity,  and  almost  all 
will  agree  that  he  believed  himself  to  be  sincere.  Let  us 
consider  the  sudden  effect  of  the  touch  of  the  mitre  on  men 
of  honour  in  our  own  time.  It  must  be  remembered  that 
by  the  same  ardour  and  enthusiasm  he  was  led  to  put  on  a 
coat  of  mail  and  engage  in  single  combat  with  a  stalwart 
knight,  and  afterwards  to  Avear  a  shirt  of  hair  and  to  submit 
to  the  discipline  of  the  whip.  If  he  bore  implacable  resent- 
ment, he  showed  inflexible  resolution  in  the  support  of  what 
he  consi^pred  a  good  cause,  willingly  submitting  to  poverty, 
exile,  and  death  itself. 

Both  sides  concur  in  ascribing  to  him  brilliant   talents.    Result, 
great  acquirements,  and  delightful  manners,  which  captivated 
alike  king  and  commonalty. 

Some  have   lately  thought  they  discovered  in  Becket  a  Whether 
patriot  who  took  up  the  cause  of  the  Saxons,  and  quarrelled  pi,am^bn 
with  the  Normans  in  trying  to  obtain  justice  for  his  country-  of  Saxon 
men;  but  although  he  is  celebrated  for  his  impartiality  to 
both  races  while  Chancellor,  I  can  find  nothing  political  in 
his  subsequent  disputes, — which  appear  to  me  to  have  been 
purely  between  the  civil  and  spiritual  authorities,  and  not 
between  race  and  race.* 

*  Thierry,  the  great  supporter  of  the  notion  that  Becket's  actions  and  his  fate 
are  to  be  explained  from  his  being  the  champion  of  the  Saxon  race  against  Nor- 
man oppression,  quotes  (iii.  190.)  from  a  note  in  Hearne's  edition  of  William 
of  Newbury  ;  — 

"  Willelmus  Maltret  percussit  cum  pede  sanctum 
Defunctum,  dicens ;  Pereat  nunc  proditor  illc, 
Qui  regem  regnumque  suum  turbavit,  et  omnes 
Angligenas  adversus  eum  consurgere  fecit." 

But  there  was  no  insurrection  in  England  during'  Henry's  reign,  and  the  poem 

H  3 


102  REIGN   OF   HENRY   II. 

CHAP.  We  can  best  judge  him  by  the  large  collection  of  his 
letters  which  have  come  down  to  us.  In  these,  although  we 
Becket's  should  in  vain  look  for  the  classical  style  and  delicate  raillery 
letters.  of  Erasmus,  we  find  a  vigour,  an  earnestness,  and  a  reach  of 
thought  quite  unexampled  in  the  productions  of  the  age  in 
which  he  lived.  Making  us  familiar  with  him,  they  ex- 
plain to  us  the  extraordinary  ascendancy  which  he  acquired 
over  the  minds  of  mankind.* 

from  which  these  lines  are  taken,  giving  an  exaggerated  account  of  the  martyr- 
dom of  St.  Thomas,  is  evidently  the  production  of  a  later  age. 

*  See  Fitzstephen,  Hoveden,  Quadrologus,  Lord  Lyttelton's  History  of 
Henry  II.,  Thierry's  History  of  the  Norman  Conquest,  Epist.  Sane.  Thom. ; 
Sanctus  Thomas  Cantuariensis,  ed.  J.  A.  Giles ;  and  a  Life  of  Becket  in  the 
"  English  Review,"  for  September  and  December  1 846. 


JOHN  —  KODOLPHUS  —  WALTER,   CHANCELLORS.  103 


CHAPTER  IV. 


CHANCELLORS  FROM  THE  RESIGNATION  OF  THOMAS  a  BECKET 
TO  THE  DEATH  OF  HENRY  H. 

The  history  of  the  Great  Seal  during  the  reign  of  Henry  II.     CHAP. 
is  left  in  a  state  of  much  uncertainty  from  the  time  when  it  ' 


was  resigned  in  1162  by  Thomas  a  Becket  till  it  ^as  deli-   obscure 
vered  in  1181  to  Geoifrey  Plantagenet,  the  King's  natural  Chancel- 

-ri**  i-i  rtT"i«/>»  Jors  sitter 

son.      In  this  mterval  there  were  very  powerful  chief  jus-   Becket. 
ticiars — Richard  de  Luci,  and  Robert  Earl  of  Leicester  ;  and 
they  probably  rendered  the  office  of  Chancellor  for  the  time 
of  little  consequence.    However,  we  find  the  names  of  several 
who  are  said  to  have  held  it. 

First,  "Joannes  Cancellarius  "*  occurs  ;  but  of  this  John  Chancellor 
we  know  not  the  surname,  nor  what  other  dignity  he  ever  ^  ^  {,,^3 
attained.  Next  comes  Rodolphus  de  Warnavilla,  of  whom 
we  only  know  that  when  he  was  appointed  he  was  arch- 
deacon of  Rohan. I  The  third  is  Walter  de  Constantiis,  who 
was  made  Bishop  of  Ely.  Although  the  last  is  supposed  to 
have  been  at  one  time  Chancellor  to  the  King,  it  would 
appear  that  in  the  year  1175  he  only  held  the  Great  Seal  as 
a  deputy,  if  we  may  judge  from  the  account  given  us  by 
Hoveden  of  an  embassy  to  the  Earl  of  Flanders,  in  which  he 
was  joined  with  the  famous  Ranulphus  de  Glanvil,  after- 
wards Chief  Justiciar,  and  the  earliest  writer  on  the  Law 
of  England.  On  this  occasion  he  is  described  as  "  Vice- Can- 
cellarius.":}; What  share  any  of  these  Chancellors  had  in  the 
stirring  events  of  the  time, — the  framing  of  the  Constitutions 
of  Clarendon, — the  deadly  controversy  with  Becket, — the 
conquest  of  Ireland,  —  the  war  with  Scotland,  —  the  feudal 

•   Spel.  Glos.  109.  t   Ih.      Or.  Jur.  3. 

I  Et  ad  audieiiQum  inde  responsum  comitis  ( Flandrue)  misit  Walterum  de 
Constantiis,  Vice-Cancellarium  suum  ct  Raimlphum  de  Glanvilla.  Hoveden, 
P.  ii.   p.  561.   n.  10. 

B  4 


104 


REIGN   OF    HENRY   II. 


CHAP. 
IV. 


Geoffrey 
Planta- 

GENET, 

Chancellor. 


His  birth 
and  educa- 
tion. 


A  bishop. 


His  mili- 
tary ex- 
ploits. 


subjection  of  that  country  on  the  capture  of  William  the 
Scottish  King,  and  the  continued  disputes  and  wars  between 
Henry  and  his  sons,  we  shall  never  learn. 

It  is  the  fashion  of  historians  down  to  a  much  later  era,  to 
ascribe  all  the  acts  of  government,  even  those  connected  with 
leo^islation  and  domestic  administration,  to  the  autocracy  of 
the  nominal  chief  of  the  state ;  but  the  most  active  sovereign 
could  only  in  general  have  the  merit  of  selecting  good  coun- 
sellors and  taking  good  advice ;  and  if  our  sovereigns  would 
sometimes  lose  credit,  they  might  as  often  be  relieved  from 
obloquy,  by  a  disclosure  of  the  share  which  each  minister 
had  in  the  measures  of  their  reign. 

We  now  come  to  another  Chancellor,  whose  origin,  career, 
and  character  are  well  known  to  history.  In  the  year  1181 
Henry  delivered  the  Great  Seal  to  Geoffrey,  his  son  by 
the  fair  Rosamond.*  Of  all  his  progeny,  legitimate  or  ille- 
gitimate, this  was  his  favourite.  The  boy  was  tenderly  reared 
at  Court,  and  as  he  displayed  lively  parts,  great  pains  were 
taken  with  his  education.  He  could  not  have  a  regular 
appanage,  as  if  he  had  been  a  son  of  the  Queen,  but  it  was 
thought  that  an  ample  provision  might  be  made  for  him  in 
the  Church.  While  yet  a  youth,  he  was  appointed  archdeacon 
of  Lincoln,  and  while  in  the  20th  year  of  his  age,  by  royal 
mandate  he  was  elected  bishop  of  that  see.  For  a  consi- 
derable time,  under  favour  of  a  papal  dispensation,  he  enjoyed 
the  temporalities,  without  having  been  consecrated  bishop, 
or  even  admitted  into  holy  orders.  A  rebellion  breaking  out 
in  1 1 74,  he  raised  a  large  military  force,  took  several  castles, 
displayed  great  personal  prowess,  and  was  of  essential  service 
in  reducing  the  insurgent  Barons  to  subjection. 

When  Henry  was  raising  an  army  to  repel  an  invasion  of 
the  Scots,  Geoffrey  joined  him,  and  brought,  under  his  own 
banner,  140  knights  raised  in  his  bishopric,  with  many  more 
men-at-arms,  well  mounted  and  accoutred.  The  King  re- 
ceived him  with  much  joy,  and  said  in  the  hearing  of  a  great 
multitude  of  persons  who  were  present  at  their  meeting,  — 
"  My  other  sons,  by  their  conduct,  have  proved  themselves 


Orig.  Jur.  1.     Spel  Glos«.  109. 


GEOFFREY   PLANTAGENET,   CHANCELLOR.  105 

bastards,  but  this  alone  has  shown  himself  to  be  really  my     CHAP. 
true  and  legitimate  son." 


Though  as  a  soldier  Geoffrey  obtained  reputation,  he  was  ^^^  jjgj 
very  deficient  in  his  duty  as  a  churchman,  and  after  being 
seven  years  a  bishop,  he  still  refused  to  become  a  priest.  At 
last,  in  the  year  1181,  Pope  Alexander  III.  sent  a  mandate 
to  Richard,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  requiring  the  Primate 
to  compel  him  by  ecclesiastical  censures  no  longer  to  defer 
what  could  not  without  scandal  be  any  longer  dispensed  with, 
or  to  renounce  his  election  to  the  bishopric  of  Lincoln. 

The  slender  restraints  then  imposed  on  ecclesiastical  dig- 
nitaries weighed  with  him  little,  but  to  priestly  tonsure  and 
tunics  he  would  not  submit ;  and  as  in  spitg  of  all  remonstrance 
he  persisted  in  sincerely  saying,  "  Nolo  episcopari," — so  the  see 
was  declared  vacant  and  bestowed  on  another.  This  was  not 
from  any  levity  of  character  or  love  of  idleness,  for  Geoffrey  had 
applied  himself  diligently  to  study,  and  had  made  considerable 
progress  in  the  civil  and  canon  law.  By  way  of  indemnity  Receives 
for  his  loss,  the  office  of  Chancellor  was  conferred  upon  him.  a  ^  ea . 

Even  in  those  days  such  an  appointment  must  have  been  His  con- 
considered  a  very  glaring  job,  the  young  man,  notwithstanding  ^^  ^^j, 
his  talents  and  acquirements,  being  entirely  without  expe- 
rience, and  the  custody  of  the  Great  Seal  having  important 
judicial  duties  annexed  to  it.  Nevertheless,  he  is  said  to 
have  dedicated  himself  to  business  in  a  very  exemplary 
manner,  and  to  have  given  considerable  satisfaction  to  the 
public. 

A  doubt  exists  how  long  he  remained  in  the  office.  Some 
accounts  represent  him  as  holding  it  during  the  remaining 
eight  years  of  his  father's  reign  *,  while  there  are  notices  of 
three  others  having  during  this  interval  been  in  possession  of  the 
Great  Seal, — Nigel,  Bishop  of  Ely  f,  Walter  de  Bidun:}:, 
and  the  before-mentioned  Walter  de  Constantiis.  Perhaps 
the  authorities  may  be  reconciled  by  supposing  that  these 
merely  assisted  as  Vice-Chancellors,  while  Geoffrey  remained 
Chancellor,  enjoying  the  dignity  and  emoluments  of  the  office 


*   TViis  opinion  is  espoused  by  Lord  Lyttelton  in  his  History  of  Henry  IL 
f   Cart.  5  Ed.  3.  m.  L  |   Lei.  Coll.  vol.'i.  p.  38. 


His  filial 
piety. 


106  REIGN   OF   HENRY   II. 

CHAP,  till  his  father's  death.  Eanulphus  de  Glanvil  was  now  Chief 
^^'  Justiciar,  and  he  must  have  thrown  into  the  shade  all  others 
connected  with  the  administration  of  the  law.  A  skilful 
military  commander,  he  quelled  a  dangerous  rebellion  and 
gained  a  brilliant  victory  over  the  Scots,  taking  their  King 
prisoner ;  he  presided  with  distinguished  lustre  in  the  Ai^la 
Regia  ;  and  he  wrote  a  book  on  the  law  and  constitution  of 
England,  which  is  now  read  by  all  who  wish  to  acquire  a 
critical  knowledge  of  them  as  they  stood  in  the  first  century 
after  the  Conquest,  before  they  were  modified  by  the  great 
charter  of  King  John.* 
AD.  1189.  Whatever  might  be  the  qualifications  of  Geoifrey  Plan- 
tagenet  for  his  office  of  Chancellor,  all  authors  are  loud  in  his 
praise  for  his  steady  fidelity  and  attachment  to  the  King, 
while  his  brothers  were  constantly  thwarting  and  annoying 
him,  and  were  often  in  arms  against  him.  In  1189,  near  the 
close  of  this  reign,  the  pious  Chancellor  fought  valiantly  by 
his  father's  side  in  a  hard-contested  battle  near  Frenelles  in 
Normandy,  and  the  English  army  being  obliged  to  retreat  in 
some  disorder,  he  offered  to  keep  watch  at  an  outpost, 
fatigued  and  spent  as  he  was,  while  his  father  should  enjoy 
some  repose ;  but  Henry  would  not  suffer  him  to  be  his  guard 
with  so  much  danger  to  himself. 

Soon  after,  hearing  of  his  father's  dangerous  illness  at 
Chinon,  he  hastened  thither,  and  finding  him  so  much  op- 
pressed by  fever  that  he  could  not  sit  up  in  his  bed,  he  gently 
raised  his  head  and  supported  it  on  his  own  bosom.  Henry 
fetched  a  deep  sigh,  and  turning  his  languid  eyes  upon  him, 
said :  — "  My  dearest  son,  as  you  have  in  all  changes  of 
fortune  behaved  yourself  most  dutifully  and  affectionately  to 
me,  doing  all  that  the  best  of  sons  could  do,  so  will  I,  if  the 

*  Glanvil  not  having  been  Chancellor,  I  do  not  feel  myself  at  liberty  to  give 
any  detailed  account  of  his  life;  but  I  may  be  excused  transcribing  in  a  note  a 
character  of  him  to  be  found  in  the  preface  to  the  eighth  part  of  Lord  Coke's 
reports  "  Et  nota  quod  pra;fatus  Ranulph'  de  Glanvilla  fuit  vir  praeclarissimus 
generc  ufpote  de  nobili  sanguine,  vir  insuper  strenuissimus  corpore,  qui  provec- 
tiori  relate  ad  Terram  Sanctam  properavit  et  ibidem  contra  inamicos  crucis 
Christi  strenuissime  usque  ad  necem  dimicavit."  Coke  seems  to  envy  the  glory 
of  the  crusader  ;  for  though  he  himself  had  "  written  learnedly  and  profoundly," 
his  own  exploits  as  ex-chief  justice  when  sheriff  of  Buckinghamshire,  could  not 
compare  with  those  of  ex-chief  justice  Glanvil. 


GEOFFREY   PLANTAGENET,    CHANCELLOR.  107 

mercy  of  God  shall  permit  me  to  recover  from  this  sickness,     chap. 
make  such  returns  to  you  as  the  fondest  of  fathers  can  make,  " 

and  place  you  among  the  greatest  and  most  powerful  subjects 
in  all  my  dominions.  But  if  death  should  prevent  my  ful- 
filling this  intention,  may  God,  to  whom  the  recompence  of 
all  goodness  belongs,  reward  you  for  me." —  "  I  have  no  soli- 
citude," replied  Geoffrey,  "  but  that  you  may  recover  and  may 
be  happy." 

The  King  with  his  last  breath  expressed  a  wish  that  this 
pious  son  should  be  provided  for  by  his  successor,  —  a  wish 
that  was  held  sacred  by  the  penitent  Richard. 

Geoffrey,  dutiful  to  the  last,  attended  the  corpse  to  the 
nunnery  of  Fontevrault, — where  blood  running  from  its 
mouth  at  the  approach  of  Richard,  that  generous  though 
violent  spirit,  in  a  fit  of  remorse,  reproached  himself  as  the 
murderer  of  his  father. 

During  the  latter  part  of  the  reign  of  Henry  II.,  while  his  State  of 
son  Geoffrey  was  Chancellor,  all  things  being  reduced   to  ^^jg^  ^f 
peace,  our  legal  polity  is  supposed  to  have  made  greater  ad-  Henry  u. 
vances  than  it  had  done  from  the  Conquest  downwards.    The 
great  regularity  in  the  order  of  proceeding,  and  the  refine- 
ment with  which  questions  respecting  property  were  treated, 
show  that  if  the  age  was  barbarous,  it  produced  individuals 
of  enlarged  minds  and  well  skilled  in  the  principles  of  juris- 
prudence. 

Very  able  men  followed  as  Chancellors  in  the  succeeding 
reigns,  but  from  foreign  war  and  domestic  strife  little  im- 
provement was  effected  by  any  of  them  for  near  a  century 
afterwards. 

Although  there  be  as  yet  no  traces  of  the  Chancellor 
having  a  separate  court  of  his  own,  either  for  common  law 
or  equitable  jurisdiction,  it  is  certain  that  in  the  time  of 
Henry  II.  he  was  looked  up  to  as  a  high  judicial  authority, 
and  he  occasionally  went  the  circuit  as  a  justice  in  eyre  or  of 
assize.* 

*   Mad.  Ex.  p.  61.      Sec  Lord  Lyttelton's  Hist.  iii.  479.     4  Inst.  159. 


108  REIGN   OF   RICHARD  I. 


CHAPTER  V. 

CHANCELLORS   DURING   THE   REIGN   OF   RICHARD   I. 

CHAP.  Richard,  as  soon  as  he  had  attended  his  father's  funeral, 
was  impatient  to  join  the  Crusade.  From  the  arrangements 
jjj^jj^j.^  he  had  made  for  the  government  of  the  realm  in  his  absence, 
A.D.  1189.  it  was  not  convenient  that  Geoffrey  should  be  continued  in 
the  office  of  Chancellor,  but  an  offer  was  made  to  him  of 
Geoffrey  ccclcsiastical  preferment  which  he  could  not  resist.  He  was 
bishop  of  appointed  Archbishop  of  York,  and  being  now  in  France,  he 
York.  suffered  himself  to  be  consecrated  to  the  holy  office  by  the 

Archbishop  of  Tours,  metropolitan  of  Anjou.  He  agreed 
not  to  take  possession  of  his  see  for  three  years,  during  which 
time  he  swore  that  he  would  not  set  foot  on  English  ground, 
—  an  oath  required  of  him  by  Richard,  who  had  some  sus- 
picions as  to  his  fidelity.  How  he  observed  the  oath  we  shall 
see  as  we  proceed  with  the  life  of  his  celebrated  successor. 
LoKG-  Richard's  Chancellor  was  William  Longchamp,  Bishop 

.Chancellor.  ^^  ^^7  *'  ^^^  ^^  *^6  most  eminent  men  who  have  ever  held  the 
Great  Seal.  He  was  a  native  of  Beauvais  in  France,  and  of 
mean  extraction,  but  he  gave  early  proof  of  extraordinary 
ability  and  address.  He  first  came  into  notice  in  the  service 
of  the  Chancellor  Geoffrey,  the  son  of  Rosamond.  Being 
afterwards  introduced  to  Prince  Richard,  he  contrived  to 
insinuate  himself  into  his  good  graces  without  incurring  the 
suspicion  of  the  old  King,  and  through  successive  promotions 
in  the  Church  he  was  made  Bishop  of  Ely — always  dis- 
playing great  vigour  of  character  and  capacity  for  business, 
and  hitherto  concealing  his  inordinate  ambition  and  rapacity. 
Although  he  had  now  resided  many  years  in  England  he  did 
not  understand  one  word  of  the  English  language ;  but  such 

•   Or.  Jur.      Hoved.  375.      Spel.  Gloss.  109. 


LONGCHAMP,    CHANCELLOR.  109 

was  still  the  depression  of  every  thing  Anglo-Saxon,  that     CHAP, 
neither  in  parliament,  nor  in  courts  of  justice,  nor  in  the  ' 


society  of  the  great,  did  he  experience  any  inconvenience  from 
this  deficiency.  The  King,  about  to  set  off  upon  his  memo-  Richard  i. 
rable  expedition  to  the  Holy  Land,  not  only  conferred  upon  Holy  Land! 
him  the  office  of  Chancellor,  but  made  him  Grand  Justiciar 
and  guardian  of  the  realm  jointly  with  Hugh,  Bishop  of 
Durham*  ;  and  that  he  might  better  insure  the  public  tran- 
quillity, procured  for  him  the  authority  of  legate  from  the 
Pope.  Richard's  great  object  was  to  deprive  his  brother 
John  of  all  power  and  influence,  —  being  apprehensive  that 
this  Prince,  who  had  early  displayed  his  faithless  character 
and  turbulent  disposition,  would,  in  his  absence,  according  to 
various  prior  examples  in  the  Norman  line,  anter  into  cabals 
with  discontented  Barons,  and  aim  at  the  Crown.  But  he 
fell  into  a  mistake  in  appointing  the  Bishop  of  Durham  as  a 
check  on  the  power  of  Longchamp.  The  one  would  bear  no 
equal,  and  the  other  no  superior. 

No  sooner  had  Richard  left  England  on  his  voyage  to  the  Long- 
Mediterranean  than  their  animosities  burst  forth,  and  threw  '^^^™v  ™- 

prisons  the 

the  kingdom  into  combustion.     Longchamp  |,  presumptuous  Bishop  of 
in  his  nature,  elated  by  the  favour  which  he  enjoyed  with  his      ^^"^™- 
master,   holding  the    Great    Seal,   and  armed  with  the   le- 
gatine  commission,  refused  to  share  the  executive  power  of 
the  state  with  his  colleague,  treated  him  with  contumely, 
and,  upon  some  show  of  resistance,  went  so  far  as  to  arrest 
him,  and,  as  the  price  of  his  liberty,  extorted  from  him  a 
resignation  of  the  earldom  of  Northumberland,  and  his  other 
dignities.     The  King,  informed  of  these  dissensions,  ordered, 
by   letters  from  Marseilles,   that  the  Bishop  should  be  re- 
instated in  his  offices ;   but  the    Chancellor  had   still   the 
boldness  to  refuse  compliance,  on  pretence  that  he  himself 
was  better  acquainted  with  the  King's  secret  intentions.    He   iiis  ty- 
proceeded  to  govern  the  kingdom  by  his  sole  authority,  to  ''''"">'• 


*   Hoved.  378.     M.  Par.  in  Ann.  1189. 

f  In  the  following  account  of  the  administration  of  Longchamp,  his  flight 
and  his  subsequent  career,  I  have  chiefly  followed  "the  History  of  the  Norman 
Conquest "  by  Thierry,  who  cites  authorities,  most  of  which  I  have  examined, 
and  which  fully  support  his  statements.     See  vol.  iv.  40 — 52.  64 — 75. 


110  REIGN   OF   RICHARD   I. 

CHAP,  treat  all  the  nobility  with  arrogance,  and  to  display  his  power 
^'  and  riches  with  the  most  invidious  ostentation.  A  numerous 
suard  was  stationed  at  his  door.  He  never  travelled  without 
a  body  of  1500  foreign  soldiers,  notorious  for  their  rapine  and 
licentiousness.  Nobles  and  knights  were  proud  of  being 
admitted  into  his  train.  He  sealed  public  acts  with  his  own 
signet  seal  instead  of  the  Great  Seal  of  England.  His  retinue 
wore  the  aspect  of  royal  magnificence ;  and  when  in  his  pro- 
gress through  the  kingdom  he  lodged  in  any  monastery,  his 
attendants,  it  is  said,  were  sufficient  to  devour  in  one  night  the 
revenue  of  several  years.  To  drown  the  curses  of  the  natives, 
he  brought  over  from  France,  at  a  great  expense,  singers  and 
jesters,  who  sang  verses  in  places  of  public  resort,  declaring 
that  the  Chancellor  never  had  his  equal  in  the  world. 
His  rapa-  In  the  meanwhile  he  abused  his  power  to  enrich  himself 
"^^  ^*  and  his  family ;  he  placed  his  relations  and  friends  of  foreign 

birth  in  all  posts  of  profit  or  honour,  and  gave  them  the 
government  of  castles  and  cities,  of  which,  under  various 
pretexts,  he  deprived  men  of  the  pure  Norman  race,  spoiling 
them  and  the  descendants  of  the  Saxon  thanes  with  indis- 
criminate violence.  Contemporary  authors  say,  that  "  by 
reason  of  his  rapines  a  knight  could  not  preserve  his  silver 
belt,  nor  a  noble  his  gold  ring,  nor  a  lady  her  necklace,  nor 
a  Jew  his  merchandise."  He  showed  himself,  besides,  haughty 
and  insolent,  and  he  enforced  submission  to  his  will  by  the 
severity  and  promptitude  of  his  vengeance.  The  King,  who 
was  obliged  to  winter  in  Sicily,  and  was  detained  in  Europe 
longer  than  the  Chancellor  expected,  being  informed  of  the 
arbitrary  and  tyrannical  conduct  of  his  minister,  made  a 
fresh  attempt  to  restrain  his  power,  and  sent  orders  ap- 
pointing Walter,  Archbishop  of  Rouen,  "William  Marshal, 
Earl  of  Strigul,  Geoffrey  Fitz-Peter,  William  Briewere,  and 
Hugh  Bardolf  councillors  to  Longchamp,  and  commanding 
him  to  take  no  measure  of  importance  without  their  con- 
currence and  approbation.  But  such  general  terror  had  he 
created  by  his  violent  conduct,  that  for  a  long  while  they  did 
not  venture  to  produce  the  King's  mandate.  When  it  was 
produced  the  Chancellor  insisted  that  it  was  a  forgery,  and  he 
still  exercised  an  uncontrolled  authority  over  the  nation. 


LONGCHAMP,  CUANCELLOE.  Ill 

Prince  John,  aware  of  the  general  discontent,  and  seeing     CHAP, 
with  envy  the  usurpations  of  the  Chancellor,  at  last  took  ' 


courage  to  make  head  against  him;  and  all  those  who  were  ^^  j,  ugj 
smartino;  under  his  exactions,  or  who  hoped  to  better  their  Prince 

John  takes 

condition  by  change,  actively  engaged  in  the  party  formed  a^ms 
for  his  overthrow.  An  open  rupture  broke  out  between  those  against 
rivals  for  power,  on  the  occasion  of  the  Chancellor's  attempt 
to  deprive  Gerard  de  Camville,  a  Norman  by  race,  of  the 
office  of  sheriff  of  the  county  of  Lincoln,  which  the  King 
had  made  over  to  him  for  a  sum  of  money.  The  Chancellor, 
who  wished  to  bestow  this  office  on  one  of  his  friends, 
summoned  Camville  to  deliver  up  to  him  the  keys  of  the 
castle  of  Lincoln ;  but  he  resisted  the  demand,  saying  that  he 
was  a  liege  man  to  Prince  John,  and  that  he  would  not 
surrender  his  fief  till  tried  and  condemned  in  the  court  of  his 
liege  lord.  On  this  refusal  the  Chancellor  came  with  an 
army  to  besiege  the  castle  of  Lincoln,  and  took  it.  Camville 
demanded  justice  from  his  superior  and  protector.  By  way 
of  reprisals,  John  took  possession  of  the  royal  castles  of 
Nottingham  and  Tickhil — there  raised  his  flag,  and  stationed 
his  men,  declaring,  according  to  Hoveden,  that  if  the  Chan- 
cellor did  not  do  speedy  justice  to  Camville  his  vassal,  he 
would  visit  him  with  a  rod  of  iron.  The  Chancellor  quailed 
under  his  threat,  and  entered  into  a  treaty,  by  which  John 
remained  in  possession  of  the  two  castles  he  had  taken. 

The   next  assault  upon  the   authority  of  the  Chancellor  Geoffrey, 
proceeded  from  his  predecessor  in  office,  Geoffrey,  now  Arch-  chancellor, 
bishop  of  York.     Regardless  of  his  oath  not  to  enter  the  invades 
realm  of  England  for  three  years,  and  of  a  solemn  warning 
he  received  when  about  to  embark,  he  resolved  to  take  pos- 
session of  his  see,  and  to  enjoy  the  benefit  of  any  chances  of 
farther  preferment  which  might  open  to  him.     The  Chan- 
cellor sent  armed  men  to  seize  him  upon  his  landing.     He 
escaped  their  pursuit  in  disguise,  and  gained  a  monastery  in 
the  city  of  Canterbury,  where  the  monks  hospitably  received 
him  and  concealed  him.     A  report,  however,  getting  abroad   GeofFrey 
that  he  had  taken  refuge  there,  the  convent  was  surrounded  a^jfl^. 
by  soldiers,  and  the  Archbishop  being  seized  in  the  church,  prisoned, 
when  he  was  returning  from  celebrating  mass,  was  shut  up 


112 


KEIGN   OP   RICHARD   I. 


CHAP. 
V. 


Combina- 
tion of  the 
nobles 
against 
Long- 
champ. 


Saxon  in- 
habitants 
of  London 
called  in  to 
assist. 


in  the  castle  of  the  city  under  the  keeping  of  the  Constable  de 
Clare. 

The  violent  arrest  and  imprisonment  of  an  Archbishop 
made  a  great  noise  all  over  England,  and  John,  thinking  this 
a  favourable  occasion  for  extending  his  own  power,  openly 
took  the  part  of  his  captive  brother.  Although  he  had 
hitherto  regarded  Geoffrey  as  an  enemy,  he  now  pretended 
to  feel  for  him  the  most  tender  affection,  and  with  menaces 
he  insisted  on  the  Chancellor  setting  the  Archbishop  at 
liberty.  Longchamp,  on  account  of  the  sacred  character  of 
his  prisoner,  did  not  venture  to  resist.  John  then  wrote  to 
all  the  Bishops  and  Barons  to  assemble  at  Reading ;  while 
the  Chancellor,  by  other  letters,  forbade  them  to  accept  the 
invitation  of  a  prince  whose  object  it  was  to  disinherit  his 
Sovereign.  The  assembly,  however,  was  held :  John  and 
Geoffrey  met,  wept,  and  embraced,  and  the  latter  on  his 
knees  besought  his  fellow-peers  to  avenge  the  insult  which 
had  been  offered  in  his  person  to  the  immunities  of  the 
Church  and  the  right  of  sanctuary. 

John,  becoming  bolder  and  bolder,  repaired  to  London, 
there  convoked  the  great  council  of  the  Barons  and  Bishops, 
and  accused  the  Chancellor  before  them  of  having  grossly 
abused  the  authority  with  which  the  King  had  intrusted 
him.  The  accused  had  injured  and  offended  so  many  of 
those  who  were  to  decide  his  case,  that  the  accuser  was  sure 
of  a  favourable  hearing. 

The  Chancellor  Avas  cited  to  appear  before  the  Barons  by 
a  certain  day.  He  refused,  and  assembling  a  military  force, 
marched  from  Windsor,  where  he  kept  his  Court,  upon 
London,  to  anticipate  the  re-assembling  of  the  body  who 
presumed  to  act  as  his  judges.  But  John's  men-at-arms 
came  upon  him  at  the  gates  of  the  city,  attacked  and  dis- 
persed his  followers,  and  compelled  him  in  great  haste  to 
throw  himself  into  the  Tower  of  London,  where  he  shut 
himself  up,  while  the  Barons  and  Bishops  assembled  in  Par- 
liament and  deliberated  on  his  fate. 

The  majority  of  them  had  resolved  to  strike  a  great  blow, 
and  to  depose  by  their  authority  the  man  who,  holding  the 
royal  commission,  could  not  regularly  be  deprived  of  office 


LONGCHAMP,  CHANCELLOE.  113 

without  the  express  order  of  the  Sovereign.  In  this  daring  CHAP, 
enterprise,  they  being  themselves  Normans,  were  desirous  of 
having  the  assistance  of  the  Saxon  inhabitants  of  London, 
constituting  the  great  mass  of  the  population.  In  the 
morning  of  the  day  appointed  for  their  meeting,  they  caused 
the  great  alarm-bell  to  be  rung,  and  as  the  citizens  issued 
forth  from  their  houses,  persons  stationed  for  the  purpose 
directed  them  to  repair  to  St.  Paul's  Cathedral.  The 
merchants  and  trades-people  going  thither  to  see  what  was 
the  matter,  we're  surprised  to  find  assembled  the  grandees  of 
the  country,  the  descendants  of  those  who  had  conquered  at 
Hastings,  —  with  whom  hitherto  they  had  had  no  other  re- 
lation than  that  of  lord  and  villain.  Contrary  to  custom, 
the  Barons  and  Prelates  gave  a  gracious  reception  to  the 
citizens,  and  a  temporary  equality  was  established  among  all 
present.  The  English  guessed  as  well  as  they  could  the 
meaning  of  the  speeches  addressed  to  them  in  French,  and 
there  was  read  and  explained  to  them  a  pretended  letter  of 
the  King,  intimating  that  if  the  Chancellor  should  be  guilty 
of  malversation  in  his  office,  he  might  be  deposed.  A  vote 
was  then  taken  of  the  whole  assembly,  without  distinction  of 
race,  and  the  Norman  heralds  proclaimed  "that  it  pleased 
John,  the  King's  brother,  and  all  the  Bishops,  Earls,  and 
Barons  of  the  kingdom,  and  the  citizens  of  London,  that  the 
Chancellor  should  be  deposed." 

It  was  at  first  thought  that  he  would  have  stood  a  siege  in  Long- 
the  Tower,  but  he  was  without  courage  at  the  approach  of  renders. 
real  danger,  and  he  immediately  offered  to  capitulate.  He 
was  freely  allowed  to  depart  on  condition  of  delivering  up 
the  keys  of  all  the  King's  castles.  He  was  made  to  swear 
that  he  would  not  leave  England  till  he  had  done  so,  and 
two  of  his  brothers  were  detained  as  hostages  for  his  good 
faith. 

He  withdrew  to  Canterbury,  under  pretence  of  fulfilling  Long- 
his  oath :  but  when  he  had  remained  there  a  few  days,  he  !='>^™p  |!'^^ 

'  ^  ^    ^  *'  ,      in  the  dis- 

formed   the   resolution   to   fly,  liking  better  to  expose  his  guise  of  a 
brothers  to  death  than  to  deliver  up  the  castles,  by  the  pos-  ^^^^^^ 
session  of  which  he  hoped  to  recover  what  he  had  lost.     He 
left  the  city  on  foot  and  in  disguise,  having  over  his  own  clothes 
VOL.  I.  I 


114  REIGN   OF   RICHARD   I. 

CHAP,  a  gown  with  great  sleeves  and  a  petticoat, — his  face  being 
^'  covered  by  a  thick  veil, — carrying  under  his  arm  a  pack  of 
linen,  and  in  his  hand  an  ell  measure.*  In  this  attire,  which 
was  that  of  an  English  female  pedlar  of  the  time,  the  Chan- 
cellor made  for  the  sea-shore,  and  was  obliged  to  wait  for  the 
ship  in  which  he  was  to  embark.  He  seated  himself  quietly 
on  a  stone  with  his  pack  on  his  knees,  and  some  fishermen's 
wives,  who  were  passing  by,  accosted  him  and  asked  him  the 
price  of  his  wares ;  —  but,  not  knowing  a  single  word  of  En- 
glish, the  Chancellor  made  no  reply,  and  shook  his  head, — to 
the  great  surprise  of  those  who  wished  to  become  his  cus- 
tomers. They  walked  on ;  but  other  women  coming  up,  and 
examining  the  quality  of  the  linen,  made  the  same  demand  as 
the  first.'  The  pretended  female  pedlar  still  preserved  silence, 
and  the  women  repeated  their  questions.  At  length,  at  his 
wit's  end,  the  Chancellor  raised  a  loud  laugh,  hoping  so  to 
escape  from  his  embarrassment.  At  this  laugh  without  a 
jest,  they  believed  they  saw  before  them  a  female  out  of  her 
mind,  and  raising  her  veil  to  ascertain  who  she  was,  dis- 
covered the  face  of  a  man  of  a  swarthy  complexion,  lately 
Is  seized  shavcd.  f  Their  cries  of  surprise  attracted  the  workmen  of 
by  the  mob.  ^j^g  p^j.^^  ^yj^^^  g|j^^  ^^  ^^^  ^^^  object  of  sport,  scized  hold  of 

the  person  in  masquerade,  drawing  him  by  his  garments  |, 
causing  him  to  tumble  on  the  ground,  and  making  merry 
with  his  vain  efforts  to  escape  from  them  and  to  make  them 
comprehend  who  he  was.  After  dragging  him  a  long  way 
over  stones  and  through  mud,  the  sailors  and  fishermen  con- 
cluded by  shutting  him  up  in  a  dark  cellar.  §  Here  he  re- 
mained till  he  contrived  to  communicate  his  misadventure  to 
the  agents  of  the  government.  He  was  then  forced  to  deliver 
up  the  keys  of  all  the  royal  castles,  according  to  his  engage- 
ment, and  was  permitted  freely  to  leave  England. 

*  "  Tunica  foeminea  viridi  .  .  .  cappam  habens  ejusdem  coloris  .  .  .  mani- 
catam  .  .  .  peplum  in  capita  .  .  .  pannum  lineum  in  manu  sinistra  .  .  .  virgam 
venditoris  in  dextra." — Hovedeu. 

f  "  Viderunt  faciem  hominis  nigram  et  noviter  rasam." — Ibid. 

f  "  Et  facta  est  statim  multitudo  virorum  ac  mulierum  extrahentium  de 
capite  peplum  et  trabentium  eum  prostratum  in  terram  per  manicas  et  capu- 
cium." — Il^id. 

§  "  Pluribusque  raodis  turpiter  tractavit  per  totam  villam  et  .  ■  ,  in  quodara 
cellario  tenebroso  .  .  .  inclusit." — Ibid. 


LONGCHAMP,  CHANCELLOR.  115 

On  arriving  in  France,  he  immediately  wrote  to  the  King     CHAP. 
that  Prince  John,  having  got  possession  of  his  fortresses,  was 


about  to  usurp  the  throne,  and  pressing  him  immediately  to  Arrives  in 
return  from  the  Holy  Land.     He  seems  to  have  convinced  France. 
Richard  that  he  himself  had  acted  as  a  good  and  loyal  sub- 
ject, and  that  his  struggle  with  the  Barons  was  only  in  the 
support  of  the  royal  authority.     To  his  honour  it  is  recorded  Visits 
that,  hearing  of  Richard's  captivity  in  Germany,  he  repaired   j^^i^ 
thither,  and    obtained    permission    to    visit,  in   prison,  that  captivity, 
generous  master,  whom  the  universe  seemed  to  have  aban- 
doned.*    Richard  received  him   as  a  personal   friend   per- 
secuted in  his  service,  and  employed  him  in  repelling  the  un- 
founded charge  brought    against  him  as  a  pretext  for  his 
detention,  and  in  conducting  the  negotiations  for  his  libe- 
ration. 

As  soon  as  Longchamp  had  been  subdued  and  exiled  by  Geoffrey 
John  and  the  Barons,  the  office  of  Chancellor  was  restored  to  F'**"**-   . 

genet  again 

Geoffrey  Plantagenet,  now  fully  installed  in  his  archbishopric.  Chancellor, 
and  he  held  it  till  Richard's  return  to  England,  when  he  was 
finally  deprived  of  it.  He  experienced  clemency  to  which 
he  was  not  much  entitled,  considering  his  perfidy  and  breach 
of  oath,  and  he  seems  to  have  employed  himself  in  the  dis- 
charge of  his  ecclesiastical  duties  during  the  remainder  of 
this  reign. 

It  will  be  convenient  that  I  should  here  relate  what  fur-  a.d.  ]199, 
ther  is  known  of  him  as  Ex-chancellor.     After  the  death  of  fate  of 
Richard  he  was  no  longer  suffered  to  live  in  tranquillity.    Geoffrey 
John  seized  all  his  goods,  and  the  profits  of  his  archbishopric,   genet. 
and  Geoffrey  raised  a  strong  party  against  him.     A  truce 
was  established  between  them ;  but  this  was  of  short  dura- 
tion.    J  ohn  requiring  for  his  wars,  without  the  consent  of 
the  great   council  of  the  nation,  the  tenth  shilling  of  what 
every  body  was  worth,  this  tax  was  resisted  as  illegal  by 

*  Thus  the  Chancellor  is  supposed  to  have  serenaded  the  King :  — 

"  O  Richard,  O  mon  Roy, 
L'univers  t'abandonne, 
Mais  pour  moy  je  garde  ma  foy, 
Toujours  fidele  a  ta  personne." 
I  2 


116  REIGN   OF   RICHAUD   I. 

CHAP.     Geoffrey,  who  pronounced  sentence  of  excommunication  on 

^"         all  within  his  diocese  who  should  pay  it.     John  vowed  a 

bitter   revenge,    and   was   proceeding   to    such    extremities 

His  exile      ao-aiust  him  that  he  went  into  voluntary  exile,  and  died  at  a 

and  death,    ^jjg^j^jj^jg  ^^.^^  j^jg  native  land  before  the  memorable  aera  when 

the  Barons  at  Runnymede  obtained  security  against  unlawful 

taxation,  and  the  tyranny  of  John  was  effectually  restrained. 

Long-  But  we  must  now  return  back  to  Longchamp.     No  sooner 

iiiamp         ^as  Richard  again  in  possession  of  the  royal  authority,  than, 

Chancellor,  disregarding  all  the  charges  which  were  brought  against  his 

vicegerent  of  abuse  of  authority,  he  re-instated  him  in  the 

office  of  Chancellor,  and  restored  to  him  all  his  authority. 

Parliament        In  1194  a  parliament  was  called  at  Nottingham.     When 

ham  "'"^'  it  was  Opened,  Hubert,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  sat  on 

the  King's  right  hand,  and  Geoffrey  Archbishop  of  York,  on 

his  left.     But  Longchamp,  the  Chancellor,  was  present,  and 

although  only  ranking  according  to  the  precedence  of  his  see, 

he  guided  all  their  deliberations.     The  session  was  about  the 

usual  length,  viz.  four  days.     On  the  first  day  sentence  was 

passed  on  several  rebellious  Barons  and  sheriffs,  who  were 

deprived  of  their  castles  and  jurisdictions.     On  the  second 

day  the  King  pronounced  judgment  against  his  brother  John, 

who  was  absent,   for  having,  contrary  to  his  oath  of  fealty, 

usurped  his  castles,  and  entered  into  a  conspiracy  with  the 

King  of  France  against  him  —  when  he  was  ordered  to  appear 

by  a  certain  day  under  pain  of  banishment.     On  the  third 

day  a  supply  of  two  shillings  on  every  ploughland  was  voted 

to   the  King;    and  the  last  day  was  spent  in  hearing   and 

redressing  grievances,  and  resolving  that  to  nullify  the  King's 

submission  to  the  Emperor  when  in  captivity,  he  should  be 

crowned  again.     This  ceremony  was  actually  performed  at 

Winchester. 

Long-  But  Longchamp,  the  Chancellor,  had  soon  to  extricate  the 

Vrg^         King  from  a  new  perplexity.     A  calumny  was  propagated, 

letter  from    and  generally  believed,  that  while  in  the  East  he  had  murdered 

Man'^ofthe  the  Marquis  of  Moutfcrrat.*     This  charge  was  invented  by 


Mountain ' 


*   See  the  tale  of  the  "  Talisman  "  by  Sir  Walter  Scott.—  Sir  Robert  Comyn's 
•  History  of  the  Western  Empire,"  ii.  265. 


LONGCHAMP,  CHANCELLOR.  117 

Philip,  King  of  France,  Richard's  great  rival,  with  whom  he     CHAP. 
was   now  at   open  war,  and  much  damped  the  zeal  of  his 


supporters,  both  in  England  and  on  the  Continent.     All  pro-  ^^  pie^r 
testations  and  reasonable  proofs  of  innocence  being  vain,  the   Kichard  of 
Chancellor  forged  a  supposed  autograph  letter,  professing  to  Marquis  of 
have  been  written  by  "  The  Old  Man  of  the  Mountain,"  to  Mont- 

''  .  ferrat. 

the  Duke  of  Austria,  in  Hebrew,  Greek,  and  Latin  charac- 
ters, —  of  which  the  following  is  a  translation  :  — 

"  To  Leopold,  Duke  of  Austria,  and  to  all  princes  and 
people  of  the  Christian  faith,  greeting.  Wheijeas  many  Kings 
in  countries  beyond  the  seas  impute  to  Richard,  King  and 
Lord  of  England,  the  death  of  the  Marquis,  I  swear  by  the 
God  who  reigns  eternally,  and  by  the  law  which  we  follow, 
that  King  Richard  had  no  participation  in  this  murder. 
Done  at  our  castle  of  Messina,  and  sealed  with  our  seal,  Mid- 
September,  in  the  year  1503  after  Alexander." 

This  extraordinary  missive  was  formally  communicated  by 
the  Chancellor  to  foreign  sovereigns,  and  he  likewise  sent 
copies  of  it  to  the  monks  who  were  known  to  be  employed  in 
compiling  the  chronicles  of  the  time.  Its  manifest  falsity  was 
not  remarked  in  an  ao^e  when  criticism  and  a  knowledge  of 
eastern  manners  had  made  little  progress  in  the  north  of 
Europe.  It  had  a  sensible  effect  in  weakening  the  im- 
putations of  the  King  of  France  among  his  own  subjects, 
and  it  greatly  encouraged  those  of  the  King  of  England  to 
fight  for  a  master  whose  character  was  thus  proved  to  be  im- 
maculate. 

Longchamp    soon    after    resigned    the   Great    Seal;    but  a.d.  iigg. 
Richard  made  as  much  use  of  his  counsel  as  ever  to  the  day   Greafseal. 
of  his  death.     He  was,  in  1197,  together  with  the  Bishop  of 
Durham,  sent  on  an  embassy  to  the  Pope,  and  while  still  in 
the  public  employment,  he  died  at  Poictiers  in  the  beginning  His  death, 
of  the  following  year.      He  certainly  was  a  man   of  great 
energy  and  ability,  and,  tried  by  the  standard  of  honour  and 
morality  which  prevailed  in  the  12th  century,  he  probably  is 
not  to  be  very  severely  condemned  either  as  a  Chancellor  or  a 
Bishop.* 

♦  See  1  Pari.  Hist.  7. 
I  3 


118 


REIGN   OF   RICHARD   I. 


CHAP. 
V. 


EusTAcr, 
liishop  of 
Ely,  Chan- 
cellor. 


Origin  of 
Vice-chan- 
cellors. 


Vice-chan- 
cellors 
John  de 
Alen<;:on 
and  Mal- 
chien. 


Richard  appointed  as  his  successor,  Eustace,  Bishop  of 
Ely  *,  who  had  previously  been  Vice-chancellor. 

In  this  reign  we  have  tKe  earliest  distinct  evidence  of  the 
existence  of  the  officer  connected  with  the  Great  Seal,  called 
indifferently  "  Gustos  Sigilli,"  "  Sigillifer,"  and  "  Vice-can- 
cellarius ; "  but  in  all  probability  the  office  was  long  before 
well  known.  It  has  been  usual  to  consider  the  Great  Seal 
as  inseparable  from  the  person  of  an  existing  Chancellor, 
and  that  the  Keeper  of  the  Great  Seal,  from  the  remotest 
antiquity,  exercised  all  the  functions  of  the  Chancellor  under 
another  title ;  but,  as  we  shall  see,  for  many  ages  to  come 
there  were  often  concurrently  a  Chancellor  and  Keeper  of 
the  Great  Seal.  When  the  King  went  abroad,  sometimes 
the  Chancellor  accompanied  him  with  the  Great  Seal,  another 
seal  being  delivered  to  a  Vice-chancellor,  to  be  used  for  the 
sealing  of  writs  and  despatch  of  ordinary  business.  At  other 
times  the  Chancellor  remained  at  home,  with  the  custody  of 
the  Great  Seal,  and  a  Vice-chancellor  attended  the  King 
with  another  seal  while  he  was  abroad,  and  acted  as  Secretary 
of  State.  While  the  King  remained  in  England,  if  the 
Chancellor  went  abroad,  a  Vice-chancellor  was  always  ap- 
pointed to  hold  the  Seal  in  his  absence ;  and  while  the  King 
and  the  Chancellor  were  both  in  England,  it  often  happened 
that,  from  the  sickness  of  the  Chancellor,  or  his  absence  from 
Court  on  public  or  private  business,  or  from  his  being 
ignorant  of  law  or  absorbed  in  politics,  a  Vice-chancellor  was 
appointed,  who,  as  deputy,  transacted  all  affairs  connected  with 
the  Great  Seal,  the  patronage  and  profits  still  belonging  to 
the  Chancellor. 

Longchamp,  while  he  held  the  office  of  Chancellor,  always 
had  Vice-chancellors  acting  under  him,  who  were  intrusted 
with  the  custody  of  the  Great  Seal.  The  first  of  these  was 
John  de  Alen^on,  Archdeacon  of  Lisieux.  Then  came  Roger 
Malus  Catulus,  or  Malchien.  Hoveden  relates,  that  while 
Longchamp,  the  Chancellor,  remained  in  England  to  admi- 
nister the  government,    Malchien,   as    Vice-chancellor,    at- 


•    According  to  Spelman,  Eustace  was  made  Chancellor  in  1190,  Gloss.  100., 
and  according  to  Dugdale,  in  1198. — Or.  Jur.  5. 


VICE-CHANCELLORS.  119 

tended  Richard  in  Sicily,  on  his  way  to  Palestine,  and  was  CHAP, 
afterwards  drowned  near  Cyprus,  having  the  Great  Seal 
suspended  round  his  neck.*  It  is  said  that  the  King,  on  his 
return,  ordered  all  charters  that  had  been  sealed  with  it  to  be 
resealed  with  another  seal,  bearing  a  different  impression, 
made  to  replace  it,  —  upon  the  suggestion  that  the  lost  seal 
might  have  been  misapplied,  and  therefore  would  not  properly 
authenticate  the  royal  grants, —  this  being  in  reality  a  device 
to  draw  money  to  his  exhausted  exchequer. 

Subsequently,  one  "  Master  Bennet "  was  Yice-chancellor  ;  vice-chan- 
but  he  must  have  been  appointed  in  England  by  John  and  ^^^*"^  ^"' 
the  rebellious  Barons,  or  by  their  Chancellor,  for  we  find 
him  anathematised  by  Longchamp,  who,  as  Bishop  of  Ely 
and  Pope's  legate,  could  call  in  the  censures  of  the  Church 
to  aid  his  temporal  authority.  In  a  list  of  those  excom- 
municated for  disobedience  to  the  Chancellor,  who  repre- 
sented the  King,  we  find  "  Etiam  denunciamus  excommu- 
nicatum  Magistrum  Benedictum,  qui  sigillum  Domini  Regis 
contra  statuta  Regis  et  Regni,  et  contra  prohibitionem  nos- 
tram,  ferre  praesumpsit."f 

When  Longchamp  was  again  Chancellor,  he  had  for  his 
Vice-chancellor  one  Eustace,  styled  "  Sigillifer,"  Dean  of 
Salisbury,  who  succeeded  him  as  Chancellor,  and  as  Bishop 
of  Ely.  Eustace  likewise  had  a  Vice-chancellor,  Warine, 
Prior  of  Loches. 

Eustace  and  Warine  remained  in  their  respective  offices  Death  of 
without  any  thing  memorable  occurring  to  them,  till  the  Lion- 
hearted  Richard,  who  had  gained  such  renown  by  his  pro- 
digies of  valour  in  the  East,  fell  ingloriously  before  the  little 
castle  of  Chalos;  and,  as  might  have  been  expected,  they 
were  immediately  dismissed  by  his  successor,  who  had  been 
at  constant  enmity  with  him  during  his  life,  and  even 
hated  his  memory. 

We   have    one    remarkable    juridical    monument    of  this   Laws  of 
reign  —  the  Laws  of  Oleron,  the  foundation  of  the  maritime 

*  This  occurrence  induced  Lord  Coke  to  say,  that  the  form  of  conferring  the 
office  of  Chancellor  was  by  suspending  the  Great  Seal  round  the  neck  of  the 
person  appointed 4  Inst.  87, 

t  Hoved.  P.  ii.  p.  707.  n.  30. 

I  4 


120  REIGX   OF    RICHARD    I. 

CHAP,  jurisprudence  of  modern  Europe,  and  cited  as  authority  at 
the  present  day  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic.  The  Code  is 
said  to  have  been  framed  by  .Richard  himself,  when  on  a  visit 
to  his  continental  dominions,  but  was  probably  the  work  of 
Vice-chancellor  Malchien,  or  some  lawyer  who  had  accom- 
panied him.* 

•  Some  are  now  disposed  to  ascribe  the  Laws  of  Oleron  to  a  different  author 
and  to  a  later  age.  Luders's  Essays  ;  Hallam's  Middle  Ages  ;  Penny  Cyclopadia, 
tit.  Oleron,  Laws  of.  But  I  do  not  think  that  their  arguments  outweigh  the 
record  in  the  Tower  of  London,  and  the  authority  of  Coke,  Selden,  Hale, 
Prynne,  and  Blackstone.  No  doubt  the  Code  is  a  collection  of  rules  and  cus- 
toms which  had  gradually  sprung  up,  but  I  see  no  sufficient  reason  to  doubt 
that  it  was  compiled  and  published  to  the  world  under  the  authority  of 
Richard. 


WALTER   HUBERT,    CHANCELLOR.  121 

CHAPTER  VI. 

OF   THE   CHANCELLORS   DURING   THE   REIGN   OF   KING   JOHN. 

We  have  now  materials  for  an  exact  history  of  the  Great     CHAP. 
Seal.     From  the  beginning  of  the  reign  of  ^ing  John  to  ' 


the  present  time,  it  has  seldom  been  placed  in  the  custody  of  ^.d.  1 1 99, 
any  person,  even  for  a  single  day,  without  a  memorandum  of 
the  transfer  being  entered  in  records  still  extant. 

This,  the  most  worthless  of  English   sovereigns,  having  Accession 
usurped  the  throne  in  derogation  of  the  rights  of  Arthur,   j^ygj^j^^ 
the   unfortunate   son   of    Geoffrey   his   elder   brother,   was  Arch- 
anxious  to  prop  up  his  defective  title  by  the  support  of  the  Qant^j..'' 
Church;  and,  with  that  view,   he  aj)pointed  as  his  Chan-  bury, 
cellor  Walter  Hubert,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  who 
had  been  for  a  short  time  Chief  Justiciar,  during  the  stormy 
period  of  the  preceding  reign.*     While  he  held  this  office, 
the  monks  of  Canterbury  had  complained  to  the  Pope  that, 
contrary  to  the  canons  of  the  church,  their  archbishop  was  a 
judge  in  causes  of  blood,  and  that,  being  involved  in  secular 
affairs,  he  neglected   his   ecclesiastical   duties.      The  Pope, 
therefore,  sent  a   paternal  remonstrance   to  the  King,  re- 
quiring him  to  remove  the  Archbishop  from  all  lay  employ- 
ments, and,  for  the  future,  not  to  admit  him,  or  any  priest, 
into  any  secular  office. 

Hubert,  however,  without  hesitation,  accepted  the  offer  of 
the  Chancellorship  from  John,  and  was  in  the  habit  of  boast- 
ing of  its  power  and  emoluments.  It  is  related  that,  when 
he  was  stating  how  much  this  office  was  to  be  preferred  to 
any  other,  he  was  thus  rebuked  by  Hugh  Bardolfe,  an  un- 
lettered baron,  —  "  My  Lord,  with  your  good  leave,  if  you 
would  well  consider  the  great  power  and  dignity  of  your 
spiritual  function,  you  would  not  undertake  the  yoke  of 
lay  servitude."  f  The  office  was  too  lucrative  to  be  aban- 
doned for  such  a  gibe,  and  the  Archbishop,  on  the  contrary, 

*   Spel.  Gloss.  100.      Or,  Jur.  5.  f   Hovcden,  451. 


122  REIGN   OF   KING  JOHN. 

CHAP,  immediately  obtained  a  charter  from  the  King  which,  under 
pretence  of  regulating,  increased  the  fees  to  be  taken  by  him 
and  his  officers.* 

•   The  reader  may  be  amused  by  a  translation  of  this  curious  document. 
"  Ordinance  of  the  King  concerning  the  Fees  of  the  Great  Seal  of  England. 

"  John,  by  the  grace  of  God  King  of  England,  Lord  of  Ireland,  Duke  of 
Normandy,  Aquitain,  and  Earl  of  Anjou,  to  his  archbishops,  bishops,  abbots, 
earls,  barons,  justiciaries,  sheriffs  provosts,  and  all  bailiffs  and  faithful  people, 
greeting.  Forasmuch  as  divine  mercy  has  called  us  to  the  government  of  the 
kingdom  of  England,  which  belongs  to  us  of  hereditary  right,  and,  under  the 
unanimous  assent  and  favour  of  the  clergy  and  people,  has  most  mercifully 
exalted  us  to  be  king ;  we  desire  with  great  desire,  as  indeed  we  ought,  to 
provide  fully  for  the  liberty  and  freedom  of  the  clergy  and  people ;  and  for  the 
honour  of  God  and  the  holy  church,  and  the  peace  and  tranquillity  of  the  clergy 
and  people,  to  entirely  abolish  bad  and  wicked  customs  which  have  arisen  either 
from  covetousness,  bad  counsel,  or  evil  disposition  of  the  mind. 

"  And  forasmuch  as  the  Seal  of  Richard,  our  illustrious  brother,  formerly 
King  of  England,  of  good  memory,  in  his  days  had  fallen  into  that  state,  that 
for  certain  acts  pertaining  to  the  Seal  some  things  were  received  out  of  the  usual 
ancient  course,  more  from  inclination  than  reason,  to  the  prejudice  of  the  regal 
dignity  and  the  liberty  of  the  kingdom  ;  to  wit,  for  letters  patent  of  protection 
eighteen  shillings  and  fourpence  were  given,  for  which  only  two  shillings  ought 
to  have  been  given,  and  for  simple  confirmations  in  which  nothing  new  is 
inserted,  twelve  marks  and  five  shillings  were  given,  for  which  only  eighteen 
shillings  and  fourpence  ought  to  have  been  given ;  we,  for  the  health  of  the 
souk  of  ourself,  of  Henry,  formerly  king  of  England,  our  father,  of  happy 
memory,  and  of  the  said  King  Richard,  our  brother,  and  all  our  ancestors  and 
successors,  will  and  grant,  and  at  the  instance  of  the  venerable  father  Hubert, 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  our  Chancellor,  do  ordain  that  in  future  times 
nothing  shall  be  received  by  the  Seal  of  us  or  our  successors,  for  acts,  beyond 
what  was  anciently  ordained  to  be  received  for  the  Seal  of  the  Kings  of  England, 
and  which  was  received  for  the  Seal  of  Henry,  our  father,  formerly  King  of 
England,  of  good  memory,  to  wit,  for  a  charter  of  new  infeofFment  of  lands, 
tenements,  or  liberties,  shall  be  taken  one  mark  of  gold  or  ten  marks  of  silver  for 
the  use  of  the  Chancellor,  and  one  mark  of  silver  for  the  use  of  the  Vice-chan- 
cellor, and  one  mark  of  silver  for  the  use  of  the  prothonotary,  five  shillings  for 
wax.  For  a  simple  confirmation,  in  which  nothing  new  is  added,  shall  be  given 
one  mark  of  silver  for  the  use  of  the  Chancellor,  one  besant  for  the  use  of  the  Vice- 
chancellor,  and  one  besant  for  the  use  of  the  prothonotary,  and  twelve  pence  for 
wax.      For  a  simple  protection  two  shillings  shall  be  given. 

"  If  any  one  shall  presume  to  act  contrary  to  this  our  ordinance,  he  shall 
incur  the  anger  of  Almighty  God,  and  of  us,  and  every  curse  by  which  an 
anointed  and  consecrated  king  can  curse.  Moreover,  the  aforesaid  Archbishop 
of  Canterbury,  our  Chancellor,  and  all  bishops  who  at  our  consecration  laid 
hands  on  us,  have  with  our  consent  promulgated  sentence  of  general  excommu- 
nication against  all  who  shall  presume  to  act  contrary  to  this  our  ordinance. 
To  this  our  ordinance  which  we  have  made  concerning  our  Seal,  we  have  put 
that  Seal  in  witness  and  perpetual  confirmation.      Witness,  &c. 

"  Ciiven  under  the  hand  of  Hubert,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  our  Chan- 
cellor, at  Northampton,  on  the  7th  day  of  June,  in  the  first  year  of  our  reign." 
—  Fad.  7.5.  Beyond  these  fees,  it  appears  in  an  ancient  memorial  concerning 
the  constitution  of  the  king's  house,  registered  in  the  Red  Book  of  the  Exche- 
quer by  Alexander  de  Swereford,  that  the  Chancellor  at  this  time  had  five 
shillings  a  day,  besides  an  allowance  of  Siranel's  bread,  salt,  wine,  candles,  &c. 
Lib.  Kab.  fol.  xxx.  col.  2.  The  Chancellor  had  also  in  the  next  reign  "ad 
sustentationem  suam  et  clericorum    Cancellaria   Regis  D.  marcarum  per  an- 


WALTER   HUBERT,    CHANCELLOR.  123 

Hubert  retained  the  office  of  Chancellor  till  his  death,  in     CHAP. 
1205,  but  does   not  seem   to   have   attended   much  to  its 


duties,  as   he  constantly  had   the  assistance  of  Vice-chan-    Qg^th  of 
cellors;  first  of  Simon  Fitz-Robert,  Archdeacon  of  Wells,   Lord 
and  John  de  Gray,  Archdeacon  of  Cleveland,  jointly ;  then 
of  John  de  Brancestre,  Archdeacon  of  Worcester;  next  of 
Hugh  Wallys,  Bishop  of  Lincoln ;  and,  lastly,  of  Josceline  de 
Wells,  afterwards  Bishop  of  Bath  and  Wells.    « 

This  is  the  most  disgraceful  period  in  the  annals  of  Eng-  27th  May, 
land.     Arthur,  the  right  heir  to  the  throne,  was  murdered   ^^^^* 
by  the  King,  and  the  English  were  expelled  from  Normandy, 
and  almost  the  whole  of  the  possessions  in  France  which  had 
been  united  to  the  Crown  since  the  accession  of  the  house  of 
Anjou. 

John,  upon  his  return  after  these  disasters,  attempted  to 
throw  the  blame  of  them  upon  the  Chancellor  and  his  other 
ministers  in  England,  whom  he  accused  of  remissness  in  not 
sending  him  proper  supplies  ;  and,  under  pretence  of  a  new 
expedition  to  recover  his  Continental  dominions,  he,  in  the 
most  arbitrary  manner,  extorted  taxes  from  his  subjects, 
which  he  wasted  in  wanton  prodigality. 

On  the  death  of  Hubert,  the  Archbishop,  the  office  of  Oct  3. 
Chancellor   came   into   the   King's   hands*,    and   then   the     '    * 
Great  Seal  remained  some  time  in  the  custody  of  John  de 
Brancestre,    who   had   before   acted   as   Vice-chancellor, 
while  the  King  considered  how  he  should  dispose  of  it.     To 
raise  money  for  his  necessities,  he  at  last  put  it  up  for  sale. 
The  purchaser  was  one  Walter  de  Gray,  who  paid  doAvn   Great  Seal 
5000    merks    (equal   to    61,245/.   of  present   money)  for  it  ^^tw^vniyE 
during  the  term  of  his  natural  life,  and  the  grant  was  made   Guay. 
out  to  him  in  due  form.     Under  this  he  actually  held  the 
Chancellorship,  without  interruption  or  dispute,  for  six  years. 
He  began  by  doing  the  duties  of  the  office  himself  f,  but  he 
afterwards  had  for  Keepers  of  the  Seal,  or  Vice-chancellors, 


*  nic  devenit  Cancellaria  in  manum  Domini  Regis  post  mortem  H.  Canta- 
riiensis  Archiepiscopi. — Chart.  7  John,  m.  8. 

f  Hie  recepit  Uominus  W.  de  Gray  Cancellariam.  And  of  the  first  charter 
next  following  it  is  said,  "  Data  per  manum  Walteri  de  Gray,  iij  die  Octobris, 
anno  vii." — Chart.  7.  J.  n.  51. 


124  REIGN  OF   KING  JOHN. 

CHAP.     Hugh  Wallys,  and  Richard  de  Marisco,  Archdeacon  of  Eich- 
^  ^"        mond,  who  afterwards  was  himself  Chancellor, 
jj;^  ^^^  Walter  de  Gray,  having  become,  by  purchase,  "  Keeper  of 

duct.  the  King's  Conscience,"  appears  to  have  been  much  in  his 

confidence,  and  to  have  abetted  him  in  those  fatal  measures 
which  brought  the  Crown  of  England  under  feudal  subjection 
to  the  see  of  Rome.  But  Hugh  Wallys,  the  Vice-chancellor, 
who  had  expressed  great  zeal  on  the  King's  side,  went  over 
to  the  opposite  faction  on  receiving  a  favour  which  was 
intended  as  a  reward  for  his  fidelity. 
Vicc-chan-  The  grand  dispute  had  arisen  respecting  the  appointment  to 
lys.*"^  * "  ^^^  see  of  Canterbury,  the  Pope  having  consecrated  Langton 
archbishop,  without  the  King's  authority  or  privity.  Langton 
was  not  allowed  to  take  possession  of  his  archiepiscopal  throne, 
and  was  obliged  to  reside  abroad.  In  the  mean  time  the  see 
of  Lincoln  became  vacant,  and  Wallys  was  elected  to  it  by 
the  King's  recommendation,  on  the  condition  that  he  should 
not  recognise  Langton  as  archbishop.  The  Bishop  elect  de- 
sired leave  to  go  abroad  in  order  to  receive  consecration  from 
the  Archbishop  of  Rouen ;  but  he  no  sooner  reached  France 
than  he  hastened  to  Pontigny,  where  Langton  then  resided, 
and  paid  homage  to  him  as  his  primate.*  It  has  happened  in 
all  ages  of  the  church  that  ecclesiastics,  on  reaching  the  dig- 
nity of  the  mitre,  have  preferred  the  interest  of  their  order  to 
the  ties  of  gratitude  or  the  reputation  of  consistency,  and 
have  speedily  forgotten  the  express  or  implied  undertaking 
which  was  the  condition  of  their  elevation.  The  pliant 
Archdeacon,  become  Bishop  of  Lincoln,  showed  himself  a 
rigid  supporter  of  papal  supremacy,  and  received  consecration 
from  Langton,  whom  John  still  disowned.  By  way  of 
punishment  for  his  contumacy,  he  was  for  five  years  deprived 
of  the  temporalities  of  his  bishopric.  He  afterwards  took 
an  active  part  in  obtaining  Magna  Charta,  acting,  it  is  to  be 
feared,  rather  from  revenge  than  from  patriotism. 
A.n.  1313.  Walter  de  Gray  was  still  Chancellor  when  the  most  igno- 
minious charter  passed  to  which  the  Great  Seal  of  England 

*  Hume  calls  this  person  "  Hugh  Wells,"  and  describes  him  as  "  Ch  in- 
cellor,"  but  JValli/s  was  his  true  name,  and  he  never  held  the  Great  Seal  as 
Chancellor Vol.  ii   60. 


WALTER  DE  GRAY,  CHANCELLOR.  125 

has  ever  been  appended.     Pandulph,  the  Pope's  legate,  not     CHAP, 
being  satisfied  with  John's  promise  that  he  would  acknow- 


ledge Langton  for  primate,  —  that  he  would  restore  all  the  Surrender 
exiled  clergy  and  laity  who  had  been  banished  on  account  of  of  England 
the  contest,  — that  he  Avould  make  them  full  restitution  of  p^ 
their  goods  and  compensation  for  all  damages, — and  that  every 
one  outlawed  or  imprisoned  for  his  adherence  to  the  Pope 
should  immediately  be  received  into  favour,  —  required  John 
to  resign  his  kingdom  to  the  Church,  —  to  put  himself  under 
the  immediate  protection  of  the  Apostolic  See,  —  to  acknow^ 
ledge  the  Pope  as  his  liege  lord,  and  to  authenticate  the  act 
by  an  instrument  under  the  Great  Seal,  which  should  be 
confirmed  by  the  national  council.  Accordingly,  with  the 
King's  concurrence,  a  charter  was  framed  in  his  name,  in 
which  he  declared  that,  "  not  constrained  by  fear,  but  of  his 
own  free  will,  and  by  the  common  consent  and  advice  of  his 
barons,  he  had,  for  the  remission  of  his  own  sins  and  those 
of  his  family,  resigned  England  and  Ireland  to  God,  to  St. 
Peter  and  St.  Paul,  and  to  Pope  Innocent  and  his  successors 
in  the  apostolic  chair ;  he  agreed  to  hold  these  states,  as  feu- 
datory of  the  church  of  Rome,  by  the  annual  payment  of 
1000  marks  — 700  for  England,  300  for  Ireland;  and  he 
stipulated,  that  if  he  or  his  successors  should  ever  presume  to 
revoke  or  infringe  this  charter,  they  should  instantly,  except 
upon  admonition  they  repented  of  their  offence,  forfeit  all 
right  to  their  dominions." 

To  the  honour  of  the  memory  of  Walter  de  Gray  and  his 
deputies,  and  to  the  credit  of  the  nation,  there  is  reason  to 
believe  that  the  King  could  not  find  a  subject  in  his  domi- 
nions sufficiently  base  to  put  the  Great  Seal  to  this  charter, 
although,  owing  to  the  presence  of  a  French  army,  and  the 
deplorable  condition  to  which  public  affairs  had  been  reduced, 
it  could  not  be  successfully  resisted.  From  an  entry  in  the 
Patent  Roll  it  appears  that  about  this  time  the  Great  Seal 
was  in  the  King's  own  keeping,  and  we  may  reasonably  sup- 
pose that  he  affixed  it  to  the  charter  with  his  own  hand.* 

*  English  historians,  '.vhen  they  would  infer  the  feudal  dependence  of  Scot- 
land on  England  from  the  homage  done  by  William  while  a  prisoner  of  war  to 
Henry  II,,  notwithstanding  the  release  of  Richard  I,  of  any  such  claim,  utterly 


126 


KEIGN   OP   KING  JOHN. 


CHAP. 

VI. 

De  Gray 
Bis!<op  of 
Worcester 
.  and  Arch- 
bishop of 
York. 


His  igno- 
rance. 


His  death 
and  cha- 
racter. 


A.D.  1214. 
Richard 
DE  Ma- 

RISCO, 

Chancellor. 


Lord  Chancellor  de  Gray  now  bartered  his  office  for  prefer- 
ment in  the  Church.  He  was  first  elected  Bishop  of  Lichfield 
and  Coventry,  but  some  obstacle  arising  about  his  consecration, 
he  never  was  in  possession  of  this  see.  In  1214,  however, 
he  became  Bishop  of  Worcester.  He  finally  reached  the  dig- 
nity of  Archbishop  of  York, — not  without  difficulty,  for  the 
Chapter  long  refused  to  elect  him  on  the  ground  that  he  was 
"  minus  sufficiens  in  literaturd,^^  notwithstanding  that*  he  had 
studied  at  the  University  of  Oxford,  and  for  some  years 
filled  the  office  of  Lord  Chancellor.  His  election  being  at 
last  carried,  he  could  not  for  some  time  obtain  consecration 
from  the  Pope,  who  again  urged  the  objection  of  "  crassa 
ignorantia.''^  This  was  hardly  denied ;  but  the  topic  relied 
upon  in  answer  was  his  virgin  chastity  amidst  the  general 
profligacy  of  churchmen.  Still  the  scruples  of  His  Holiness 
could  not  be  overcome  without  an  exacted  present  of  10,000/. 
sterling.  This  is  said  to  have  compelled  the  Archbishop  to 
lead,  for  some  time,  a  very  mean  and  penurious  life,  and 
unjustly  to  incur  the  censure  of  covetousness ;  but  having 
reached  extreme  old  age,  and  been  Archbishop  forty  years, 
he  not  only  contributed  much  to  the  ornamenting  of  the 
cathedral,  but  he  annexed  the  manor  of  Thorpe,  in  York- 
shire, to  the  archiepiscopal  see,  and  bought  York  Place,  in 
Westminster,  of  the  Dominicans,  w^hich  remained  the  town 
residence  of  his  successors  till  it  was  made  over,  by  Cardinal 
Wolsey,  to  Henry  VIIL 

The  next  Chancellor  after  Walter  de  Gray,  was  Richard 
DE  Marisco*,  Dean  of  Salisbury,  Archdeacon  of  North- 
umberland, and  afterwards  Bishop  of  Durham,  who  twice  held 
the  office.  His  first  Chancellorship  ceased  in  about  a  year, 
when  the  King  .pjoing  into  Poitou,  Peter  de  Rupibus,  Bishop 
of  Winchester,  was  appointed  Chief  Justiciar  and  Regent, 


forget  that,  according  to  their  reasoning,  there  is  much  more  ground  for  contend- 
ing that  England  is  now  subject  to  the  Pope  of  Rome  as  superior ;  for  this 
superiority  was  solemnly  yielded  by  tlie  king  and  the  legislature;  not  only  King 
John,  but  King  Henry  III.  did  homage  to  the  pope  as  liege  lord  ;  the  stipulated 
tribute  or  render  as  the  badge  of  dependence  was  paid  for  ages,  even  by  such  a 
prince  as  Edward  I., — and  there  has  never  at  any  time  been  a  renunciation  of 
the  claim  by  the  court  of  Rome. 
»    Rot.  Cart.  16  John,  m.  7. 


OFFICE  OF  CHANCELLOR  IN  ABEYANCE.  127 

and  the  Great  Seal  was  delivered  to  be  held  under  him  to     CHAP. 
Ralph  de  Neville.* 


The  King  soon  returned  to  England,  and  continuing  his  29th  Dec. 
tyrannical  and  oppressive  measures,  the  insurrection  of  the   1213. 
Barons  took  place,  which  ended  in  their  obtaining  Magna  J""^  19. 
Charta.     No  one  witnesses  it  as  Chancellor,  and  it  does  not  Magna 
clearly  appear  in  whose  keeping  the  Great  Seal  then  was,   Charta. 
there  being  no  farther  entry  in  the  records  on  the  subject 
during  the  rest  of  this  reign;  but  there  is  great  reason  to 
believe  that  it  remained  in  the  hands  of  Ralph  de  Neville, -7- 
the  Nevilles,  already  a  powerful  family,  taking  part  with  the 
King,  and  Hugh  de   Neville   being  mentioned   among  the 
barons  who  appeared  on  his  side  at  Runnymede.  f 

Whoever  might  then  be  Chancellor  or  Keeper  of  the  Great 
Seal,  he  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  framing  of  Magna 
Charta.  There  was  no  negotiation  as  to  terms.  Archbishop 
Langton  and  the  insurgent  barons  dictated  whatever  clauses 
they  deemed  desirable ;  and  it  is  considered  a  great  proof  of 
their  moderation  and  wisdom,  that  they  merely  guarded 
against  abuses,  and  introduced  useful  reforms,  without  touch- 
ing on  the  essential  prerogatives  of  the  Crown.  The  Bishop 
of  Winchester  and  the  Bishop  of  Worcester,  who  had  been 
the  King's  Chief  Justiciar  and  Chancellor,  certainly  were 
with  him  at  Runnymede,  and  one  of  them  might  have  acted 
as  Chancellor  on  this  occasion.  At  all  events,  the  Great 
Seal  was  in  due  form  affixed  either  by  the  King  personally, 
or  by  some  one  under  his  authority,  not  only  to  the  original, 
but  to  various  copies  of  the  Great  Charter  sent  to  arch- 
bishops, bishops,  and  priors,  to  be  safely  kept  in  perpetiiam 
rei  memoriam.  | 

From  this  time  till  his  death,  John  could  scarcely  have   Death  of 
had  any  counsellors  near  him,  and  he  seems  merely  to  have      ^"^  °  "* 

*  Nono  die  Octobris  anno  regni  Domini  Regis  quinto  decimo  liberavit 
Magister  Ricardus  de  Marisco,  Archidlaconus  Richemundiae  et  Northumbria! 
Domino  Regi  sigillum  apud  Ospreng.  Vicesimo  secundo  die  Decembris 
liberatum  fuit  sigillum  apud  Windlesor  Radul])ho  de  Nevill  sub  Domino  Win- 
toniensi  Episcopo  deferendum. — Put.  15  J.  m.  8.  n.  28.  m.  6.  n.  18. 

f  This  was  after  the  famous  fine  paid  by  his  wife  to  the  king,  of  200  hens, 
that  she  might  be  allowed  to  sleep  with  Ralph  one  night." — Madd.  Exch.  326. 

I  4  Inst.  Proeme.  Some  of  them  are  still  extant.  See  Bl.  Ed.  of  Charters, 
p.  303. 


128  KEIGN   OF   KING  JOHN. 

CHAP,     acted  according  to  the  Impulses  of  his  own  capricious  mind; 
^^'        all  regular  government  must  have  been  at  an  end,  and  the 
administration  of  justice  entirely  suspended.    We  may,  there- 
fore, consider  the  office  of  Chancellor  as  In  abeyance  till  the 
autumn  of  the  following  year,  when  John,  after  a  long  agony 
of  body  and  spirit,  closed  his  wicked  and  disgraceful  career. 
A.D.  1216.         The  Chancellors  during  this  reign  did  nothing  to  be  entitled 
to  the  gratitude  of  posterity,  and  were  not  unworthy  of  the 
master  whom  they  served.     The  guardians  of  law  were  the 
feudal  barons,  assisted  by  some  enlightened  churchmen,  and 
by  their  efforts  the  doctrine  of  resistance  to  lawless  tyranny 
was  fully  established  in  England,  and  the  rights  of  all  classes 
'  of  the  people  were  defined  and  consolidated. 
Beginning        We   here   reach  a  remarkable  asra   In  our  constitutional 
law'**'"*^     history.     National  councils  had  met  from  the  most  remote 
times  ;  but  to  the  end  of  this  reign  their  acts,  not  being  pre- 
served on  record,  are  supposed  to  form  a  part  of  the  lex  non 
scripta,  or  common  law.*     Now  begins  the  distinction  be- 
tween common  and  statute  law,  and  henceforth  we  can  dis- 
tinctly trace  the  changes   which  our  juridical  system  has 
undergone.     These  changes  were   generally  Introduced  by 
the  Chancellor  for  the  time  being ;  and  I  shall  hereafter 
consider  it  my  duty  to  notice  them  in  each  successive  reign. 

*  It  was  in  the  interval  between  the  Conquest  and  the  end  of  the  reign  of 
King  John,  that  what  we  call  the  Common  Law  of  England,  which  differs  es- 
sentially from  the  Anglo-Saxon  law,  must  have  been  framed.  —  See  Hallam's 
Middle  Ages,  ii.  122. 


RICHARD   DE   MARISCO,    CHANCELLOR.  129 


CHAPTER  VII. 

CHANCELLORS  DURING  THE  REIGN  OP  HENRY  HI.  TILL  THE  AP- 
POINTMENT OF  QUEEN  ELEANOR  AS  LADY  KEEPE9  OF  THE 
GREAT    SEAL. 

Henry  III.  on  his  accession,  being  still  a  child,  the  valiant     chap. 
Earl  of  Pembroke,  who  had  held  the  office  of  Mareschal  at 
the  conclusion  of  the  late  reign,  was  elected  Protector  with  ^^  ^^^^ 
royal  authority,  and  he  appointed  B-ichard  de  Marisco  Marisco. 
Chancellor.*     The  conduct  of  these  two  men  was  Avise  and 
conciliatory.   •  They  Immediately  summoned  a  parliament.  In  Confirma- 
which  the  Great  Charter,  with  a  few  alterations,  was  con-   Q^g^j 
firmed  In  the  name  of  the  Infant  sovereign.  Charter, 

For  three  years  all  grants  passed  under  the  seal  of  the 
Protector,  although  In  the  King's  name.f  A  new  Great  Seal 
was  then  made  X,  but  that  It  might  n^t  be  abused  to  the  King's 
disherison,  an  act  was  passed  that  "  no  charter  or  letters 
patent  of  confirmation,  alienation,  sale,  or  grant  of  any  thing 
In  perpetuity,  should  be  sealed  with  the  King's  Great  Seal 
until  his  full  age ;  and  that  If  any  such  were  sealed  with  that 
seal  they  should  be  void."  In  the  ninth  year  of  his  reign 
the  Great  Charter  was  again  confirmed,  as  It  now  appears  at 
the  head  of  the  statute  law  of  England. 

De  Marisco  had  for  his  Vice-chancellor  Ralph  de  Neville,  Ralph  de 
an  ambitious  and  unprincipled  man,  who  was  constantly  in- 
triguing against  him,  and  finally  supplanted  him.  cellor. 

In  the  year  1226  a  national  council  was  held  at  Oxford, 
at  which,  contrary  to  the  advice  of  the  Chancellor,  and  by  the 
instigation  of  Hubert  de  Burgh  and  De  Neville,  the  King, 
after  declaring  himself,  resolved  to  take  the  management  of 
public  affiiirs  Into  lils  own  hands,  cancelled  and  annulled  the 

•   Pat.  Rol.  3  H.  3.  m.  14.      Spel.  Gloss.  100.      Or.  Jiir.  8. 

f  "  Tn  cujus  rei  testimonium  has  literas  nostras  sigillo  comitis  mariscalli 
rectoris  nostri  sit^illatas,  quia  nondum  sigillum  habuimus,  vobis  mittimus,  teste 
WiLLiELMo  comite  Mariscallo." — 1  Hale's  Pleas  of  the  Crown,  ch.  xvi, 

J   Claus.  3  H.  3.  m,  14.  hie  incepit  sigillum  regis  currere. 

VOL.  T.  K 


Neville, 
"Vice-chan- 


130 


REIGN    OF    HENRY   III. 


CHAP. 
VII. 


Miscon- 
duct of 
Vice-chan- 
cellor De 
Neville. 


Letter  of 
remon- 
strance 
from  the 
Chancellor 
to  the  Vice- 
chancellor. 


Great  Charter  and  the  Charter  of  the  Forest,  which  he  had 
previously  confirmed  and  directed  to  be  observed  throughout 
the  kingdom, — now  alleging  that  they  were  invalid,  having 
been  granted  during  his  minority,  when  there  was  no  power 
in  his  own  person  or  his  seal  to  infringe  the  prerogatives  of 
the  Crown. 

This  was  followed  up  by  another  arbitrary  act,  with  a  view 
to  fill  the  treasury,  for  which  a  precedent  in  Richard's  reign 
was  cited.  All  persons  enjoying  liberties  and  privileges  were 
required  to  take  a  fresh  grant  under  the  Great  Seal,  the  King 
being  now  of  age,  and  they  were  compelled  to  pay  for  these 
renewals  according  to  the  extortionate  discretion  of  the  Jus- 
ticiar and  the  Vice-chancellor,  who  were  the  authors  of  the 
measure. 

The  insolence  of  Vice-chancellor  Neville,'  backed  by 
Hubert  de  Burgh,  who  was  now  rising  rapidly  to  the  uncon- 
trolled power  he  afterwards  possessed,  grew  to  such  a  pitch, 
that  he  entirely  superseded  De  Marisco  in  all  his  functions, 
and  in  writing  to  him  styled  him  merely  "Bishop  of  Durham," 
without  deigning  to  give  him  his  title  of  "  Chancellor." 

This  conduct  drew  forth  the  following  reprimand :  — 

"  Richard,  by  the  grace  of  God  Bishop  of  Durham,  Chan- 
cellor of  our  Lord  the  King,  to  his  beloved  Ralph  de  Neville, 
Dean  of  Lichfield,  greeting.  It  is  marvellous  in  our  eyes, 
and  it  must  be  a  subject  of  general  astonishment,  that  in  your 
letters  you  have  omitted  to  address  us  by  the  title  of  *  Chan- 
cellor,' since  you  must  be  well  aware  that  we  were  solemnly 
appointed  to  that  office,  and  that  by  God's  grace  we  are  still 
resolved  to  enjoy  its  powers  and  pre-eminence,  the  attempts 
of  our  enemies  recoiling  upon  themselves,  and  in  no  respect 
shaking  our  constancy.  However  much  they  may  strive  to 
partition  me,  I  am  resolved  to  remain  entire. 

"Know,  that  in  letters  with  which  I  have  been  lately 
favoured  from  our  lord  the  Pope  and  several  of  his  cardinals, 
they  have  all  saluted  me  by  the  title  which  you  suppress,  and 
you  are  bound  to  follow,  or  rather  to  worship  their  footsteps. 

"  Be  advised  then  by  me  for  the  future  to  act  a  discreeter 
part,  and  having  a  proper  respect  for  others  when  you  write 
to  them,  give  them  the  appellations  of  honour  to  which  they 


Culminis  qui  cupi 
Et  sedata  si 
Qui  populos  regi 
Quod  mors  iinini 
Vobis  prasposi 
Quod  sum  vos  eri 


'laudes  pompasquesui 
si  me  peiisare  veli 
memore  super  omnia  si 
non  parcit  honore  poti 
similis  fueram  bene  sci 

_ad  me  currendo  veni 
2 


DE   NEVILLE,    CHANCELLOK.  131 

are  entitled.     Reverence  for  the  law  requires  that  every  one     chap. 
should  be  called  by  the  name  of  his  dignity.     Accius  the  ' 

poet,  being  addressed  at  supper  by  his  own  proper  name, 
brought  his  action  of  damages.* 

"  We  might  consider  this  suppression  of  our  title  by  you 
as  a  premeditated  injury,  and  act  accordingly ;  but  we  are 
contented  with  this  remonstrance  for  the  present,  in  the  hope 
of  your  amendment.     Farewell. "f 

If  any  such  hope  was  really  entertained  it  was  disappointed. 
De  Neville  not  only  did  all  the  duties  of  Chancellor,  but  took 
every  opportunity  of  insulting  his  superior,  and  refused  to 
give  him  any  account  of  fees  received.  De  Marisco,  finding 
that  he  could  obtain  no  redress,  sent  in  the  long-wished  re- 
signation, and  retired  to  his  diocese,  where  he  soon  after 
died.  :j: 

*  See  "  Rhetoricorum  ad  Herennium,"  lib.  i.  14.,  where  the  case  being  put  that 
"  the  fact  is  admitted  and  the  law  is  disputed,"  Cicero,  or  whoever  the  author 
may  be,  gives  this  illustration  :  "  Mimus  quidam  nominatim  Accium  poetam  com- 
pellavit  in  scena  :  cum  eo  Accius  injuriarum  agit :  hie  nihil  aliud  defendit,  nisi 
licere  nominari  eum,  cujus  nomine  scripta  dentur  agenda."  The  Chancellor  has 
changed  "  scena  "  into  "  coenaculo."  "  Scena  cum  eo  "  had,  probably,  been 
first  turned  into  "  scoenaculo."  This  is  a  specimen  of  the  perils  to  whicli  ma- 
nuscript literature  is  exposed.  However,  the  familiarity  of  the  Mediaeval 
writers,  from  Bede  downwards,  with  the  Latin  classics  is  often  very  striking. 

f  "  Ricardus  Dei  gratia  Dunelmensis  Episcopus  Domini  Regis  Cancellarius 
dilecto  suo  Radulpho  de  Neville  Decano  Lichefeldensi  Salutem.  Mirabile  fuit 
in  oculis  nostris  et  satis  admirari  dignum  vos  nomen  Cancellarii  in  Uteris  vestris 
nobis  destinatis  suppressisse ;  cum  expericntiam  vestram  non  lateat  nee  consci- 
entiam  vestram  latere  debeat,  nos  dicta  dignitatis  officio  fuisse  et  esse  sollemp- 
niter  assignatos,  ejusdem  praerogativse  preeminentia  gratia  Dei  ulterius  gavisuros, 
oblatrantium  morsibus  in  se  ipsos  redeuntibus,  et  nostri  constantiam  in  nullo 
contaminantibus.  Quia  quid  me  dimidiant  integer  esse  volo.  Dominus  autem 
Papa,  et  Cardinales  sui  quamplures,  nos  pridie  literarum  suarum  beneficiis 
memoratfe  dignitatis  appellatione  minus  suppressa  gratia  sui  visitarunt,  et  vos 
eorum  non  solum  sequi  sed  potius  adorare  vestigia  tenemini.  Et  de  consilio 
nostro  de  cjetero  non  intercepto  discretiori  judicio  teneamini,  reverencia  locum 
suum  decenter  etiam  sortita  inter  caetera  attributa  personae  de  jure,  et  ratione 
convenientia  nequaquam  in  Uteris  vestiis  exterminata.  Legis  enim  reverencia 
est  quemvis  nomine  dignitatis  nuncupare,  et  Accium  Poetam  in  coenaculo 
proprio  nomine  compeilatum  injuriarum  egisse.  Et  nos  sepedicta*  suppressionis 
occasione  licet  condigna  et  consimiU  ratione  injuriarum  agere  possimus  in  pra;- 
sentiam  dignum  duximus  sub  expectatione  melioris  subticere.  Valete." — Ex 
Orig.  in  Turr.  Lond. 

J  He  was  interred  in  his  own  cathedral,  where  a  monument  was  erected  to 
his  memory  with  the  following  curious  epitaph  :  — 


132 


KEIGN    OF    HENRY    III. 


CHAP. 
VII. 


A.D.  1227. 
Dk  Ne- 
ville, 
Chancellor. 


A.n.  1231. 
Grant  to 
him  of 
office  of 
Chancellor 
for  life. 


The  title  of  Chancellor  was  conferred  on  De  Neville,  who 
had  for  some  time  enjoyed  the  powers  and  the  profits  of  the 
office.* 

This  ambitious  man  was  now  also  Bishop  of  Chichester, 
and  was  bent  upon  engrossing  the  highest  civil  and  ecclesias- 
tical dignities.  That  he  might  be  secure  in  the  office  of 
Chancellor  against  such  acts  as  he  himself  had  practised,  he 
obtained  a  charter  from  the  King,  dated  the  12  th  of  February, 
in  the  11th  year  of  the  reign,  "granting  and  confirming  to 
him  the  King's  Chancery,  to  hold  during  his  w^hole  life,  with 
all  the  issues,  liberties,  and  other  things  thereto  belonging,  as 
freely,  quietly,  entirely,  and  honourably  as  the  Chancellors 
of  former  Kings,  his  predecessors,  held  the  same." 

Four  years  after  he  received  a  renewal  and  confirmation  of 
this  grant,  "  with  power  that  he  might  bear  and  keep  the 
Seal,  either  by  himself  in  person  as  long  as  he  pleased,  or  by 
some  other  discreet,  sufficient,  and  fit  assignee ;  which  assignee 
should  be  sworn  to  the  King  for  his  faithful  service  for  the 
true  and  faithful  keeping  of  the  said  Seal,  in  the  room  of  the 
said  Ralph,  before  receiving  it  into  his  custody  ;  and  if  such 
assignee  died,  or  became  professed  in  religion,  or  should  be 
put  out  for  any  reasonable  cause,  either  by  the  King  or  the 
Chancellor,  or  if  the  assignee  refused  to  keep  the  Seal  any 
longer,  then  the  Chancellor,  in  the  room  of  such  assignee,  was 
to  substitute  some  other  discreet,  sufficient,  and  fit  person,  who 
should  be  sworn  to  the  King  for  his  faithful  service,  in  like 
manner  as  the  first  assignee  was  before  he  received  the  Seal 
into  his  keeping."!  For  some  reason,  which  we  do  not  under- 
stand, this  grant  Avas  twice  renewed,  nearly  in  the  same 
words.  According  to  Matthew  Paris,  these  grants  were  con- 
firmed in  Parliament,  so  that  the  Chancellor  was  not  to  be 
deposed  from  the  custody  of  the  Seal  unless  it  were  so  ordained 
by  the  consent  and  advice  of  the  whole  realm.| 

De  Neville's  cupidity   was  not  yet  satisfied,  and  in  the 


*   Rot.  Cart.  1 1  Hen.  3. 

t  Thisjis  an  exact  translation  of  the  clause  giving  a  power  to  appoint  a 
deputy,  which  shows  that  the  multiplication  of  words  in  legal  instruments  is 
not  a  very  modern  invention. 

I  Itaque  scilicet  ut  non  deponeretur  ab  ejus  sigilli  custodia  nisi  totius  regni 
ordmante  consensu  et  concilio. 


DE   NEVILLE,    CHANCELLOR.  133 

eighteenth  year  of  the  reign,  the  King  "granted  and  con-     CHAP, 
firmed  for  himself  and  his  heirs  to  Ralph  Bishop  of  Chichester, 


then  his  Chancellor  of  England,  the  Chancellorship  of  Ireland,  ^^  1233^ 
to  hold  during  the  life  of  the  Chancellor,  with  all  the  appur-  He  is  like- 
tenances,  liberties,  and  free  customs  to  the  said  Chancellor-   chancellor 
ship  of  Ireland  belonging.    And  the  King  sent  a  writ  patent,   "^  Ireland, 
dated  at  Gloucester  the  21st  May,  in  the  eighteenth  year  of 
his  reign,   to  Maurice  Fitzgerald,  his  Justiciar  of  Ireland, 
reciting  the  said  grant  of  the  Chancellorship  of  Ireland,  and 
ordering  "  that  G.  de  Turville,  Archdeacon  of  Dublin,  should 
be  admitted  Vice-Chancellor,  the  Chancellor  having  deputed 
him  thereto."*     This,  I  believe,  is  the  only  instance  of  the 
office  of  Chancellor  of  England  and  Chancellor  of  Ireland 
being  held  at  the  same  time  by  the  same  individual. 

Neville  for  a  while  enjoyed  the  additional  dignity  of  And  Guar- 
Guardian  of  the  realm.  The  King,  going  into  Gascony  with  realm. 
Hubert  de  Burgh,  and  taking  the  Great  Seal  with  him, 
appointed  the  Chancellor  and  Stephen  de  Segrave  to  govern 
the  kingdom  during  his  absence,  directing  all  writs  and 
grants  to  be  sealed  with  another  seal,  which  he  gave  into  the 
Chancellor's  keeping. f 

This  insatiable  lover  of  preferment  still  longed  for  higher   Disap- 
ecclesiastical  dignity,  and  had  nearly  reached  the  summit  of  P'''"*^?  °^ 
his  ambition,  for,  upon  a  vacancy  in  the  see  of  Canterbury,  he   macy, 
was  elected  Archbishop ;  but  the  Pope  thought  him  too  much 
attached  to  the  Crown  by  his  civil  offices,  and  assumed  to  him- 
self the  power  of  annulling  the  election.  In  the  hope  of  better 
success    b}^  bribery  another  time,   the   Chancellor  went  on 
amassing  immense  wealth  by  the  plunder  of  England  and 
Ireland. 

Hubert  de  Burgh  was  no  check  on  his  rapacity,  for  the  Chief 
Justiciar  had  obtained  a  similar  grant  for  life  of  his  own 
office,  although  it  had  hitherto  been  always  held  during  plea- 
sure. His  grant  likewise  was  confirmed  in  Parliament ;  and, 
to  support  these  corrupt  jobs,  the  plausible  maxim  was  relied 
upon,  that  judges  ought  to  be  independent  of  the  Crown. 

But  little  respect  was  paid  to  charters  or  acts  of  parliament   Triumph  of 

Peter  de 
Itupibus. 
*    Rot.  Cart.  17  Hen.  3.  m.  8.  f  !'»'•  ^^  Hen.  3.  m.  3 

K  3 


134  REIGN   OF   HENRY   III. 

CHAP,  making  judges  for  life  when  the  opposite  ftiction  prevailed, 
^^^'  and  Peter  de  Rupibus  or  des  Roches,  Bishop  of  Winchester, 
at  the  head  of  it,  succeeded  to  absolute  power  in  the  name  of 
the  feeble  Henry. 
A.D.  1235.  As  soon  as  this  revolution  was  accomplished,  an  attempt 
was  made  to  remove  De  Neville  from  his  office,  and  the  Great 
Seal  was  demanded  from  him  in  the  King's  name ;  but  he 
refused  to  deliver  it  up,  alleging,  that  as  he  had  received  it 
from  the  common  council  of  the  realm,  he  could  not  resign  it 
without  their  authority.* 

Some  time  after  this  the  Chancellor  was  elected  by  the 
monks  of  Winchester  bishop  of  that  see,  in  preference  to  the 
King's  half-brother,  who  was  a  candidate  for  it  on  the  court 
interest.     Hereupon,  the  King's   indignation  being  beyond 
control,  he  bitterly  reproached  both  the  Chancellor  and  the 
De  Neville  monks ;  he  banished  the  Chancellor  from  court,  and  forcibly 
*^f  Gr^at       taking  possession  of  the  Great  Seal,  delivered  it  into  the 
Seal.  custody  of  Geoffrey,  a  Templar,  and  John  de  Lexing- 

ton.!    De  Neville,  residing  in  his  diocese,  retained  the  title 
of  Chancellor,  and  the  emoluments  of  the  office. 

He  was  then  summoned  to  return  to  court  and  to  perform 
his  official  duties ;  but  he  refused,  as  his  enemies  had  a  com- 
plete ascendancy  there,  and  he  felt  that,  although  he  might  as 
a  priest  be  safe  from  personal  violence,  he  must  be  exposed  to 
perpetual  mortification  and  insult.  For  this  contumacy  he 
was  superseded. 
"Simon  THE  He  was  succecdcd,  if  not  by  a  very  learned  or  able,  by  a 
Ch'^^^n''  ^®^y  honest  man,  "  Simon  the  Norman,"  who  is  cele- 
brated among  the  few  who  have  lost  the  office  of  Chancellor 
by  refusing  to  comply  with  the  royal  will,  and  to  do  an 
unconstitutional  act.  He  was  a  great  favourite  at  court,  and 
seemed  likely  to  have  a  long  official  career,  but  is  said  to 

*   M.  Par.  294.  319. 

f  "  Cum  autem  videret  Rex,  iterum  instantiam  precum  suarum  effectu 
caruisse,  justae  postulationi  monachorum  adversando,  multaconvitia  congessit  in 
eundem  Episcopum  ;  dicens  eum  impetuosum,  iracundum,  perversum ;  vocans 
omnes  fatuos,  qui  eum  in  Episcopum  postularunt.  Insuper  sigillum  suum 
quod  idem  Episcopus  universitatem  regni  receperat  custodiendum  Rex  violenter 
abstulit  et  fratri  Galfrido  Templario,  et  Johanni  de  I.exirsbuna  commisit  baju- 
landum;  emoiumentis  tamen  ad  Cancellariam  spectaiitibus  Episcopo  quasi 
Canccllario  redditis  et  assignatis." — M.  Paris,  320. 


DE   NEVILLE,    CHANCELLOR.  135 

liave  Incurred  the  King's  displeasure  (more  probably  Queen     CHAP. 
Eleanor's)  because  he  -would  not  put  the  Great   Seal  to  a 


grant  of  fourpence   on   every   sack   of  wool  to  the  Earl  of 
Flanders,   the  Queen's   uncle.      He  was  too  good  for  the  Dismissed 
times  in  which  he  lived,  and  we  hear  no  more  of  him,  except    ^"^  oaesty. 
that  he  was  "  expelled  from  court."  * 

The  Great  Seal  was  then  sent  into  the  temporary  keeping  a,d.  1242, 
of  Richard  Abbot  of  Evesham :  but  before  a  new  Chan- 
cellor was  appointed  a  sudden  counter-revolution  took  place 
at  court.     Hubert  de  Burgh,  who,  on  his  disgrace,  had  been 
obliged  to  take  sanctuary  in   a  church,  and,  being  dragged 
thence  by  the  King's  orders,  had  been  confined  in  the  castle 
of  Devizes,  —  contrived  to  make  his  escape,  —  immediately 
found  himself  at  the  head  of  a  great  confederation,  —  put  all 
his    enemies    to   flight,   and  was  once  more  lord  of  the  as- 
cendant, —  although  he  declined  to  resume  his  own  office, 
thinking  that  he  could  irregularly  enjoy  more  power  without 
it.    By  his  influence,  the  Great  Seal  was  restored  to  De  Neville,   De  Neville 
who  continued  in  the  undisturbed  possession  of  the  office  of  the  office'of 
Chancellor  till  his  death.      Notwithstanding  increasins:  in-   Chancellor, 
firmities,  he  was  afraid  to  employ  a  Vice-chancellor,  lest  he 
should  be  the  victim  of  the  same  policy  which  he  had  practised 
against  his  predecessor  De  Marisco.     He  expired  in  Novem-  His  death, 
ber,    1244,  in  his  episcopal  palace,   which  he  had  built  In 
Chancery  Lane,  now  the  site  of  Lincoln's  Inn.f 

Notwithstanding  the  unscrupulous  means  he  employed  to  Hischarac- 
advance  himself,  and  the  rapacity  of  which  he  was  guilty,  he  ^^^' 
is  said  to  have  made  a  good  judge.  Matthew  Paris,  in  re- 
lating the  manner  in  which  the  Great  Seal  was  forcibly  taken 
from  him,  speaks  of  him  as  one  "  who  long  irreproachably 
discharged  the  duties  of  his  office  |,"  and  afterwards  warmly 
praises  him  for  his  speedy  and  impartial  administration  of 
justice  to  all  ranks,  and  more  especially  to  the  poor  § 

*  Spel.  Gloss.  100.      M.  Par.  320. 

f  "  Venerabilis  Pater  Episcopus  Cicestrensis  Redulphus  de  Neville,  Cancel- 
larius  Anglia?,  vir  per  omnia  laudabilis,  ct  immota  colnmna  in  regni  negotiis, 
fidelitatis,  Londini  in  nobili  palacio  suo,  quod  a  fundamentis  non  procul  a  Novo 
Templo  construxerat  vitam  temporalem  terminavit,  perpetuam  adepturus." — 
M.  Par.  A.n.  1244.      Dug.  Or.  Jur.  230. 

X  "  Qui  irreprehensibiliter  officium  diu  ante  administraverat." — M.  Par.  328. 

§  "  Radulphus  de  Neville  qui  erat  Regis  fidelissimus  Cancellarius  et  incon- 

K  4 


136 


REIGN   OF   HENRY   III. 


CHAP. 
VII. 

Statute  of 
Merton. 


Attempt 
by  parlia- 
ment to 
acquire 
right  of  ap- 
pointing 
Chancellor. 


Under  the  presidency  of  De  Neville,  in  the  twentieth  year 
of  the  King's  reign,  was  held  the  famous  parliament  at  Mer- 
ton Abbey,  in  Surrey,  where  he  was  overruled  upon  a  pro- 
posal brought  forward,  *'  that  children  born  out  of  wedlock 
should  be  rendered  legitimate  by  the  subsequent  marriage  of 
their  parents."  All  the  prelates  present  were  in  support  of 
the  measure ;  but  all  the  earls  and  barons  with  one  voice 
answered,  "  We  will  not  change  the  laws  of  England  hitherto 
used  and  approved."  * 

Shortly  before  De  Neville's  death,  a  national  assembly  had 
been  summoned  to  meet  at  Westminster  for  the  purpose  of 
obtaining  a  pecuniary  aid.  But  the  bishops  and  the  barons 
took  time  to  consider,  and  the  result  of  their  deliberations 
was  to  give  to  the  King  a  statement  of  grievances,  which  if 
he  would  redress,  the  aid  required  should  be  granted  to  him. 
The  chief  grievance  was,  that  by  the  King's  interference 
with  the  Great  Seal  the  course  of  justice  had  been  inter- 
rupted, and  they  therefore  desired  that  both  the  Chancellor 
and  Justices  should  be  elected  "  per  solemnem  et  universalem 
omnium  convocationem  et  liberum  assensum,^^  and  that,  if  upon 
any  occasion  the  King  should  take  his  Seal  away  from  the 
Chancellor,  whatever  might  be  sealed  with  it  should  be  con- 
sidered void  and  of  none  effect  till  it  should  be  re-delivered  to 
the  Chancellor. 

The  King  negatived  the  petition,  and  would  go  no  further 
than  to  promise  that  he  would  amend  any  thing  he  might  find 
amiss.  This  refusal  raised  such  a  storm,  that,  to  quiet  it, 
he  was  obliged  to  grant  a  charter,  by  which  he  agreed  that 
the  Chancellor  should  be  elected  by  the   common  consent 


cussa  columna  veritatis,  singulis  sua  jura,   precipue  pauperibus,   singulis  juste 
reddens  et  indilate." — M.  Par.   p.  312. 

•  We  have  not  a  list  of  the  lords  spiritual  and  temporal  at  this  parliament,  to 
ascertain  their  comparative  numbers  ;  but  we  have  such  a  list  of  those  sum- 
moned to  and  present  at  various  subsequent  parliaments,  showing  that  the 
spiritual  peers  sometimes  considerably  outnumbered  the  temporal ;  and  the 
difficulty  arises,  why,  upon  matters  respecting  the  church  and  churchmen,  on 
which  they  always  acted  together,  the  prelates  did  not  succeed  in  carrying 
whatever  measures  they  wished.  But  I  suspect  that  although  the  two  bodies 
sat  in  the  same  chamber,  they  were  long  considered  as  separate  orders,  the 
consent  of  each  being  necessary  to  the  making  of  laws,  so  that  although  the 
bishops  and  mitred  abbots  might  be  more  numerous,  they  could  not  carry  a  law 
against  the  will  of  the  earls  and  barons. 


RANULPH   BRITON,   CHANCELLOR.  137 

of  the  great  council.      But  this  was  soon  disregarded;  for  CHAP. 

.                                      .                                          .  VII. 

popular  election  was  found  quite  as  bad  as  appointment  by  ' 


court  favour  or  corruption,  and  the  complaints  against  the 
venality  and  extortion  of  the  Chancery  were  louder  than 
before.* 

A  rapid  succession  of  Chancellors  followed  during  the 
remainder  of  this  reign,  few  of  them  much  distinguished  for 
learning  or  ability ;  and  the  personal  contests  in  which 
they  were  engaged  were  of  no  permanent  interest.  We 
shall  therefore  do  little  more  than  enumerate  their  names. 
"  History,"  says  Hume,  "  being  a  collection  of  facts  which 
are  multiplying  without  end,  is  obliged  to  adopt  arts  of 
abridgment,  —  to  retain  the  more  material  events,  and  to  drop 
all  the  minute  circumstances  which  are  only  interesting  during 
the  time,  or  to  the  persons  engaged  in  the  transactions.  This 
truth  is  no  where  more  evident  than  with  regard  to  the  reign  of 
Henry  III.  What  mortal  could  have  patience  to  write  or 
read  a  long  detail  of  such  frivolous  events  as  those  with  which 
it  is  filled,  or  attend  to  a  tedious  narrative  which  would  follow, 
through  a  series  of  fifty-six  years,  the  caprices  and  weaknesses 
of  so  mean  a  prince  ?  "  We  must  be  consoled  by  the  reflec- 
tion that  we  are  now  approaching  the  period  when  our  repre- 
sentative constitution  was  formed,  and  the  administration  of 
justice  was  established  on  the  basis  upon  which  they  remained 
through  nearly  six  centuries  to  our  own  time. 

The  next  Chancellor  was  Ranulph  Briton,  Bishop  of  Ranulph 
Bath  and  Wells,  of  whom  we  know  little,  except  that  almost  chancellor 
immediately  after  he  received*  the  Great  Seal,  he  is  said  to 
have  died  of  apoplexy,  —  without  any  insinuation  that  his 
days  were  shortened  by  remorse  at  having  deserted  his  party 
in  agreeing  to  accept  it.  He  is  represented  likewise  as  having 
been  Chancellor  to  the  Queen,  an  oflfice  I  do  not  find  men- 
tioned elsewhere,  the  Queen  Consort  being  considered  suffi- 
ciently protected  by  being  privileged  as  a  feme  sole,  and  having 
a  right  to  sue  by  her  attorney-general. f 

•   M.  Par.  564.      Mad.  Ex.  43. 

f  "  Ranulfus  Brlto  Regi  et  Reglna;  CaticcUarius  Ictliali  apoplexia  corruit." 
INI.  Paris,  p.  719.  n.  40.  Spclman  doubts  whether  he  was  more  than  Keeper 
of  the  Great  Seal  under  De  Neville Gloss.  110. 


138 


REIGN   OF   HENRY   III. 


CHAP. 
VII. 

A.D.  1244. 


A.D.  1246. 
John 
Maunsel, 
Chancellor. 


Origin  of 
the  dis- 
pensing 
power  in 
England. 


Tins  Chan- 
cellor the 
greatest 
pluralist  on 
record. 


He  was  succeeded  by  Silvester  de  Everdon  *,  who  had 
been  the  King's  chaplain  and  Vice-chancellor,  and  who  very 
soon  retired  from  state  affairs  against  the  wishes  of  the  King, 
being  elected  Bishop  of  Carlisle,  and  choosing  to  devote  him- 
self to  the  superintendence  of  this  remote  see. 

Next  came  John  Maunsel  f,  who  held  the  office  of  Lord 
Chancellor  for  nearly  two  years.  He  had  gained  some  dis- 
tinction as  an  ecclesiastical  judge  while  Chancellor  to  the 
Bishop  of  London.  While  he  held  the  Great  Seal,  he  was 
promoted  to  be  provost  of  Beverley ;  but  he  does  not  seem 
to  have  obtained  any  farther  preferment.  This  could  not 
have  arisen  from  the  want  of  courtly  compliance  ;  for  it  was 
in  his  time  that  the  dispensing  power  was  first  practised  by 
a  King  of  England  since  the  Conquest,  and  he  introduced 
the  non  obstante  clause  into  grants  and  patents.  The  Chan- 
cellor might  have  urged  by  way  of  extenuation,  that  till  this 
reign  the  prerogative  could  hardly  be  said  to  be  under  the 
restraint  of  law.  The  novelty  being  objected  to,  the  defence 
actually  made  was,  "  that  the  Pope  exercised  a  dispensing 
power,  and  why  might  not  the  King  imitate  his  example  ?  " — 
which  made  Thurkesley,  one  of  the  King's  justices,  exclaim, 
"  Alas,  what  times  are  we  fallen  into  ?  Behold,  the  civil 
Court  is  corrupted  In  imitation  of  the  ecclesiastical,  and  the 
river  is  poisoned  from  that  fountain."  These  irregularities 
becoming  more  grievous,  they  were  made  the  subject  of 
solemn  remonstrance  to  the  King  by  the  great  men  assembled 
m  Parliament,  who,  complaining  of  the  conduct  of  the 
Chancellor,  desired  "  that  Such  a  Chancellor  might  be 
chosen  as  should  fix  the  state  of  the  kingdom  on  its  old 
basis."  The  King  promised  "  that  he  would  amend  what 
he  had  heard  was  amiss,"  but  did  not  farther  attend  to  the 
remonstrance. 

If  Maunsel  did  not  reach  the  mitre,  he  was  a  considerable 
pluralist,  as  he  Is  computed  to  have  held  at  once  700  eccle- 
siastical livings,  having,  I  presume,  presented  himself  to  all 
that  fell  vacant,  and  were  in  the  gift  of  the  Crown,  while  he 
Avas  Chancellor.     Matthew  Paris  observes  of  him,  that  "  it 


*    Rot.  Pat.  29  Hen.  3.  m.  20. 


t  Rot.  Pat.  31  Hen.  3.  m.  2. 


JOHN   DE   LEXINGTON,   CHANCELLOR.  139 

may  be  doubted  whether  he  was  either  a  wise  or  a  good  man     CHAP, 
who  could  burthen  his  conscience  with  the  care  of  so  many 


souls."* 

John  de  Lexington,  who  had  been  entrusted  with  the  John  ue 
custody  of   the  Great  Seal  during  his  absence  on  an  em-  To^^'chmi- 
bassy,  succeeded  him  as  Chancellor  f ,  and  continued  in  the  cellor. 
office  four  years,  having  for  his  keepers  of  the  Seal  Peter 
de    Rivallis    and   William   de   Kilkenny,     Archdeacon    of 
Coventry. 

Great  disputes  now  arose  respecting  the  King's  partiality  Complaint 
to  foreigners,  and  the   national   discontents   were  loud  and  J^enrthat 
deep.     Yet  the  Chancellor  at  first  was  not  blamed  as  author  Chancellor 
of  the  bad  measures  of  the  government ;  and,  on  the  contrary,  consulted, 
regret  was  expressed  that  he  was  not  more  consulted.     In  an 
answer  by  the  Parliament  to  a  demand  of  the  King  for  sup- 
plies, they  complained,  among  many  other  grievances,  "  that 
he  had  neither  Chancellor,  Chief  Justiciar,  nor  Treasurer  in 
his  council,  as  he  ought  to  have,  and  as  his  most  noble  pre- 
decessors had  before  him."  —  "  The  King,  when  he  heard  all 
this,  was  much  confounded  within  himself,  and  ashamed,"  says 
M.  Paris,  "  because  he  knew  it  all  to  be  very  true." 

The  Parliament  obtaining  no  redress,  afterwards  petitioned   Petition  to 
for  the  removal  of  the  present  Chancellor,  Chief  Justiciar,  j'^^o^^ 
and  Treasurer,  and  the  appointment  of  others  deserving  to 
be  employed  and  trusted. 

This  roused  the  indignation  of  the  King,  who  said,  "  The  King's 
servant  is  not  above  his  lord,  nor  the  disciple  above  his 
master;  and  what  is  your  King  more  than  your  servant,  if 
he  is  to  obey  your  commands  ?  Therefore  my  resolution  is 
neither  to  remove  the  Chancellor,  Justiciar,  nor  the  Trea- 
surer at  your  pleasure,  nor  will  I  appoint  any  other."  The 
Barons  unanimously  replied,  that  their  petition  being  refused, 
they  would  no  longer  impoverish  themselves  to  enrich 
foreigners,  and  the  Parliament  being  dissolved  without  any 
supply,  the  King  was  obliged  to  raise  money  by  the  sale  of 
his  plate  and  jewels4 

Lexington  continued  Chancellor  till  he  was  succeeded  by 
a  Lady  Keeper. 

*   M.  Paris,  856.  f   Rot.  Claus.  33  Hen.  3.  m.  2. 

\   1  Pari.  Hist.  23.  25. 


answer. 


140 


BEIGN   OF  HENRY  III. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


LIFE   OF   QUEEN  ELEANOR,    LADY  KEEPER   OF   THE   GREAT    SEAL. 


CHAP. 
VIII. 

A.D.  1253. 

Queen 

Eleanor, 

Lady 

Keeper. 


Her  pa- 
rentage. 

Wit  and 
beauty. 


In  the  summer  of  the  year  1253  King  Henry,  being  about 
to  lead  an  expedition  into  Gascony  to  quell  an  insurrection 
in  that  province,  appointed  Queen  Eleanor  Lady  Keeper 
of  the  Great  Seal  during  his  absence,  with  this  declaration — 
"  that  if  any  thing  which  might  turn  to  the  detriment  of  the 
Crown  or  realm  was  sealed  in  the  King's  name  whilst  he 
continued  out  of  the  realm  with  any  other  seal,  it  should  be 
utterly  void."  The  Queen  was  to  act  with  the  advice  of 
Richard  Earl  of  Cornwall,  the  King's  brother,  and  others  of 
his  council.* 

She  accordingly  held  the  office  nearly  a  whole  year,  per- 
forming all  its  duties,  as  well  judicial  as  ministerial.  I  am 
thus  bound  to  include  her  in  the  list  of  "  Chancellors  and 
Keepers  of  the  Great  Seal,"  whose  lives  I  have  undertaken 
to  delineate. 

Eleanor  was  the  second  daughter  of  Berenger,  Count  of 
Provence,  and  his  wife  Beatrice  of  Savoy.  From  infancy 
she  was  celebrated  for  her  wit  and  her  beauty.  While  only 
thirteen  years  old  she  had  written  "an  heroic  poem  in  the 
Provencal  tongue,  and  it  was  sung  by  troubadours,  who 
added  verses  of  their  own,  pi-aising  the  unparalleled  charms  of 
"  Alienora  la  bella.'''' 

In  the  year  1235  Henry  HI.  had  agreed  to  marry  Joanna, 
a  daughter  of  the   Count  de   Ponthieu,   but  broke  off  the 


*  The  commission  to  her  as  "  Lady  Keeper  "  is  extant,  and  curious.  "  De 
Magno  Sigillo  commissio.  Ilex  omnibus,  &c.,  sahitem.  Noverit  universltas 
vestra  quod  nos  in  Vasconiam  proficiscentes  dimisimus  Magnum  Sigillum  nos- 
trum in  custodia  dilecta  Reginaj  nostra?  sub  sigillo  nostro  privato  et  sigillis 
dilecti  fratris  et  iidelis  nostri  Ricardi  Comitis  CornubicE  et  quorundam  aliorum 
de  cohsilio  nostro;  tali  conditione  adjecta  quod  si  aliquid  signatum  fuerit 
nomme  nostro,  dum  extra  regnum  Angliae  fuerimus,  alio  sigillo  quam  illo,  quod 
vergere  potcrit  in  corona  nostrae  vel  regni  nostri  detrimentum  vel  diminutionem, 
nullius  sit  momenti  et  viribus  careat  omnino." — T.  &c,  pat.  37  H.  3.  m.  8. 


LADY  KEEPER  QUEEN  ELEANOR.  141 

match  on  hearlnor  so  much  of  the  attractions  of  Eleanor  of     CHAP. 

.                                         .          VIII. 
Provence,  and  sent  an  embassy  to   solicit  her  to  share  his  ' 


throne.  He  would  trust  no  layman  on  such  a  delicate 
mission,  but  chose  for  his  ambassadors  four  sober  priests  — 
the  Bishops  of  Ely  and  Lincoln,  the  Master  of  the  Temple, 
and  the  Prior  of  Harle.  After  some  difficulties  about  dower 
had  been  surmounted,  the  contract  was  joyfully  signed, 
although  Henry  was  more  than  double  the  age  of  the 
"  Infanta ;  "  —  and  she  was  delivered,  with  all  due  solemnity, 
to  the  very  reverend  plenipotentiaries. 

The  royal  bride  began  her  journey  to  England,  attended  Marriage 
by  all  the  chivalry  and  beauty  of  the  south  of  France,  "  and  He„j.y. 
followed  by  a  stately  train  of  nobles,  demoiselles,  minstrels, 
and  jongleurs."  Having  been  feasted  with  great  distinction 
by  Theobald  King  of  Navarre,  himself  a  poet,  and  welcomed, 
on  crossing  the  French  frontier,  by  her  elder  sister.  Queen  of 
St.  Louis,  she  landed  safely  at  Dover,  and,  on  the  4th  of 
January,  1236,  she  was  united  to  Henry,  by  the  Archbishop 
of  Canterbury,  before  she  had  completed  her  fourteenth 
year.* 

We  have  the  following  description  of  her  from  Piers  of 
Langtoft :  — 

"  Henry  owre  Kynge  at  Westmonster  tuke  to  wyfe 
Th'  Earle's  daughter  of  Provence  the  fayrest  Maye  in  lyfe, 
Her  name  Elinore  of  gentle  nurture 
Beyonde  the  sea  there  was  no  suche  creature." 

The  contemporary  chronicles  are  filled  with  accounts  of  the 
festivities  with  which  she  was  received  in  the  City  of  London, 
and  the  jewels  and  rich  dresses  which  she  wore  at  her  coro- 
nation —  particularly  of  the  wedding  present  of  her  sister, 
the  Queen  of  France — ^a  large  silver  peacock,  whose  train 
Avas  set  with  sapphires  and  pearls,  and  other  precious  stones, 
wrought  with  silver  and  gold,  used  as  a  reservoir  for  sweet 
waters,  which  were  forced  out  of  its  beak  into  a  chased  silver 
basin  for  the  use  of  the  guests  at  the  banquet. 

Although  Eleanor  conducted  herself  Avith  great  personal 
propi'iety  at  the  English  court,  her  popularity  was  short-lived. 

*   Matthew  of  Westminster,  p.  295. 


142 


KEIGN   OF   HENRY    III. 


CHAP. 
VIII. 

Her  unpo- 
pularity. 


Quarrels 
with  the 
citizens  of 
London. 


Unfortunately  she  was  accompanied  by  an  immense  number 
of  relations  and  countrymen,  —  and  the  King's  half-brothers, 
sprung  from  his  mother's  second  marriage  with  the  Count  de 
la  Marche,  coming  over  soon  after  and  obtaining  great  pre- 
ferment, it  was  said  that  "  no  one  could  prosper  in  England 
but  a  Provencal  or  a  Poictevien." 

She  enriched  one  uncle,  Peter  of  Savoy,  by  a  large  grant 
of  land  between  London  and  Westminster,  a  part  of  which 
still  bears  his  name ;  and  for  Boniface,  another  uncle,  she 
obtained  the  Archbishopric  of  Canterbury  by  writing,  with 
her  own  hand,  a  very  elegant  epistle  in  his  behalf,  "  taldng 
upon  herself,"  indignantly  says  Matthew  of  Westminster, 
"  for  no  other  reason  than  his  being  of  kin  to  her,  to  urge 
the  suit  of  this  unfit  candidate  in  the  warmest  manner ;  and 
so  my  lord  the  Pope  named  to  the  primacy  this  man,  who 
had  been  chosen  by  a  woman !  " 

She  likewise  soon  commenced  an  unextingulshable  feud 
with  the  citizens  of  London,  by  requiring  that  all  vessels 
freighted  with  corn,  wool,  or  any  valuable  cargo  navigating 
the  Thames,  should  unlade  at  her  hithe  or  quay  called 
"  Queenhithe,"  where  she  levied  an  excessive  tax  upon 
them,  which  she  claimed  to  be  due  to  the  Queen-consort  of 
England. 

In  spite  of  such  extortions,  so  poor  were  she  and  her 
husband  by  their  largesses  to  foreigners  *,  that  they  ceased 
to  put  on  their  royal  robes,  and  unable  to  bear  the  expense 
of  keeping  a  table,  they  daily  invited  themselves,  with  a 
chosen  number  of  their  kindred  or  favourites,  to  dine  with 
the  rich  merchants  of  the  city  of  London,  or  the  great  men 
of  the  court,  and  manifested  much  discontent  unless  presented 
with  costly  gifts  at  their  departure,  which  they  took,  not  as 
obligations  and  proofs  of  loyal  affection  to  their  persons,  but 
as  matters  of  right. 

Eleanor  never  made  any  attempt  to  acquire  the  slightest 
knowledge  of  English,  the  use  of  which  was  still  confined  to  the 


*  Her  finances  had  likewise  been  very  much  deranged  by  a  large  bribe  she 
had  found  it  necessary  to  give  to  the  Pope  for  his  decree  declaring  null  the 
precontract  of  Henry  with  Johanna  of  Ponthieu,  on  account  of  which  the  validity 
of  her  own  marriage  had  been  questioned. 


LADY  KEEPER  QUEEN  ELEANOR.  143 

lowest  ranks,  —  Norman-French  or  Provencal  being  spoken     CHAP, 
at  Court*,  —  and  Latin  being  the  language  of  the  church. 


There  were  great  rejoicings  when  she  gave  birth  to  an  heir  j^^^^  ^339 
to  the  throne,   afterwards  Edward  I.,  one  of  the  bravest  Birth  of 
and  wisest  of  our  sovereigns ;  and  we  ought  to  honour  her 
memory  for  the  skilful  manner  in  which  she  conducted  his 
education,  notwithstanding  the  indiscreet  interference  of  her 
imbecile  husband. 

But  while  Henry  was  generally  liked,  her  manners  were 
so  haughty  and  overbearing,  that  she  quarrelled  with  Hubert 
de  Burgh,  Peter  des  Roches,  Simon  Montfort,  and  the  leaders 
of  all  parties,  —  as  well  as  being  odious  to  the  populace  from 
her  ill-concealed  contempt  for  English  barbarism.  She 
acquired,  however,  a  great  ascendant  over  the  mind  of  the 
King,  who  had  sufficient  sense  to  value  her  superior  under- 
standing and  accomplishments. 

In  the  prospect  of  his  going  into  Gascony  in  1253,  having   She  re- 
intrusted  her  with  the  custody  of  the  Great  Seal,  on  the  6th  ^q^'^I  ^^^, 
of  August  he  sailed  from  Portsmouth  for  Bourdeaux  to  take  6th  August, 
the  command  in  person  of  an  army  there  assembled,  and  the 
Queen  was  left  in  the  full  exercise  of  her  authority  as  Lady 
Keeper. 

The  sealing  of  writs  and  common  instruments  was  left,    lier  con- 
under  her  direction,  to  Kilkenny,  Archdeacon  of  Coventry  ;   j"  j'  ^* 
but  the  more  important  duties  of  the  office  she  executed  in  Keeper. 
person.      She  sat  as  judge  in  the  Aula  Regia,  beginning  her 
sittings  on  the  morrow  of  the  nativity  of  the  blessed  Virgin 
Mary.f 

These  sittings  were  interrupted  by  the  accouchement  of  the  Her  ac- 
judge.  The  Lady  Keeper  had  been  left  by  her  husband  in  a 
state  of  pregnancy,  and  on  the  25th  of  November,  1253,  she 
was  delivered  of  a  princess,  to  whom  the  Archbishop  of  Can- 
terbury, her  uncle,  stood  godfather,  and  baptized  by  the  name 
of  Catherine,  being  born  on  St.  Catherine's  day.| 

*  Proclamations  to  preserve  the  peace  were  read  in  three  languages,  French, 
Latin,  and  Saxon.  We  still  have  the  commencement  in  the  first  Oyez  1  Oyez  ! 
Oyez  !  corrupted  into  O  yes !  O  yes  !  O  yes  ! 

t  "  Placita  coram  Domina  Rcgina  et  consilio  Domini  Regis  in  Crastino 
Nativitatis  Beat.  Mariaj." — Rot.  Thes.  37  Hen.  3. 

\  "  Et  nomen  aptante  et  baptizante    infantulam    Archiepiscopo,    vocata   est 


couche- 
ment. 


144 


REIGN   OF    HENRY   III. 


CHAP. 
VIII. 

Her  ex- 
action of 
"  queen 
gold." 


A  parlia- 
ment. 
A.D.  1254. 


She  resigns 
the  Great 
Seal. 


The  Lady  Keeper  had  a  favourable  recovery,  and  being 
churched*,  resumed  her  place  in  the  Aula  Regia. 

She  now  availed  herself  of  the  King's  absence,  not  only  to 
enforce  rigorously  her  dues  at  Queenhithe,  but  by  demanding 
from  the  city  of  London  a  large  sum  which  she  insisted  they 
owed  her  for  "  aurum  reginaj "  or  "  queen  gold,"  —  being  a 
claim  by  the  Queens  of  England  on  every  tenth  mark  paid 
to  the  King  on  the  renewal  of  leases  on  crown  lands  or  the 
granting  of  charters,  —  matters  of  grace  supposed  to  be  ob- 
tained from  the  powerful  intercession  of  the  Queen.f  Eleanor 
in  this  instance  demanded  her  "  queen  gold "  on  various 
enormous  fines  that  had  been  unrighteously  extorted  by  the 
King  from  the  plundered  citizens.  For  the  non-payment  of 
this  unjust  demand,  the  Lady  Keeper,  in  a  very  summary 
manner,  committed  the  Sheriffs  of  London,  Richard  Picard 
and  John  de  Northampton,  to  the  Marshalsea  Prison,  and  she 
soon  after  sent  Richard  Hardell,  the  Lord  Mayor,  to  keep 
them  company  there,  for  the  arrears  of  an  aid  unlawfully 
imposed  towards  the  war  in  Gascony. 

These  arbitrary  proceedings  caused  the  greatest  alarm  and 
consternation  ;  for  the  city  of  London  had  hitherto  been  a  sort 
of  free  republic  in  a  despotic  kingdom,  and  its  privileges  had 
been  respected  in  times  of  general  oppression. 

In  the  beginning  of  1254  a  parliament  was  called,  and  the 
Queen  being  present  and  making  a  speech,  pressed  for  a 
supply ;  but,  on  account  of  her  great  unpopularity,  it  was 
peremptorily  refused. 

A  new  arrangement  was  then  made  for  carrying  on  the 
government  ;  the  Great  Seal  was  transferred  into  other 
hands,  and  on  the  15th  of  May  she  sailed  from  Portsmouth 
with  a  courtly  retinue  of  ladies,  nobles,  and  knights,  and 
joined  the  King  at  Bourdeaux.  They  then  visited  Paris, 
where  Queen  Eleanor  had  the  happiness  of  meeting  her  three 


Catherina,  eo  quod  die  Sanctae  Catherinse  nata,  aera  hauserat  primitivum." 
— M.  Paris. 

•  One  of  the  grandest  scenes  ever  seen  in  England  was  the  queen's  churching 
after  the  birth  of  her  eldest  son, — all  the  great  ladies  of  the  land  being  summoned 
to  attend  the  queen  to  church  ; — but  the  ceremony  on  this  occasion  was  conducted 
very  privately. 

t   1  Bl.  Com.  221. 


LADY  KEEPER  QUEEN  ELEANOR.  145 

sisters,  all  splendidly  married*,  and  where  a  banquet  was     CHAP. 
given,  much  celebrated  by  the  chroniclers,  at  which  the  kings 


of  France,  of  England,  and  of  Navarre,  with  all  their  prime 
nobility,  were  present,  trying  to  outvy  each  other  in  courtesy 
as  well  as  splendour. 

Eleanor  and  her  husband  landed  at  Dover  on  the  5th  of  a.d.  1255. 
January,  1255,  and  on  the  27th  of  the  same  month  made 
their  public  entry  into  London  with  extraordinary  pomp ;  but 
notwithstanding  the  display  of  banners  and  tapestry  by  the 
different  companies,  it  was  evident  that  hatred  of  the  Queen 
was  still  rankling  in  the  hearts  of  the  citizens. 

She  disdained  to  take  any  step  to  mitigate  their  resent- 
ment. All  the  violations  of  Magna  Charta  were  imputed 
to  her,  and  she  was  charged  with  instilling  her  own  political 
opinions  into  her  eldest  son. 

The  following  is  a  specimen  of  the  ballads  published  upon  Ballads 

]lQY  : upon  her. 

"  The  queen  went  beyond  the  sea,  the  king's  brethren  also, 
And  ever  they  strove  the  charter  to  undo ; 
They  purchased  that  the  pope  should  assoil  I  wis 
Of  the  oath  and  the  charter,  and  the  king  and  all  his. 

"  It  was  ever  the  queen's  thought,  as  much  as  she  could  think, 
To  break  the  charter  by  some  woman's  v/renckef ; 
And  though  Sir  Edward  J  was  proved  a  hardy  knight  and  good, 
Yet  the  same  charter  was  little  to  his  mood."  § 

In  the  following  year,  while  residing  in  the  Tower,  she  was  Pdted  by 
threatened  with  violent  treatment  by  the  citizens  of  London,  t'^cLondon 
and  she  resolved  for  safety  to  proceed  by  water  to  the  Castle 
of  Windsor ;  but  as  she  approached  London  Bridge  the  po- 
pulace assembled  to  insult  her.  The  cry  ran,  "  Drown  the 
Witch"  and  besides  abusing  her  with  the  most  opprobrious 
language,  and  pelting  her  with  dirt  and  rotten  eggs,  they 
had  prepared  great  stones  to  sink  her  barge  when  she  should 
attempt  to  shoot  the  principal  arch.     She  was  so  frightened 

•  Dante,  in  celebrating  Ramondo  Berlinghieri,  seems  to  have  been  most  of 
all  struck  with  the  elevation  of  his  daughters  :  — 

"  Quattro  figlie  ebbe,  e  ciascuna  reina." — Parad.  c.  vi. 

f  Wrenching  or  perverting  the  meaning  of  the  charter. 

\   Prince  Edward.  §   Robert  of  Gloucester. 

VOL.  I.  L 


146 


REIGN    OF   HENRY    III. 


CHAP. 
VIII. 


4th  Aug. 
1265. 
She  flies 
abroad. 

Returns  to 
England. 


Takes  the 
veil. 


The  death. 


Her  cha- 
racter. 


that  she  returned  to  the  Tower.  Not  considering  herself 
safe  in  this  fortress,  she  took  sanctuary  at  night  in  the  Bishop 
of  London's  palace,  within  the  precincts  of  St.  Paul's.  She 
was  thence  privately  removed  to  Windsor  Castle,  where 
Prince  Edward  was  at  the  head  of  a  military  force.  He 
never  forgave  the  Londoners  the  insult  they  had  offered  to  his 
mother. 

In  the  civil  wars  that  took  place  at  the  close  of  her  hus- 
band's reign,  Eleanor  often  showed  great  determination  and 
courage,  and  after  repeated  disasters  still  made  head  against 
the  impetuous  Earl  of  Leicester.  At  last,  when  the  con- 
federated barons  were  triumphant  and  Henry  was  made  a 
prisoner,  she  took  refuge  with  her  younger  children  in  France; 
but  after  the  battle  of  Evesham  she  returned  to  England  and 
had  her  revenge  upon  the  citizens  of  London,  who  for  their 
ill  behaviour  to  her  were  fined  20,000  marks  to  her  use.  She 
continued  to  act  a  conspicuous  part  during  the  remainder  of 
this  reign. 

Soon  after  the  accession  of  her  son  to  the  crown,  she 
renounced  the  world  and  retired  to  the  monastery  of  Am- 
bresbury,  where,  in  the  year  1284,  she  actually  took  the  veil. 
She  had  the  satisfaction  of  hearing  of  the  brilliant  career  of 
her  son,  and  she  died  in  1292,  when  he  was  at  the  height  of 
his  glory,  having  subdued  Wales,  pacified  Ireland,  reduced 
Scotland  to  feudal  subjection,  and  made  England  more  pros- 
perous and  happy  than  at  any  former  period. 

Although  the  temper  and  haughty  demeanour  of  Elea- 
nor were  very  freely  censured  in  her  own  time,  I  believe 
no  imputation  was  cast  upon  her  virtue  till  the  usurper 
Henry  IV.,  assuming  to  be  the  right  heir  of  Edmund  her 
second  son,  found  it  convenient  to  question  the  legitimacy 
of  Edward  her  first-born,  and  to  represent  him  as  the  fruit 
of  an  adulterous  intercourse  between  her  and  the  Earl 
Marshal.  Then  was  written  the  popular  ballad  represent- 
ing her  as  confessing  her  frailty  to  the  King  her  husband, 
who,  m  the  garb  of  a  friar  of  France,  has  come  to  shrive  her 
in  her  sickness,  accompanied  by  the  Earl  Marshal  in  the  same 
disjniise. 


LADY  KEEPER  QUEEN  ELEANOR.  ^"^^ 

"  Oh,  do  you  see  yon  fair-haired  boy  *  CHAP. 

That's  playing  with  the  ball  ?  VI I L 

He  is,  he  is  the  Earl  Marshal's  son,  

And  I  love  him  the  best  of  all. 

"  Oh,  do  you  see  yon  pale-faced  boy  f 
That's  catching  at  the  ball  ? 
He  is  King  Henry's  only  son, 
•  And  I  love  him  the  least  of  all." 

But  she  was  a  very  different  person  from  her  successor, 
Isabella  of  France,  Queen  of  Edward  II.,  and  there  is  no 
reason  to  doubt  that  she  was  ever  a  faithful  wife  and  a  loving 
mother  to  all  her  children. 

Although  none  of  her  judicial  decisions,  while  she  held  the 
Great  Seal,  have  been  transmitted  to  us,  we  have  very  full  and 
accurate  information  respecting  her  person,  her  career,  and 
her  character,  for  which  we  are  chiefly  indebted  to  Matthew 
Paris,  who  often  dined  at  table  with  her  and  her  husband,  and 
composed  his  history  of  those  times  Avith  their  privity  and 
assistance.  :j: 

*   Prince  Edward.  ■(•  Prince  Edmund. 

I   Mat.  Par.  562.  654.  719.  799.  884.  989.  1172.  1200.  1202.      Miss  Strick- 
land's  Lives  of  the  Queens  of  England — tit.  "  Eleanoe." 


148 


REIGN   OF   HENRY   III. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

LORD   CHANCELLORS   FROM   THE   RESIGNATION   OP   LADY   KEEPER 
QUEEN   ELEANOR   TILL    THE    DEATH   OF    HENRY   HI. 


CHAP. 
IX. 

William 
DE  Kil- 
kenny, 
Chancellor. 
A.D.  1254. 


Reprimand 
to  the 
clergy. 


Kilkenny's 
resignation. 


On  Queen  Eleanor's  resignation  of  the  office  of  Lady  Keeper, 
William  de  Kilkenny,  who  had  been  employed  by  her  to 
seal  writs  while  she  held  the  Great  Seal*,  was  promoted  to 
the  office  of  Chancellor. 

He  did  not  continue  in  it  long,  and  in  his  time  nothing 
memorable  occurred,  except  the  representation  from  the  clergy 
respecting  alleged  encroachments  by  the  Crown  upon  their 
order.  A  deputation,  consisting  of  the  Primate  and  the 
Bishops  of  Winchester,  Salisbury,  and  Carlisle,  came  to  the 
King  with  an  address  on  the  frequent  violation  of  their  pri- 
yileges,  the  oppressions  with  which  he  had  loaded  them  and 
all  his  subjects,  and  the  uncanonical  and  forced  elections  which 
were  made  to  vacant  ecclesiastical  dignities.  Lord  Chancellor 
Kilkenny  is  said  to  have  written  the  King's  celebrated  answer, 
—  "  It  is  true  I  have  been  faulty  in  this  particular^:  I  ob- 
truded you,  my  Lord  of  Canterbury,  on  your  see :  I  was 
obliged  to  employ  both  entreaties  and  menaces,  my  Lord  of 
Winchester,  to  have  you  elected.  My  proceedings,  I  confess, 
were  very  irregular,  my  Lords  of  Salisbury  and  Carlisle,  when 
I  raised  you  from  the  lowest  stations  to  your  present  dig- 
nities. I  am  determined  henceforth  to  correct  these  abuses ; 
and  it  will  also  become  you,  in  order  to  make  a  thorough  re- 
formation, to  resign  your  present  benefices,  and  try  again  to 
become  successors  of  the  Apostles  in  a  more  regular  and 
canonical  manner."! 

On  St.  Edward's  day,  in  the  year  1255,  William  de  Kil- 

*  Rex  dilectae  consorti  sutc  A,  eadem  gratia  Reginae  salutem.  Mandamus 
vobis  quod  cum  delectus  clericus  noster  W.  de  Kilkenni,  Archidiaconus  Coven- 
trensis  ad  vos  venerit,  liberatis  ei  sigillum  scaccarii  nostri  bajulandum  et  custo- 
diendum  usque  ad  reditum  nostrum  de  partibus  Wasconia,  &c.  —  Pat,  37. 
H.  3.  m.  5. 

t  Mat.  Par.  a.  d.  1253. 


HENRY   DE   WENGHAM,    CHANCELLOE.  149 

kenny*  resigned  his  office  of  Chancellor,  but  he  was  still  in     CHAP. 
such  favour,  that,  though    suspected  of  having   misapplied 


funds  that  came  officially  into  his  hands,  the  King  granted 
him  letters  patent,  whereby  he  declared  that  William,  having 
long  served  him  diligently  and  acceptably,  should  be  quit  of 
all  reckonings  and  demands  for  the  whole  time  that  he  had 
been  Keeper  of  the  King's  Seal  in  England.  He  was  after-  Embassy 
wards  sent  on  an  embassy  to  Spain,  where  he  died  on  the  ^'^  P**"' 
21st  of  September,  1256.  He  is  said  to  have  been  a  very 
handsome  person,  eloquent,  prudent,  and  well  skilled  in  the 
municipal  laws  of  the  realm,  as  well  as  in  the  civil  and  canon 
law. 

On  the  day  of  his  resignation,  the  Great  Seal  was  delivered  Henry  de 
to  Henry  de  Wengham,  afterwards  Bishop  of  London, —  a.d.^'izs" 
and,   with  Walter  de  Merton  for  his  deputy,  he  remained 
Chancellor  till  he  was  removed  by  the  mutinous  Barons  who 
for  some  time  established  an  oligarchy  in  England,  f 

The  ill-humour  of  the  nation  was  manifested  at  a  General 
Council  called  to  meet  in  London  at  Easter,  1255,  when  the 
attempt  was  renewed  that  the  Chancellor  and  other  great 
officers  should  be  appointed  by  the  Prelates  and  Barons,  as 
was  said  anciently  to  have  been  the  custom,  and  that  those 
officers  "might  not  be  removed,  except  upon  notorious  faults, 
without  the  common  assent.  The  King  refusing  these 
demands,  a  resolution  was  carried  to  postpone  the  further 
consideration  of  supply  till  Michaelmas.  J 

Simon  de   Montfort  was  now  taking   advantage   of  the 
unpopularity  of  the  government  for  his  own  aggrandisement, 
and  attempting   successfully  to  wrest  the  sceptre  from  the 
feeble  hand  which  held  it.     In  June,  1258,  met  "  the  Mad   Mad  Par- 
Parliament,"  where,  notwithstanding  the  resistance  of  the 
Chancellor  and  the  King's  other  ministers,  were  passed  the 
famous  "Provisions  of  Oxford,"  by  which  twenty-four  Barons  "  Provi- 
were  appointed,  with  unlimited  power,  to  reform  the  Common-  Oxford." 
wealth,    and   annually  to  choose   the  Chancellor  and  other 
great  officers  of  state.  §     The  King  for  the  time  submitted. 


*  Rot.  Pat.  39  H.  3.  m.  16.  t  1  I'arl.  Hist.  29. 

*  M.  Paris,  904.      1   Pari.  Hist.  27.  §   Rot.  Pat.  39  H.  3.  m.  16. 

L  3 


150 


REIGN   OF   HENRY   III. 


CHAP. 
IX. 


Oct.  18. 

1260. 

Nicholas 

DE  Ely 

made 

Chancellor 

by  the 

Barons. 


King  re- 
covers his 
authority. 


A  parlia- 
ment. 


and  even  Prince  Edward  was  obliged  to  take  an  oath  to  obey 
their  authority. 

De  Wengham  was  for  some  time  permitted  by  them  to 
retain  the  office  of  Chancellor,  having  made  oath  that  he 
would  duly  keep  the  King's  Seal  under  their  control.* 

However,  to  give  a  full  proof  of  their  prerogative,  they  sub- 
sequently removed  him,  and  elected  in  his  place  Nicholas 
DE  Ely,  Archdeacon  of  Ely  f,  a  mere  creature  of  their  own. 
The  old  Great  Seal,  surrendered  up  by  De  Wengham,  was 
broken  in  pieces,  and  a  new  one  was  delivered  to  the  Chan- 
cellor of  the  Barons.  We  have  a  very  circumstantial  account 
of  this  ceremony,  showing  that  the  King  was  present  as  a  mere 
puppet  of  the  twenty-four.  After  relating  the  oath  of  the 
new  Chancellor,  and  that  he  forthwith  sealed  with  the 
new  seal,  it  says  that  "  the  King  delivered  the  pieces  of  the 
old  broken  seal  to  Robert  Wallerand,  to  be  presented  to 
some  poor  religious  house  of  the  king's  gift."  J 

But  the  nation  was  soon  disgusted  by  the  arbitrary  and 
capricious  acts  of  Montfort  and  his  associates :  there  was  a 
strong  reaction  in  favour  of  the  King,  and  for  a  time  he 
recovered  his  authority.  Before  proceeding  to  resume  the 
full  exercise  of  bis  royal  functions,  he  applied  to  Rome  for  a 
dispensation  from  "  the  Provisions  of  Oxford,"  which  he  had 
very  solemnly  sworn  to  observe.  This  was  readily  promised 
him ;  but,  unluckily,  Alexander  the  Pope  died  before  the 
dispensation  was  sealed,  and  considerable  delay  was  likely  to 
arise  before  a  successor  could  be  elected. 

Henry  or  his  advisers,  to  take  advantage  of  the  present 
favourable  state  of  the  public  mind,  called  a  Parliament  to 
meet  in  the  castle  of  Winchester.     There  he  openly  declared 


•  The  oath  made  by  the  Chancellor  was  to  this  efFect : — "  That  he  would  not 
seal  writs  without  the  command  of  the  King  and  his  Council,  and  in  the  presence 
of  some  of  them,  nor  seal  the  grant  of  any  great  wardship,  great  marriage,  or 
escheat,  without  the  assent  of  the  Council  or  the  major  part  of  it,  nor  would  seal 
any  thing  contrary  to  the  ordinances  made  or  to  be  made  by  the  twenty-four,  or 
the  greater  part  of  them,  nor  would  take  any  reward  but  only  such  as  other 
Chancellors  have  formerly  received  ;  and  if  he  should  appoint  a  deputy,  it  should 
be  only  according  to  the  power  to  be  provided  by  the  council."  —  Annal 
Burton,  413. 

t   Rot.  Pat.  44  H.  3.  m.  2. 

t  Pat.  44  H.  3.  n.  2.     Claus.  Rol.  44  H.  3.  n.  2. 


WALTER   DE   MERTON,    CHANCELLOR.  151 

that  he  would  no  longer  be  bound  by  "  the  Provisions  of    CHAP. 

.  •  IX 

Oxford,"  which  had  rendered  him  more  a  slave  than  a  King.  ' 

He  then  called  before  him  the  Chancellor  and  Justiciar 
appointed  by  the  Barons,  and  demanded  from  them  the  seals 
and  the  rolls  of  their  respective  offices.  They  answered  that 
they  could  not  lawfully  obey  him,  without  the  consent  of  the 
Council  of  twenty-four.  The  baronial  officers  were,  however, 
in  his  power:  they  were  obliged  to  submit,  and  the  Great 
Seal  was  delivered  up  to  Henry. 

He  appointed  Walter  de  Merton  as  Chancellor.*     At   Walter  de 
the   same   time,  to  put   on   an   appearance  of  moderation,   cif^'lj™^]^^ 
the  following  Letters  Patent  were  passed  under  the  Great  a.d.  1261. 
Seal,  in  compliment  to  the  Ex-chancellor  thus  forcibly  dis- 
placed : — 

"  The  King  to  all  whom,  &c.  Know  ye  that  our  beloved  clerk, 
Master  Nicholas,  Archdeacon  of  Ely,  did,  on  the  day  of  St.  Luke 
the  Evangelist,  in  the  44th  year  of  our  reign,  receive  from  us  our 
Great  Seal  to  be  kept,  which  said  seal  we  received  from  him  on 
Tuesday  next  after  the  Feast  of  the  Translation  of  St.  Thomas  the 
Martyr,  in  the  45th  year  of  our  reign.  We  have  therefore  spe- 
cially to  recommend  him  for  his  good  services  to  us.  In  witness, 
85c.  Witness  the  King,  at  the  Tower  of  London,  on  the  14th  day 
of  July."  t 

De  Wengham  would  probably  have  been  restored  to  the 
office ;  but  he  had  fallen  into  bad  health,  and  he  died  soon 
after.  De  Merton's  appointment  was  by  patent,  with  an 
express  declaration  that  it  was  "  without  the  consent  of  the 
Barons^  At  the  same  time  a  grant  was  made  to  him  of  400 
marks  a  year  for  support  of  himself  and  the  Chancery,  so  long 
as  he  should  remain  in  office.  X 


*  Rot.  Pat.  45  H.  3.  m.  8. 

t  Pat.  45  H.  3.  m.  7.     Liberata  45  H.  3.  m.  3.      Pat.  49  H.  3.  m.  18. 

4  This  sum  would  be  equal  to  about  4000Z.  of  present  money.  An  addition 
of  100  marks  was  made  to  the  salary  of  his  successor.  Out  oi  this  the  Chan- 
cellor had  to  pay  the  Chancery  clerks  or  Masters  in  Chancery,  and  to  defray 
other  expenses  of  the  Chancery  ;  but  he  had  besides,  as  we  have  seen,  high  fees 
on  grants  from  the  crown,  and  he  generally  held  large  ecclesiastical  benefices, 
so  that  he  must  have  had  a  reveime  and  maintained  a  state  equal  to  the  great 
hereditary  Harons.  In  the  reign  of  Henry  II.  the  Chancellor  was  allowed  "  five 
shillings  a  day,  two  deinean  and  seasoned  simnels,  one  sextary  of  clear  wine,  one 
sextary  of  vinum  expansabile,  one  pound  of  wax  and  forty  pieces  of  candle."  The 
five  shillings  per  diem  would  have  been  then  equal  to  about  1400/.  per  annum, 

L  4 


152 


KEIGN   OF    HENRY   III. 


CHAP. 
IX. 


History  of 
De  Merton. 


Keepers  of 
Seal. 


Public 
confusion. 


Walter  de  Merton  Is  the  most  considerable  man  we  have 
found  in  the  office  during  the  present  reign.  He  gained  great 
distinction  as  a  student  at  Oxford,  where  he  afterwards 
founded  Merton  College.  He  had  been  appointed  to  act  as 
Vice-chancellor  from  his  knowledge  of  law  and  capacity  for 
business.  He  was  twice  Lord  Chancellor,  and,  being  ap- 
pointed to  the  see  of  Rochester,  he  was  distinguished  as  a 
prelate  for  his  sanctity  and  good  works. 

In  1262  the  King  went  abroad,  and  was  accompanied  by 
John  de  Mansel,  his  secretary,  appointed  Keeper  of  the  Seal, 
Avhile  Walter  de  Merton,  remaining  at  home,  was  continued 
in  the  office  of  Chancellor.*  Henry  returned  to  England  in 
a  few  months,  and  Walter  de  Merton  continued  for  some 
time  to  act  as  his  minister,  under  the  title  of  Chancellor, 
employing  Keepers  of  the  Seal  to  do  the  laborious  duties  of 
the  office.  Of  these  the  only  distinguished  man  was  John 
de  ChishuU,  who  was  afterwards  Chancellor. 

Not  only  "  the  Provisions  of  Oxford,"  but  the  Great 
Charter,  and  the  Charter  of  the  Forest,  were  now  dis- 
regarded, and  the  doctrine  was  promulgated,  which  had  abet- 
tors among  lawyers  down  to  the  revolution  of  1688,  that  no 
royal  grants  or  acts  of  the  legislature  are  binding  on  the 
Sovereign  if  they  infringe  his  essential  prerogatives,  the  nature 
and  extent  of  which  are  to  be  judged  of  by  him  and  his 
ministers. 

The  bold  and  artful  Montfort,  in  exile,  hearing  of  the 
discontents  occasioned  by  these  arbitrary  measures,  came  over 
secretly  from  France,  again  collected  the  forces  of  his  party, 
and  commenced  an  open  rebellion.  He  seized  and  imprisoned 
John  de  Mansel,  the  Ex-keeper  of  the  Great  Seal,  because 
he  had  published  the  bull  at  last  obtained  from  Rome,  absolv- 
ing the  King  and  kingdom  from  their  oaths  to  observe  "  the 


but  it  is  impossible  to  estimate  the  value  of  the  other  items.  From  a  schedule 
found  in  the  chamber  of  accounts  at  Paris,  it  appears  that  Philippe  d'Antoigni, 
Chancellor  to  St.  Louis,  a  contemporary  sovereign,  received  for  himself  and  his 
horses  seven  shillings  a  day  ;  and  another  schedule  states  that  the  same  Chan- 
cellor received  seven  shillings  a  day  for  himself,  his  horses,  his  grooms  (valets  a 
cheval),  and  for  all  others  except  his  clerk  and  his  valet-de-chambre,  who  sat  at 
the  king's  tables. 

liot.  Claus.  47  ri.  3.  m.  G.      The  Chancellor,  during  the   king's  absence, 
was  only  to  seal  instruments  attested  by  H.  le  Despenser,  the  Justiciar. 


NICHOLAS   DE   ELY,   LORD   CHANCELLOR. 


153 


Provisions  of  Oxford ;"  and  he  threatened  the  utmost  vengeance 
against  William  de  Merton,  and  the  other  adherents  of  the 
King,  as  soon  as  they  should  fall  into  his  power.  Deserted 
by  all  ranks,  they  found  it  prudent  to  set  on  foot  a  treaty  of 
peace,  and  to  make  an  accommodation  with  him  on  terms  the 
most  disadvantageous.  "  The  Provisions  of  Oxford  "  were 
confirmed, — even  those  which  entirely  annihilated  the  royal 
authority,  and  the  Barons  were  again  reinstated  in  the  sove- 
reignty of  the  kingdom.  Their  first  step  was  to  remove 
William  de  Merton  from  the  office  of  Chancellor,  and  to 
restore  it  to  their  partisan,  Nicholas  de  Ely.* 

He  continued  to  hold  the  Great  Seal  as  Chancellor  till 
the  famous  parliament  assembled  by  Simon  Montfort,  in 
the  49th  of  Henry  III.,  which  was  summoned  by  writs  in 
the  form  now  used,  — which  was  attended  by  representatives 
from  counties,  cities,  and  boroughs,  and  which  was  the  model 
of  all  succeeding  parliaments  in  England. 

Under  this  last  settlement  an  interval  of  quiet  arose, 
during  which  Henry  crossed  the  Channel,  to  confer  with  the 
French  monarch,  who  was  then  holding  a  meeting  of  his 
states  at  Boulogne.  The  Great  Seal  remained  in  the  custody 
of  Archdeacon  Nicholas,  who,  during  the  King's  absence,  put 
it  only  to  instruments  of  course.f 

Henry  returned  to  celebrate  the  feast  of  the  Translation 
of  St.  Edward,  and  to  hold  a  Parliament  at  Westminster. 
Here  a  party  sprung  up  for  the  King,  and  an  attempt  was 
made  to  repeal  "  the  Provisions  of  Oxford,"  and  to  restore  to 
the  Crown  the  power  of  appointing  the  Chancellor ;  but  the 
Earl  of  Leicester  still  had  a  majority  of  spiritual  and  lay 
Peers.     Several  treaties  were  attempted  between  the  mo- 


CHAP. 

IX. 


A.D.  1263, 


Writs  for 
Simon  de 
Montfort's 
parliament, 
49  Hen.  3. 

A.D.  1265. 


Reference 
to  King  of 
France. 


*  Tlie  entries  in  the  Close  Roll  are  still  worded  as  if  the  government  had  been 
regularly  proceeding  under  the  royal  authority.  "  Here  W.  de  Merton  departed 
from  court,  and  on  Thursday  next  before  the  feast  of  St.  Margaret  the  Virgin, 
in  the  presence  of  Simon  de  Montfort,  Earl  of  Leicester,  and  of  the  other  nobles 
of  England,  Master  Nicholas,  Archdeacon  of  Ely,  took  at  Westminster  the  cus- 
tody of  the  King's  Seal,  and  he  immediately  sealed  with  it." — Rot.  CI.  47  H.  3. 

t  Memorandum,  that  on  the  18th  of  September  the  Lord  the  King  departed 
from  Westminster  towards  foreign  parts,  and  the  King's  Great  Seal  remained  in 
the  custody  of  Nicholas,  Archdeacon  of  Ely,  who  acted  during  the  King's  stay 
l)eyond  the  sea.  He  however  sealed  nothing  but  writs  which  were  attested 
by  H.  le  Despenser,  Justiciar  of  England,  &c Pat.  47  H.  3.  m.  1. 


154  REIGN   OF   HENRY   III. 

CHAP,  derate  men  of  both  parties,  and,  according  to  the  custom  of 
the  age,  it  was  at  last  agreed  to  refer  "  the  Provisions  of 
Oxford,"  and  all  other  matters  in  difference,  to  the  arbitration 
of  the  French  King. 
Jan.  1264.  The  royal  arbitrator,  having  taken  upon  himself  the  burthen 
of  the  reference,  and  having  patiently  heard  both  sides  in  full 
assembly  of  his  nobility,  gave  judgment  in  favour  of  the 
King  of  England,  by  declaring  "  the  Provisions  of  Oxford  " 
null  and  void,  and  adjudging  that  the  King  might  nominate 
his  Chancellor,  and  the  other  great  officers  of  the  kingdom, 
according  to  his  own  pleasure. 

The  King  was  proceeding  to  act  upon  the  award ;  but  the 
Barons  refused  to  be  bound  by  it,  alleging  that  it  was  con- 
tradictory on  the  face  of  it,  and  that  the  arbitrator  had  ex- 
ceeded his  authority. 
May,  1264.  Both  parties  again  flew  to  arms,  and  soon  after  was  fought 
Lewes."  t^^  "  Mise "  or  "  battle  of  Lewes,"  which  ended  in  the 
captivity  of  Henry,  of  his  brother  the  King  of  the  Romans, 
of  Prince  Edward  his  son,  and  of  Comyn,  Bruce,  and  all  the 
chief  opponents  of  Montfort  who  survived  the  perils  of  that 
bloody  field. 
Meeting  of  The  parliament  was  called  in  the  King's  name,  the  King 
Montfort's  l^^ing  apparently  on  the  throne,  the  Lords  spiritual  and  tem- 
parliament.  poral  attending,  and  the  commonalty  of  the  realm  fully  re- 
presented by  the  knights,  citizens^  and  burgesses  who  had  been 
elected  under  the  new-fashioned  writs  which  Montfort  or  his 
Chancellor  had  framed.  This  assembly,  however,  had  merely 
to  register  the  decrees  of  the  usurper.  An  Act  was  passed 
(the  first  professing  to  have  the  sanction  of  the  third  estate), 
according  to  the  following  tenour :  —  "  This  Is  the  form  of  the 
peace  unanimously  approved  of  by  our  Lord  the  King,  and 
the  Lord  Edward  his  son,  and  all  the  Prelates  and  Barons, 
together  with  the  whole  community  of  the  kingdom  of  England^'' 
—  the  leading  enactment  being,  that,  for  the  reformation  of  the 
state  of  the  kingdom,  there  should  be  chosen  three  discreet 
and  faithful  men  who  should  have  power  and  authority  from 
the  King  of  choosing  nine  counsellors,  out  of  whom  three  at  the 
least,  by  turns,  should  always  be  present  at  Court,  and  the 
King,  by  the  advice  of  those  nine,  should  make  his  Justiciar, 


NICHOLAS   DE   ELY,   LORD   CHANCELLOR.  155 

Chancellor,  Treasurer,  and  all  the  other  great  and  small  officers     ^^^^' 
connected  with  the  government  of  the  kinfjrdom.*  ^ 


For  some  reason  not  explained,  Nicholas  de  Ely  was  re- 
moved by  De  Montfort  from  the  office  of  Chancellor.  He 
was  probably  siispected  of  having  temporised  between  the 
two  parties,  and  of  having  countenanced  the  reference  to  the 
King  of  France.  He  is  to  be  had  in  remembrance  as  the 
first  Chancellor  who  ever  sealed  writs  for  the  election  of 
knights,  citizens,  and  burgesses  to  Parliament.f  Whether  he.  Origin  of 
as  a  native  of  England,  suggested  the  measure — foreseeing  the  commons. 
benefits  it  might  confer  upon  his  country  —  or  De  Montfort, 
Avho  had  been  born  and  educated  abroad,  introduced  it  from 
some  country  in  which  the  third  estate  Avas  admitted  to  grant 
supplies  and  have  a  share  in  legislation,  —  or  whether  the  two 
thought  of  nothing  but  a  present  expedient  for  enlarging  and 
confirming  their  power,  by  taking  advantage  of  the  popularity 
they  then  enjoyed  with  the  classes  on  whom  the  elective  fran- 
chise was  bestowed,  without  looking  to  precedent  or  regarding 
distant  consequences,  it  would  now  be  vain  to  conjecture. 
Although  there  was  much  of  accident  with  respect  to  the 
time  when  the  institution  first  appeared  among  us,  yet  it  could 
not  have  continued  to  flourish  if  it  had  not  been  suited  to  the 
state  of  society  and  the  wants  of  the  nation.  In  spite  of 
violence  and  oppression,  in  spite  of  continued  foreign  or 
domestic  war,  commerce  made  advances,  wealth  increased 
among  the  middling  orders,  the  feudal  system  began  gradually 
to  decline,  and  both  the  King  and  the  people  favoured  a  new 
power  which  was  more  submissive  than  the  Barons  to  the 
regular  authority  of  the  Crown,  and  at  the  same  time  afforded 
protection  against  their  insolence  to  the  inferior  classes  of  the 
community. 

Nicholas  de  Ely  seems,  after  Montfort's  fall,  to  have  re- 

♦  1  Pari.  Hist.  31. 

f  Some  writers  have  attempted  to  give  a  much  earlier  date  to  the  popular 
representation  in  England,  but  I  think  without  success  ;  for  not  only  are  there 
no  earlier  writs  for  the  election  of  representatives  extant,  but  there  is  no  trace  of 
the  existence  of  such  a  body  in  accounts  of  i)arlianientary  proceedings,  where,  if 
it  had  existed,  it  must  have  been  mentioned, — as  the  trial  of  Thomas  a  Becket, 
which  is  as  minutely  reported  as  the  impeachment  of  Warren  Hastings.  Tlie 
great  council  of  the  nation  hitherto  consisted  of  the  prelates  and  barons,  assisted 
by  the  officers  of  states  and  the  judges. 


156 


EEIGN   OF   HENRY  III. 


CHAP. 
IX. 


Thomas  dk 
Canti- 

LUPK, 

Chancellor. 
A.D.  1265. 


His  salary. 


conciled  himself  to  the  Court,  for  though  he  did  not  again 
hold  any  civil  office,  he  was  made  Bishop  of  Worcester  in 
1268,  and  before  the  end  of  that  year  translated  to  the  see  of 
Winchester,  which  he  held  till  his  death  in  1280. 

The  new  Chancellor  appointed  by  the  twenty-four  Barons 
now  vested  with  supreme  power,  was  Thomas  de  Can- 
TiLurE.*  He  was  of  noble  extraction,  being  son  of  William 
Baron  de  Cantilupe,  of  an  illustrious  Norman  family.  Being 
destined  for  the  church,  he  studied  at  Oxford,  where  he 
made  great  proficiency  in  the  Canon  Law :  he  took  the  degree 
of  Doctor  of  Laws,  and  became  Chancellor  of  that  University, 
then  an  annual  office ;  but  he  had  not  yet  reached  any 
higher  ecclesiastical  dignity  than  that  of  Archdeacon  of 
Staflibrd. 

Lord  Chancellor  Cantilupe  had  a  grant  of  500  marks  a- year, 
payable  at  the  Exchequer  at  four  terms  in  the  year,  for  the 
support  of  himself  and  the  clerks  of  the  King's  Chancery  f, 
so  long  as  he  should  continue  Archdeacon  of  Staffiard. 

He  had  a  very  short  and  troubled  possession  of  his  new 
office.  Prince  Edward  had  escaped  from  imprisonment,  and 
was  again  in  the  field  at  the  head  of  a  numerous  and  well 
appointed  ai'my.  Cantilupe's  services  were  wanted  to  assist 
in  opposing  him  at  a  distance  from  London,  and  the  Great 


•  The  entry  on  the  record,  however,  shows  that  the  government  was  still 
decently  carried  on  in  the  King's  name.  "  On  Wednesday  next  after  the  feast 
of  St.  Peter  in  cathedra,  Master  John  de  Chishull,  Archdeacon  of  London  (who 
had  been  sigillifer),  restored  to  the  King  his  Seal,  and  he  on  the  same  day  com- 
mitted the  custody  of  it  to  Master  Tliomas  de  Cantilupe,  who  immediately 
sealed  with  it." — Claus.  49  H.  3.  m.  9. 

f  This  document  is  still  extant,  and  is  curious  as  recognising  the  election  of 
the  Chancellor  by  parliament,  and  showing  the  form  observed  when  a  grant  was 
to  pass  under  the  Great  Seal  in  favour  of  the  Chancellor  himself  "  Rex 
omnibus,  &c.,  salutem.  Cum  dilectus  nobis  in  Christo  Magister  Thomas  de 
Cantilupo,  per  nos  et  magnates  nostros  qui  sunt  de  Concilio  nostro,  electus  sit 
in  Cancellariam  Regni  nostri,  et  nos  ipsum  ad  officium  illud  gratanter  admiseri- 
mus,  nos  sustentationi  sua;  et  clericorum  Cancellarice  nostras  providere  volentes, 
concessimus  ei  quingentas  marcas,  singulis  annis  percipiendas  ad  Scaccarium 
nostrum,  &c.,  ad  sustentationem  suam  et  Clericorum  Cancellariae  nostra;  pre- 
dict£e  quamdiu  steterit  in  officio.  In  cujus,  &c.  Teste  Rege  apud  Westmon. 
xxvj°  die  Marcii.  Et  sciendum  quod  Dominus  Rex  manu  sua  propria  plicavit 
istud    breve  et  in  presentia  sua  fecit  consignari,    presentibus  similiter    H.    le 

Dispenser,  Justiciario  Anglia;,"  &c Pat.  49  II.  3.   m.  18.      This  grant  was 

continued  to  his  successors,  as  we  several  times  find  credit  given  to  sheriffs  for 
payments  made  to  the  Chancellor  by  the  King's  order  in  discharge  of  the  allow- 
ance of  500  marks  for  the  sustentation  of  himself  and  the  clerks  of  the  Chancery. 
—Mag.  Rot.  52  II.  3.      50  II.  3. 


THOMAS   DE   CANTILUPE,    LORD   CHANCELLOR. 


157 


Seal  was  temporarily  transferred  to  Ralph  de  Sandwich, 
Keeper  of  the  Wardrobe,  to  be  kept  by  him  till  Thomas  de 
CantUupe  should  return,  under  the  superintendence,  and  to 
be  used  with  the  concurrence,  of  Peter  de  Montfort,  Roger 
St.  John,  and  Giles  de  Argentine.*  Ralph  de  Sandwich 
was  probably  a  personal  attendant  on  the  King  in  whom  no 
confidence  was  reposed.  The  three  superintendents  were 
devoted  adherents  of  the  party,  who  now  kept  the  King  pri- 
soner, and  ruled  in  his  name. 

Before  Thomas  de  Cantilupe  did  return  the  battle  of 
Evesham  was  fought,  —  Simon  de  Montfort  was  slain,  and 
his  party  was  for  ever  extinguished. 

Prince  Edward  is  celebrated  for  the  merciful  disposition  he 
now  displayed.  No  blood  was  shed  on  the  scaffold,  and  all 
who  submitted  were  pardoned.  Cantilupe,  though  removed 
from  his  oflfice,  was  afterwards  taken  into  favour,  made  Bishop 
of  Hereford,  and  employed  in  an  embassy  to  Italy,  where  he 
died  in  1282.  Notwithstanding  the  political  factions  in  which 
he  was  engaged,  he  acquired  a  character  for  extraordinary 
sanctity ;  miracles  were  said  to  be  wrought  by  his  dead  body. 
He  was  canonised  by  Pope  John  XXII. ;  and  all  his  succes- 
sors, the  Bishops  of  Hereford,  out  of  respect  to  his  me- 
mory, have  used  his  family  arms  as  the  heraldic  bearings  of 
their  see. 

The  victory  of  Evesham  having  fully  re-established  the 
royal  authority  during  the  remainder  of  this  reign,  Walter 
GiFFARD,  who  had  always  steadily  adhered  to  the  court  party, 
was  appointed  to  the  office  of  Chancellor,  f 

*  The  following  memoranduin  of  this  transfer  is  to  be  found  in  the  Patent 
Roll : — "  That  on  Thursday  next  after  St.  John  Port  Latin  Master  Thomas  de 
Cantilupe,  the  King's  Chancellor,  delivered  the  King's  Seal  to  Ralph  de  Sand- 
wich, the  keeper  of  the  wardrobe,  in  the  presence  of  the  King  and  of  Hugh  le 
Despenser,  Justiciar  of  England,  and  Peter  de  Montfort,  to  be  kept  by  him 
until  Thomas  should  return  ; — to  be  used  in  this  manner — Ralph  to  keep  it  in 
the  wardrobe  under  the  seal  of  Peter  de  Montfort,  Roger  de  St.  John,  and 
Giles  de  Argentein,  or  one  of  them  —  when  taken  out,  Ralph  to  seal  the  writs 
of  course  in  the  presence  of  the  person  under  whose  seal  it  had  been  then 
inclosed,  or  in  his  absence  if  he  was  not  minded  to  be  there,  but  mandatory 
writs  only  in  the  presence  of  such  person  and  with  his  assent ;  and  when  the 
writs  either  of  course  or  mandatory  were  sealed,  then  the  King's  Seal  was  to  be 
sealed  up  under  the  seal  of  one  of  the  three  persons  above  named,  and  to  be 
carried  by  Ralph  into  the  wardrobe,  to  be  there  kept  in  form  aforesaid,  until 
Thomas  de  Cantilupe  should  return," — Rot.  Pat.  49  H.  3.  m.  16. 

t   Rot.  Pat.  49  H.  .3.  m.  10. 


CHAP. 
IX. 


Aug.  4. 
1265. 
Battle  of 
Evesham. 


Death  of 
Cantilupe. 


Walter 

GiFFAEn, 

Chancellor 
Aug.  10. 
1265. 


158 


REIGN   OF    HENKY    III. 


CHAP. 
IX. 


Resigns, 
being  made 
Arch- 
bishop of 
York. 


Godfrey 

GiFFARD, 

Chancellor. 
A.D.  1266. 


Removed 
for  incom- 
petency. 


He  was  of  a  good  family,  and  of  great  abilities.  Having 
mastered  all  that  was  to  be  learned  in  England,  he  completed 
his  education  in  Italy,  Avhere  he  was  ordained  priest  and  made 
private  chaplain  to  the  Pope.  On  his  return  to  his  own  coun- 
try, mixing  in  secular  affairs,  he  rose  to  be  Lord  Treasurer,  an 
office  which  he  lost  by  a  sudden  revolution  in  the  state.  In 
1264  he  reached  the  secure  elevation  of  the  prelacy,  being 
made  Bishop  of  Bath  and  Wells.  This  dignity  he  held  when 
he  received  the  Great  Seal.  In  about  a  year  after,  the  Arch- 
bishopric of  York  falling  vacant,  he  aspired  to  it,  and  had  the 
court  interest ;  but  William  de  Langton,  Dean  of  York,  was 
elected  by  the  Chapter.  Both  parties  appealed  to  the  Pope, 
and,  after  a  keen  struggle,  Giffard  succeeded  through  his 
superior  interest.  As  soon  as  he  was  installed  Archbishop, 
he  voluntarily  resigned  the  Great  Seal,  and  devoted  himself 
to  the  government  of  his  new  see,  which  he  held  above  ten 
years.  He  left  behind  him  the  reputation  of  great  learning, 
as  well  as  of  integrity  and  piety. 

He  was  succeeded  in  the  office  of  Chancellor  by  Godfrey 
GiFFARD,  Archdeacon  of  Wells  *,  another  member  of  the 
same  family,  who,  through  his  mother,  was  related  to  the 
King,  and  seems  to  have  owed  his  promotion  entirely  to 
court  favour.  He  was  removed  from  the  office  after  he  had 
held  it  a  very  short  time,  without  any  turn  in  politics,  and 
without  any  advancement  in  the  church, — whence  it  is  in- 
ferred that  he  was  found  wholly  incompetent  for  secular 
duties.  Nevertheless  he  was  afterwards  considered  suffi- 
ciently qualified  for  high  ecclesiastical  preferment,  and  in 
1269  he  was  appointed  to  the  see  of  Worcester,  which  he 
held  without  reproach  for  24  years.  While  he  was  Chan- 
cellor, in  the  5  2d  year  of  the  King's  reign,  a  parliament 
assembled  at  Marlbridge,  where  many  useful  laws  were 
passed  for  restraining  the  abuse  of  Distresses,  regulating  the 
mcidents  of  tenure,  and  improving  civil  and  criminal  pro- 
cedure. Several  of  these  display  great  discrimination,  and 
an  acquaintance  with  the  general  principles  of  Jurisprudence 


Rot.  Pat.  51  H.  3.  m.  22.     52  H.  3.  m,  30.      Rot.  Claus.  52  H,  3.  m.  10. 


RICHARD   DE   MIDDLETON,   LORD   CHANCELLOR.  159 

greatly  above  the  comprehension  of  the  Chancellor ;  and  if  he     criAP. 
introduced  them,  they  must  have  been  framed  by  superior 
men  whom  he  had  the  wit  to  employ.* 

The  next  Chancellor  was  a  man  of  much  renown  in  his  John  de 
day,  John  de  Chishull,  Dean  of  St.  Paul's.    He  had  risen  ^^^^""jj^ 
from  an  obscure  origin  by  his  own  powers,  and  being  well  Oct.  so. 
skilled  in  the  civil  and  common  law,  with  a  great  readiness  for  ^^^^• 
business,  he  had  been  found  very  useful  to  Lord  Chancellor  de 
Merton,  who  made  him  his  Vice-chancellor. f    Having  always 
taken  the  royalist  side,  he  was  persecuted  by  the  Barons ;  but 
they  being  now  crushed,  his  fidelity  was  rewarded  with  the 
office  of  Chancellor,  which  he  filled  with  great  applause  till 
the  year  1270,  when  he  exchanged  it  for  that  of  Treasurer. 
In  1274  he  was  made  Bishop  of  London,  and  he  spent  the 
remainder  of  his  days  in  works  of  charity,  and  in  seeking  to 
expiate  the  sins  he  had  committed  in  his  political  career.  | 

His  successor  in  the  office  of  Chancellor  was  Richard  de  Richard 
Middleton,  of  whom  so  little  is  known  that  it  has  been  ^on,  Chan- 
questioned  whether  he  was  a  layman  or  an  ecclesiastic ;  but  ceiior. 
there  can  be  little  doubt  that  he  was  one  of  the  active  aspir-  i269. 
ing  priests  who,  in  those  troublous   times,  were    employed 
as  secretaries  to  the  King,  and  were  intrusted  with  the  Great 
Seal  as  a  step  to  high  promotion  in  the  church.     While  he 
was  Chancellor  he  certainly  provided  for  the  expenses  of  the 
King's  chapel  out  of  the  profits  of  his  office,  and  no  doubt 
officiated  in  it  as  chaplain.  §     He  died  while  Chancellor,  on 

*   See  Stat.  Marlb.  52  H.  3. 

t  There  is  an  entry  in  the  Charter  Roll,  49  H.  3.,  which  has  induced  some 
to  suppose  that  Chishull  was  Chancellor  before  Cantilupe,  but  though  he  de- 
livered the  Great  Seal  to  the  King,  he  had  not  before  held  it  as  Chancellor. 

J  Matthew  of  Westminster. — The  family  of  de  Chishull  was  settled  for  several 
centuries  at  Little  Bardfield  in  Essex ;  and  in  the  parish  register  of  that  place 
there  is  the  following  entry  respecting  him,  which  seems  to  have  been  written 
about  the  year  1539 : — "  John  de  Chishull,  archdeacon  of  London,  and  treasurer 
of  England,  was  made  Keeper  of  the  Great  Scale  in  the  yeare  of  our  redemption 
one  thousande  two  hundred  sixtie  and  four,  being  the  eight  and  fortie  yeare  of  the 
raigne  of  King  Henry  the  Third.  This  man  was  consecrated  Bishopp  of  Lon- 
don in  the  yeare  of  Christ  one  thousand  two  hundred  seventie  and  foure,  the 
third  kalendes  of  May.  He  died  in  the  yeare  that  the  word  of  the  father  became 
flesh  one  thousand  two  hundred  seventie  and  nine,  the  fourth  ides  of  February, 
in  the  seventh  yeare  of  the  scourge  of  the  Scotts  and  Welshmen." — Extracted 
from  the  parish  register  by  my  son  Hallyburton. 

§  In  the  fifty- fifth  year  of  King  Henry  III.,  John  le  Fauconer,  receiver  of  the 
fees  of  the  Great  Seal,  rendered  to  De  Middleton  his  account,  which  is  still 
extant,  and  in  which  he  is  allowed  certain  disbursements  for  the  King's  chapel, 


160 


REIGN   OF   HENRY   III. 


CHAP. 

IX. 


Prince 
Edward  in 
the  Holy 
Land. 


John  de 
Kirby, 
Keeper  of 
Great  Seal. 

Aug.  7. 
1272. 


Sunday  before  the  Feast  of  St.  Lawrence,  in  the  year  1272, 
before  any  other  provision  had  been  made  for  him*,  and  the 
Great  Seal  was  deposited  in  the  King's  wardrobe  to  abide  the 
disposal  of  the  Council  who  now  governed  the  kingdom. 

Prince  Edward,  having  crushed  De  Montfort  and  the  as- 
sociated Barons,  —  seduced  by  his  avidity  for  glory,  and  by 
the  passion  of  the  age  for  crusades,  had  undertaken  an  expe- 
dition, in  conjunction  with  St.  Louis,  to  recover  the  Holy 
Sepulchre,  and,  after  the  death  of  that  pious  and  romantic 
sovereign,  was  now  signalising  himself  by  acts  of  valour  in 
Palestine,  and  reviving  the  splendour  of  the  English  name 
among  the  nations  of  the  East.  King  Henry,  overcome  by 
the  cares  of  government  and  the  infirmities  of  age,  was 
visibly  declining,  and  could  no  longer  even  appear  to  take  a 
part  in  the  government.  Letters  were  written  in  his  name 
to  the  Prince,  urging  his  immediate  return,  and  pointing  out 
the  dangers  to  which  the  state  was  exposed  from  the  mu- 
tinous Barons,  who  were  again  commencing  their  machi- 
nations and  disorders.  In  the  mean  time  the  Council  did 
not  venture  to  appoint  a  new  Chancellor,  but  delivered  the 
Great  Seal  to  John  de  Kirby,  with  the  title  of  Vice-chan- 
cellor, that  he  might  seal  writs  with  it,  and  do  what  was 
requisite  for  the  ordinary  routine  of  government  till  the 
Prince's  arrival. 

Kirby  was  a  churchman,  eager  for  promotion ;  — as  yet  only 
Dean  of  Winburn  and  Archdeacon  of  Coventry,  but  active, 
cunning,  and  unscrupulous.  His  conduct  in  this  emergency 
gave  such  satisfaction,  that  in  the  ensuing  reign  he  was  made 
Bishop  of  Ely  and  Lord  Treasurer.     But  he  is  accused  by 


among  other  expenses  to  be  defrayed  by  the  Chancellor.  "  Compotus  Johannis 
le  Fauconer  Receptoris  denariorum  provenienciura  de  exitibus  Sigilli  Regis,  a 
festo  Apostolorum  Simonis  et  Judae,  anno  Liiij  usq  ;  ad  idem  festum  anno  Lvj 
incipiente,  videlicet  per  duos  annos.  —  Summa  summarum,  DCCCCLxxiij  1. 
xvj  s.  In  thesauro  nichil."  Among  the  credits,  "  Et  Johanni  Partejoye  custodi 
summarum  Regis  Cancellarii  pro  vadiis  suis  per  CCCxxx  dies  vj  1.  iij  s.  ix  d. 
per  idem  breve  [Regis].  Et  in  percameno  ad  opus  clericorum  Cancellariee 
predictcE,  et  aliis  minutis  expensis  ejusdem  Cancellariae  et  Capella;  Regis  xiij  1. 
ij  s.  vi  d.  per  idem  breve."  Mag.  Rot.  55  H.  3.  Rot.  1.  a.  in  Rot.  Compotor. 
The  amount  of  these  fees  is  considerable,  regard  being  had  to  the  value  of  money 
in  those  times. 

•  Die  Dominica  proxima  ante  festum  Sancti  Laurentii  obiit  Ricardus  de 
Middleton  quondam  Cancellarius  Regis  et  Sigillum  Regis  liberatum  fuit  in 
Garderobam  Regis.  —  Chart.  56  H.  3.  m.  2. 


STATE   OF   THE   LAW.  161 

contemporary  writers  of  having  neglected  his  spiritual  for  his     chap. 
temporal  duties,  and  of^  having  taken  but  little  notice  of  the 
flocks  committed  to  his  charge,  except  when  he  was  to  shear 
them. 

He  held  the  Great  Seal  from  the  7th  of  August,  1272,  to 
the  16th  of  November  following,  the  day  that  closed  the  in- 
glorious reign  of  Henry  III.  The  moment  that  the  King  had 
breathed  his  last,  Kirby  surrendered  it  to  Walter  Archbishop 
of  York  and  the  rest  of  the  Council  assembled  to  take  mea- 
sures for  securing  the  accession  of  the  new  Sovereign.* 

During  this  reign  there  were  sixteen  Chancellors,  and 
many  Keepers f  of  the  Great  Seal  besides;  but  none  of 
them  of  much  historical  importance.  Learning  was  very 
low,  and  was  confined  entirely  to  the  clergy.  Not  only 
were  the  Chancellors  of  this  order,  but  many  dignitaries  of 
the  Church  were  Justices  in  the  Courts  at  Westminster  and 
in  the  Eyre.  Nay,  the  advocates  in  the  secular  courts  were 
ecclesiastics,  and  from  them  only  could  any  competent  Judges 
be  selected.  There  was  a  canon  published  about  this  time, 
"  Nee  advocati  sint  clerici,  vel  sacerdotes,  in  foro  seculari, 
nisi  vel  proprias  causas  vel  miserabilium  prosequantur.^^  The 
exception  excused  their  appearance  in  Westminster  Hall, 
and  their  violation  of  the  rule  was,  from  necessity,  con- 
nived at.  I 

After  the  Great  Charter  and  the  Charter  of  the  Forest  had   Character 
been  confirmed,  the  King's  ministers  were  too  much  occu-  of  Chancel- 

.  .     .  .  1°''^  during 

pied  in  counteracting  the  plots  and  resisting  the  violence  of  reign  of 


the  mutinous  Barons  to  have  much  leisure  for  legal  reform, 
and  the  only  attempts  at  it  by  legislation  were  the  statutes  of 
Merton  §  and  Marlbridge.  ||  Several  provincial  and  legatine 
constitutions  were  passed  by  convocations  of  the  clergy,  at 
the  instigation  or  with  the  concurrence  of  clerical  Chan- 
cellors, for  exempting  ecclesiastics  from  all  secular  jurisdic- 

•   Rot.  Claus.  and  Pat.  57  H.  3.  m.  1. 

f   In  the  longer  reign  of  George  HI.  there  were  only  eight. 

\  But  the  inns  of  court  for  education  in  the  common  law  were  about  this 
time  established,  and  a  separate  order  of  laymen  learned  in  the  common  law 
sprung  up  and  flourished. 

§  20  H.  3.,  the  chief  enactment  of  which  was  to  encourage  the  inclosure  of 
waste  land. 

II    52  H.  3.,  for  regulating  the  right  of  distress. 

VOL.  I.  M 


lien.  II L 


162 


EEIGN   OF   HENRY    III. 


CHAP. 
IX. 


Bracton, 
merits  uf. 


Abolition 
of  office  of 
Chief  Jus- 
ticiar. 


tion,  and  effecting  those  objects  which  had  been  defeated  by 
the  constitutions  of  Clarendon  and  the  vigorous  adminis- 
tration of  Henry  II. 

It  is  curious  that,  in  the  most  disturbed  period  of  this  tur- 
bulent reign,  when  ignorance  seemed  to  be  thickening  and 
the  human  intellect  to  decline,  there  was  written  and  given 
to  the  world  the  best  treatise  upon  law  of  which  England 
could  boast  till  the  publication  of  Blackstone's  Commen- 
taries, in  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century.*  It  would 
have  been  very  gratifying  to  me  if  this  work  could  have  been 
ascribed,  with  certainty,  to  any  of  the  Chancellors  Avhose 
lives  have  been  noticed.  The  author,  usually  styled  Henry 
de  Bracton,  has  gone  by  the  names  of  Brycton,  Britton,  Bri- 
ton, Breton,  and  Brets ;  and  some  have  doubted  whether  all 
these  names  are  not  imaginary.  From  the  elegance  of  his 
style  and  the  familiar  knowledge  he  displays  of  the  Roman 
law,  I  cannot  doubt  that  he  was  an  ecclesiastic  who  had  ad- 
dicted himself  to  the  study  of  jurisprudence  ;  and  as  he  was 
likely  to  gain  advancement  from  his  extraordinary  profi- 
ciency, he  may  have  been  one  of  those  whom  I  have  commemo- 
rated, —  although  I  must  confess  that  he  rather  speaks  the 
language  likely  to  come  from  a  disappointed  practitioner  than 
of  a  Chancellor  who  had  been  himself  in  the  habit  of  making 
Judges.f  For  comprehensiveness,  for  lucid  arrangement,  for 
logical  precision,  this  author  was  unrivalled  during  many  ages. 
Littleton's  work  on  Tenures,  which  illustrated  the  reign  of 
Edward  IV.,  approaches  Bracton;  but  how  barbarous,  in 
comparison,  are  the  Commentaries  of  Lord  Coke,  and  the 
Law  treatises  of  Hale  and  of  Hawkins  !  X 

Towards  the  end  of  this  reign  the  office  of  Chief  Jus- 
ticiar,    which  had   often   been    found    so    dangerous  to  the 


*  Tlie  book  must  have  been  written  between  the  years  1262  and  1267,  for  it 
cites  a  ease  decided  in  the  47th  of  H.  3.,  and  takes  no  notice  whatever  of  the 
Statute  of  Marlbridge,  which  passed  in  the  52d  of  H.  3. 

f  Describing  the  judges  of  his  time  he  calls  them,  "  Insipientes  et  minus 
docti,  qui  cathedram  judicandi  ascendunt  antequam  leges  dedicerint." 

I  It  must  be  admitted  that  juridical  writing  is  a  department  of  literature  in 
which  the  English  have  been  very  defective,  and  in  which  they  are  greatly 
excelled  by  the  French,  the  Germans,  and  even  by  the  Scotch.  The  present 
state  of  the  common  law  may  now  probably  be  best  learned  from  "  the  notes  of 
Patteson  and  Williams  on  Serjeant  Williams's  notes  on  Saunders's  Reports  of 
Cases  decided  in  the  reign  of  Charles  II.,"  and  written  in  Norman- French. 


STATE   OF    THE   LAW. 


163 


CHAP. 
IX. 


Disruption 
of  Aula 
Regia. 


Crown,  fell  into  disuse.     Hugh  le  Despenser,  in  the  49th  of 

Henry  III.,  was  the  last  who  bore  the  title.*     The  hearing 

of  common  actions  being  fixed  at  Westminster  by  Magna 

Charta,    the   Aula   Regia   was    gradually    subdivided,    and 

certain  Judges  were  assigned  to  hear  criminal  cases  before  the 

King  himself,  wheresoever  he  might  be,  in  England.     These 

formed   the    Court   of  King's   Bench.      They   were   called 

"  Justitiarii  ad  placita  coram  Rege,"  and  the  one  who  was  to 

preside  "  Capitalis  Justiciarius."     He  was  inferior  in  rank  to 

the  Chancellor,  and  had  a  salary  of  only  100  marks  a  yearf, 

while   the   Chancellor  had  generally  500.     Henceforth  the  Chancellor 

Chancellor,  in  rank,   power,  and  emolument,  was  the  first  of  law. 

magistrate  under  the  Crown,  and  looked  up  to  as  the  great 

head  of  the  profession  of  the  law. 

There  are  some  cases  decided  in  this  reign  which  are  still 
quoted  as  authority  in  Legal  Digests;  —  the  writs  and  sum- 
monses to  Simon  de  Montfort's  parliament  are  now  given  in 
evidence  on  questions  of  peerage,  —  and  the  England  in  which 
we  live  might  be  descried. 


•  Dugdale,  in  his  Chronica  Series,  when  he  comes  to  55  H.  3.,  a.d.  1271, 
changes  the  heading  of  his  column  of  justices  from  "  Justiciariorum  Angliae"  to 
"Justic.  ad  Plac.  coram  Rege." 

f  Dugd.  Or.  Jur.  p.  104.  The  puisnes  had  only  forty  pounds  a  year.  The 
chief  justice  of  Common  Pleas  had  one  hundred  marks,  the  chief  baron  forty 
marks,  and  the  puisne  barons  twenty.  2  Reeve's  Hist,  of  Law,  91.  This  is 
certainly  poor  pay,  and  I  am  afraid  may  have  induced  the  judges  to  be  guilty  of 
the  corrupt  conduct  for  which  they  were  punished  in  the  following  reign. 
The  work  was,  however,  very  light  till  the  times  when  salaries  were  so  much 
increased.  In  the  reign  of  Henry  VI.  the  judges  never  sat  more  than  three 
hours  a  day,  from  eight  in  the  morning  till  eleven,  employing  the  rest  of  their 
time  in  refection,  reading,  and  contemplation,  while  the  councillors  and  Serjeants 
went  to  the  parvise  at  Paul's  to  meet  their  clients. — Fort,  de  Laud. 


H  2 


164  REIGN   OF   EDWARD   T. 


CHAPTER  X. 


CHANCELLORS  AND  KEEPERS  OF  THE  GREAT  SEAL  DURING  THE 
REIGN  OF  EDWARD  I.  TILL  THE  DEATH  OF  LORD  CHANCELLOR 
BURNEL. 

CHAP.  Edward  being   proclaimed  King,  while   still   absent   from 

'  England,  the  Council,  as  an  act  of  power  authorised  by  the 

Nov.  20.  urgency  of  the  case,  resolved  to  appoint  a  Chancellor.     After 

ll''^-  nine  days'  deliberation  they  selected  Walter  de  Merton, 

Walter  de  •'  ■' 

Mertok,      who  had  filled  the  office  in  the  preceding  reign,  and  who. 

Chancellor,  jj^ying  always  been  a  zealous  royalist,  they  had  every  reason 

to  believe  would  be  agreeable  to  the  new  Sovereign. 

The  letters  addressed  to  the  Prince  requiring  his  presence 
had  produced  the  desired  effect,  and  he  had  reached  Sicily  on 
his  return  from  the  Holy  Land,  when  he  received  intelligence 
of  the  death  of  his  father.  Learning  the  quiet  settlement  of 
the  kingdom,  he  was  in  no  hurry  to  take  possession  of  the 
throne ;  but  from  France  he  wrote  a  letter  dated  the  9th  of 
August,  in  the  first  year  of  his  reign  — "  To  his  beloved 
Clerk  and  Chancellor,  Walter  de  Merton,"  confirming  his 
appointment,  and  requesting  him  to  continue  to  discharge  the 
duties  of  the  Chancellorship.* 

*  "  Edward,  by  the  grace  of  God  King  of  England,  Lord  of  Ireland,  and 
Duke  of  Aquitaine,  to  his  beloved  Clerk  and  Chancellor,  Walter  de  Merton, 
greeting. 

"  We  give  you  special  thanks  for  the  diligence  you  have  applied  to  our  affairs 
and  tliose  of  our  kingdom,  beseeching  that  what  you  have  so  laudably  begun 
you  will  happily  take  care  to  continue,  causing  justice  to  be  done  to  every  one 
in  matters  which  belong  to  your  office,  inducing  others  also  to  do  the  same,  not 
sparing  the  condition  or  rank  of  any  person,  so  that  the  rigour  of  justice  may 
control  those  whom  the  sense  of  equity  cannot  restrain  from  injuries.  Those 
things  which  you  shall  have  rightly  done  in  this  matter  we,  God  willing,  will 
cause  to  be  fully  confirmed. 

"  Given  at  Mellune  on  Seine,  9th  of  August,  in  the  first  year  of  our  reign." 

This  letter  shows  that  the  king  clearly  conceived  he  had  a  right  to  remove  the 
Chancellor  if  he  liad  thought  fit,  though  he  had  been  appointed  by  the  council. 
This  appointment  Is  adduced  by  Prynne  in  his  "  Opening  of  the  Great  Seal," 
as  a  proof  that  the  Chancellor  was  the  officer  of  the  parliament,  not  of  the  king  ; 
but  the  appointment  of  De  Merton  was  an  act  of  power  exercised  in  the  king's 
name,  and  demanded  by  necessity,  as  at  the  decease  of  Henry  III.  there  was  no 


LORD   CHANCELLOR   BIIRNEL. 


165 


The  nobles  assembled  at  the  "New  Temple"  in  London* 
had  ordered  a  new  Great  Seal  to  be  made,  having  the  name 
and  style  of  Edward  inscribed  upon  it,  and  in  the  attestation 
of  public  documents  by  the  guardians  of  the  realm  during 
the  King's  absence  the  words  occur,  —  "In  cujus,  &c.,  has 
literas  sigillo  Domini  Regis  quo  utimur  in  agendis,  eodem 
absente,  fecimus  consignari."  —  De  Merton  displayed  extra- 
ordinary ability  as  Chancellor,  and  materially  contributed  to 
the  auspicious  commencement  of  the  new  reign. 

To  the  great  joy  of  the  people  the  King  at  last  arrived, 
was  crowned,  and  took  the  Government  into  his  own  hands. 
He  ordered  another  Great  Seal,  under  which  he  confirmed  the 
grants  made  in  his  absence,  by  "inspeximus" — according  to 
the  following  form :  —  "Is  erat  tenor  praedictarum  literarum 
quas  praedicto  sigillo  nostro  fecimus  quo  praedicti  locum 
nostrum  tenentes  utebantur,  quod  quia  postmodum  mutatum 
est,  tenorem  literarum  prasdictarum  acceptantes  prsesenti 
sigillo  nostro  fecimus  consignari."  f 

De  Merton  was  now  removed  from  the  office, — not  because 
his  conduct  was  at  all  censured,  but  the  King  wished  to 
promote  to  it  a  personal  friend  who  had  followed  him  in  all 
his  fortunes,  and  for  whose  abilities  and  character  he  had  the 
highest  respect.  The  bishopric  of  Rochester  was  bestowed 
on  the  Ex-chancellor,  and  he  employed  his  time  in  building, 
endowing,  and  making  statutes  for  Merton  College,  Oxford, 
where  his  memory  is  still  revered.     He  died  in  1277.$ 

On  the  day  of  St.  Matthew  the  Apostle  §,  1274,  the  office 
of  Chancellor  was  conferred  on  Robert  Burnel,  and  he 
continued  to  hold  it  with  great  applause  for  eighteen  years. 

Chancellor,  and  the  Seal  was  deposited  in  the  wardrobe.  Unless  some  one  had 
been  appointed  Chancellor,  writs  could  not  have  been  sealed,  and  the  govern- 
ment of  the  country  could  not  have  been  conducted  till  the  king  should  return 
or  manifest  his  pleasure  upon  the  subject. 

•  Mat.  West.  401.  f  Pat.  Rot.  1  Ed.  J. 

^  In  the  reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  his  tomb  being  much  dilapidated,  it  was 
repaired  by  the  Warden  and  Scholars  of  Merton,  who  supplied  an  epitaph  giving 
a  minute  account  of  the  life  and  dignities  of  their  Founder,  and  concluding  with 
these  lines : 

"  Magne  senex  titulis  Musarum  sede  sacrata, 
Major  Mertonidum  maxime  progenie. 
Ha;c  tibi  gratantes  post  secula  sera  nepotes, 
Et  votiva  locant  Marmora,  Sancte  Parens." 


CHAP. 
X. 


His  con- 
duct and 
character. 


A.D.  1274. 


Sept.  21. 

1274. 

Robert 

Burnel, 

Chancellor. 


§  Sept.  21. 


M   3 


166 


REIGN   OF    EDWARD    I. 


CHAP. 
X, 


Birth  and 
education. 


Accom- 
panies 
Prince 
Edward  to 
the  Holy 
Land. 


during  all  which  time  he  enjoyed  the  favour  and  confidence 
of  Edward,  and  was  his  chief  adviser  in  all  public  affairs. 
He  is  a  striking  example  of  the  unequal  measure  with  which 
historical  fame  has  been  meted  out  to  English  statesmen. 
Although  intimately  connected  with  the  conquest  and  settle- 
ment of  Wales; — although  he  conducted  Edward's  claim  to 
the  superiority  over  Scotland,  and  pronounced  the  sentence 
by  which  the  crown  of  that  country  was  disposed  of  to  be 
held  under  an  English  liege  Lord;  —  although  he  devised  a 
system  for  the  government  of  Ireland  upon  liberal  and  en- 
lightened principles; — although  he  took  the  chief  part  in  the 
greatest  reforms  of  the  law  of  England  recorded  in  her 
annals,  —  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  he  occupied  a  con- 
siderable space  in  the  public  eye  during  his  own  age,  —  his 
name  has  since  been  known  only  to  a  few  dry  antiquaries 
incapable  of  appreciating  his  merits.* 

Robert  Burnel  was  the  younger  son  of  Robert  de  Burnel, 
of  a  powerful  family  settled  from  time  immemorial  at  Acton 
Burnel,  in  the  county  of  Salop,  f  Here  the  future  Chancellor 
was  born  $ ;  here,  he  afterwards,  by  the  King's  licence,  erected 
a  fortified  castle ;  and  here,  to  illustrate  his  native  place,  he 
prevailed  on  the  King  to  hold  a  parliament  at  which  was 
passed  the  famous  law,  "  De  Mercatoribus,"  called  "  the 
Statute  of  Acton  Burnel." 

As  his  elder  brother,  Hugh,  was  to  inherit  the  paternal 
estate,  and  was,  of  course,  to  do  military  service  as  a  knight 
and  baron,  Robert  was  destined  to  rise  in  the  state  by  civil 
and  ecclesiastical  employments,  which  were  then  generally 
combined.  He  early  distinguished  himself  by  his  proficiency 
not  only  in  the  civil  and  canon  law,  but  in  the  common  law 
of  England ;  and  there  is  reason  to  think  that  after  he  had 
taken  holy  orders,  he  practised  as  an  advocate  in  the  Courts 
at  Westminster.  During  the  Barons'  wars,  while  still  a 
young  man,  he  was  introduced  to  Prince  Edward,  who  was 

*  In  Hume's  very  superficial  history  of  the  reign  of  Edward  I.,  Lord  Chan- 
cellor Burnel  is  not  once  named  or  alluded  to. 

t  I'le  little  village  of  Acton  Burnel,  picturesquely  placed  near  the  foot  of 
the  northernmost  Caer  Caradoc  in  Shropshire,  and  contiguous  to  a  Roman  road 
ongmally  connecting  Wroxeter  with  Church  Stretton,  is  remarkable  both  for  its 
early  history  and  its  architectural  xnvaains.—Hartshorne. 

\   Rot.  Pat.  12  Ed.  1.  m.  7.  m.  18. 


LORD  CHANCELLOR  BURNEL.  167 

about  his  own  age,  and  was  much  pleased  with  his  address     CHAP. 
and  social  qualities,  as  well  as  his  learning  and  ability.     He  ' 


became  chaplain  and  private  secretary  to  the  heir  apparent, 
suggested  to  him  the  counsels  which  enabled  him  to  triumph 
over  Simon  de  Montfort,  and  attended  him  in  his  expedition 
to  the  Holy  Land.* 

When  appointed  Chancellor  he  had  reached  no  higher 
ecclesiastical  dignity  than  that  of  Archdeacon  of  York.  He 
was  soon  after  raised  to  the  see  of  Bath  and  Wells, — with 
which  he  remained  contented,  devoting  the  whole  of  his 
energies  to  affairs  of  state. 

He  presided  at  the  Parliament  which  met  in  May,  1275,   May,  1275. 
and  passed  "  the  Statute  of  WESTMi>fSTER  the  First,"  fo*^/^' 
deserving  the  name  of  a  Code  rather  than  an  Act  of  Par-   Statute  op 
liament.     From  this    chiefly,    Edward  I.  has    obtained   the  ^^^^  ^^^ 
name  of  "  the  English  Justinian  "  —  absurdly  enough,  as  the  First. 
Roman  Emperor  merely  caused  a  compilation  to  be  made  of 
existing  laws, — whereas  the  object  now  was  to  correct  abuses, 
to    supply  defects,    and   to  remodel   the    administration    of 
justice.     Edward  deserves  infinite  praise  for  the  sanction  he 
gave  to  the  undertaking ;  and  from  the  observations  he  had 
made  in  France,  Sicily,  and  the  East,  he  may,  like  Napoleon, 
have   been    personally  useful   in   the    consultations  ^for  the 
formation  of  the  new  Code,  —  but  the  execution  of  the  plan 
must  have  been  left  to  others  professionally  skilled  in  juris- 
prudence, and  the  chief  merit  of  it  may  safely  be  ascribed  to 
Lord  Chancellor  Burnel,  who  brought  it  forward  in  parliament. 

The  statute  is  methodically  divided  into  fifty- one  chapters,  provisions 
Without  extending  the  exemption  of  churchmen  from  civil  of  the 
jurisdiction,  it  protects  the  property  of  the  Church  from  the 
violence  and  spoliation  of  the  King  and  the  nobles,  to  which 
it  had  been  exposed.  It  provides  for  freedom  of  popular 
elections,  then  a  matter  of  much  moment,  as  sheriffs,  coroners, 
and  conservators  of  the  peace  were  still  chosen  by  the  free- 
holders in  the  county  court,  and  attempts  had  been  made 
unduly  to  influence  the  election  of  knights  of  the  shire, 
almost  from  the  time  when  the    order  was  instituted.     It 

*  Rot.  Claus.  2  Ed.  1.  m.  4.      Rot.  Pat.  50  H.  3.  m. 

M    4 


168 


REIGN   OP   EDWARD   I. 


CHAP. 
X. 


Its  omis- 
sions. 


A.D.    1281. 

Conquest 
of  Wales. 


contains  a  strong  declaration  to  enforce  the  enactment  of 
Magna  Charta  against  excessive  fines  which  might  operate 
as  perpetual  imprisonment.  It  enumerates  and  corrects  the 
great  abuses  of  tenures,  —  particularly  with  regard  to  the 
marriage  of  wards.  It  regulates  the  levying  of  tolls,  which 
were  imposed  in  an  arbitrary  manner,  not  only  by  the  Barons, 
but  by  cities  and  boroughs.  It  corrects  and  restrains  the 
powers  of  the  King's  escheator  and  other  officers  under  the 
Crown.  It  amends  the  criminal  law,  putting  the  crime  of 
rape  on  the  footing  to  which  it  has  been  lately  restored,  as 
a  most  grievous  but  not  a  capital  offence.  It  embraces  the 
subject  of  "  Procedure  "  both  in  civil  and  criminal  matters, 
introducing  many  regulations  with  a  view  to  render  it  cheaper, 
more  simple,  and  more  expeditious. 

Having  gone  so  far,  we  are  astonished  that  it  did  not  go 
farther.  It  does  not  abolish  trial  by  battle  in  civil  suits, — 
only  releasing  the  demandant's  champion  from  the  oath 
(which  was  always  false)  that  he  had  seen  seisin  given  of 
the  land,  or  that  his  father,  when  dying,  had  exhorted  him  to 
defend  the  title  to  it.  But  if  total  and  immediate  abolition 
of  this  absurd  and  impious  practice  had  been  proposed,  there 
would  have  been  sincere  and  respectable  men  who  would 
have  stood  up  for  ancestral  wisdom, — asserting  that  England 
owed  all  her  glory  and  prosperity  to  trial  by  battle  in  civil 
suits,  and  that  to  abolish  it  would  be  impiously  interfering 
with  the  prerogative  of  Heaven  to  award  victory  to  the  just 
cause. 

Lord  Chancellor  Burnel  was  soon  to  appear  in  a  very  difie- 
rent  capacity.  Llewellyn,  Prince  of  Wales,  had  given  great 
assistance  to  the  Montfort  faction,  and  though  he  was  in- 
cluded in  the  general  amnesty  published  after  the  battle  of 
Evesham,  there  was  a  lurkino;  resentment  agrainst  him  for  his 
past  misdeeds,  and  a  strong  desire  to  curb  and  curtail  his 
power,  that  he  might  be  less  dangerous  in  future.  By  the 
Chancellor's  advice  he  was  summoned  to  this  parliament  to 
do  homage  for  his  principality,  which  he  admitted  that  he  held 
of  the  British  Crown.  The  Welsh  Prince  neglected  the 
summons  and  sent  for  excuse,  — "  that  the  King,  having 


LORD  CHANCELLOR  BURNEL.  169 

shown  on  many  occasions  an  extreme  animosity  against  him,     CHAP, 
he  would  not  trust  his  person  with  his  declared   enemy." 


Nevertheless,  he  offered  to  come,  provided  Edward  would  give 
him  his  eldest  son  in  hostage,  with  the  Earl  of  Gloucester 
and  the  Lord  Chancellor.  We  may  believe  that  Burnel, 
known  to  be  very  unfriendly  to  the  Welsh,  would  not  have 
been  very  willing  to  trust  himself  among  these  savage  men  In 
the  recesses  of  Snowdon. 

The  Prince  was  peremptorily  summoned  to  appear  at  a  par-  judo-ment 
liament  held  in  1276, — and,  making  default, — after  a  solemn  against 
hearing  of  the  matter  in  his  absence,  he  was  adjudged  by  the 
mouth  of  the  Chancellor  to  be  guilty  of  felony,  and  war  was 
immediately  proclaimed  against  him.     Llewellyn  being  soon  ^  ^  ,„^^ 
after  slain  in  battle,  the  principality  of  Wales  was  completely 
subjugated,  and  Burnel  was  employed  to  devise  measures  for 
its  pacification  and  future  government.     He  was  stationed  LordChan- 
at  Bristol,  where  he  held  courts  of  justice  for  the  southern  cellor  em- 

.  .  />  .  .  ployed  in 

counties,  and  gave  general  directions  for  the  introduction  of  govem- 
English  institutions  among  the  natives,  who,  notwithstanding  pr"nci*^a. 
their  boast  of  ancient  independence  and  love  of  poetry,  had  Hty. 
made  very  little  advance  in  civilisation  or  the  common  arts  of 
life.  He  then  prepared  a  Code  under  which  Wales  was 
governed  till  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII.,  when  it  was  allowed 
to  send  members  to  parliament,  and  was  fully  included 
within  the  pale  of  the  English  constitution.  This  was  first, 
in  the  form  of  a  charter,  to  which  the  Great  Seal  was  affixed, 
but  being  confirmed  in  a  parliament  held  at  Kuthlan  Castle, 
it  is  generally  called  "  Statutum  WalliEe,"  or  "  the  Statute 
of  Rutland*;"  reciting  that  Wales,  with  its  inhabitants, 
had  hitherto  been  subject  to  the  King  jure  feudali,  but  had 
now  by  divine  providence  fallen  in  proprietatis  dominum,  —  it 
introduces  the  English  law  of  inheritance,  —  regulates  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  "  Justiciarius  de  Snaudon"  —  establishes 
sheriffs  and  coroners,  —  and  provides  for  the  administration  of 
civil  and  criminal  justice.  Seconded  by  the  immense  castles 
erected  by  Edward,  which  now  give  us  such  a  notion  of  his 
wealth  as  well  as  of  his  wisdom,  this  Code  had  the  effect  of 

*  10  Ed.  1. 


170 


REIGN   OF   EDWARD   I. 


CHAP. 
X. 


preserving  tranquillity,  and  gradually  preparing  the  way  for 

greater  improvements. 

,Qg  In  May,  1282,  the  King  paid  his  Chancellor  a  visit  of  three 

Parliament  days  at  Acton  Bumsl,  and  the  following  year  spent  six  weeks 

Omncei-      with  him  there,  from  the  29th  of  September  to  the  12th  of 

lor's  Castle    November,  during  the  trial  of  Prince  David  for  high  treason 

Burnel!"      before  the  Parliament  at   Shrewsbury,  from  which,  as  an 

aifair  of  blood,  all  prelates  were  absent.    After  the  disgraceful 

sentence  passed  on  the  last  of  a  princely  line, — that  for  bravely 

defending  his  own  rights  and  the  independence  of  his  country, 

he  should  be  dragged  at  horses'  heels  through  the  streets  of 

Shrewsbury,  hanged,  beheaded,  and  divided  into  four  quarters, 

to  be  distributed  through  the  four  chief  towns  of  England*; 

the  King,  to  gratify  his  host,  adjourned  the  parliament  to 

Acton  Burnel,  and  it  is  said  that  the  prelates,  barons,  knights, 

citizens,  and   burgesses  assembled  in  the  great  hall  of  the 

strong  castle  which,  by  royal  licence,  the  Chancellor  had  built 

in  his  native  place,  f     Here  was  passed  the  most  admirable 

statute,  "De  Mercatoribus:}:,"  for  the  recovery  of  debts, — 

showing  that  this  subject  was  fully  as  well  understood  in  the 

time  of  Chancellor  Burnel  as  in  the  time  of  Chancellor  Eldon 

or  Chancellor  Lyndhurst.     The  grievance  (which  is  peculiar 

to  England)  of  being  obliged  to  bring  an  action  and  have  a 


*  There  was  a  keen  controversy  between  York  and  Winchester  for  his  right 
shoulder,  which  was  awarded  to  the  capital  of  Wessex. 

f  Pro  Roberto  Burnel  Bathon  'et  Well '  \  Rex  omnibus  ad  quos  etc.  salutem. 
Episcopo  de  manso  Kernellando.  J  Sciatis  quod  concessimus  pro  nobis 
et  heredibus  nostris  venerabili  patri  Roberto  Burnel  Bathoniensi  et  Wellensi 
Episcopo  Cancellario  nostro  quod  ipse  et  heredes  sui  mansum  suum  de  Acton 
Burnel  muro  de  petra  et  calce  firmare  et  Carnellare  possint  quandocumque 
voluerint,  et  mansum  illud  sic  firmatum  et  carnellatum  tenere  sibi  et  heredibus 
suis  in  perpetuum  ;  sine  occasione  vel  impedimento  nostri  et  heredum  nostrorum 
Justiciariorum  et  ministrorum  nostrorum  quorumcunque.  In  cujus  etc.  T.  R. 
apud  Lincolniam,  xxviii  die  Januarii.      Pat.  12.  Ed.  1. 

The  remains  of  the  castle  still  attract  the  curious  in  mediaeval  architecture. 
It  is  a  quadrangular  structure,  enclosing  an  area  of  70  feet  by  47,  with 
engaged  square  towers  at  each  angle.  'Die  interior  has  been  much  disturbed, 
and  is  now  so  choked  up  with  modern  erections,  that  the  dimensions  and  uses 
of  the  original  chambers  can  no  longer  be  ascertained.  However,  there  had 
certainly  been  a  spacious  hall  on  the  first  floor,  lighted  by  three  large  windows 
to  the  south,  in  which,  probably,  the  parliament  assembled.  There  seems  to  be 
no  doubt  that  the  three  estates  of  the  realm  were  not  then  separated  as  has  been 
supposed  into  two  chambers,  but  deliberated  together,  and  formed  one  legislative 
assembly.  —  See  Rymer,  vol.  ii.  247.,  and  preamble  of  statute.  Hartshome  on 
"  Ancient  Parliament,  and  Castle  of  Acton  Burnel." 

t   11  Ed.  1. 


X. 


LORD  CHANCELLOR  BURNEL.  17 1 

debt  established  by  the  judgment  of  a  court  of  law  before  chap, 
enforcing  payment  of  it,  where  there  is  not  the  smallest 
doubt  of  the  validity  of  the  instrument  by  which  it  is  con- 
stituted, has  always  been  a  reproach  to  the  administration  of 
justice  in  this  country.  To  mitigate  the  evil,  the  Statute  of 
Acton  Burnel  enacts,  that  where  a  debt  has  been  acknow- 
ledged before  the  Mayor  of  a  town,  —  immediately  after  de- 
fault of  payment,  there  shall  be  execution  upon  it,  and  that 
by  an  application  to  the  Chancellor  the  creditor  may  obtain 
satisfaction  by  sale  of  the  debtor's  goods  and  alienable  lands 
in  any  part  of  England.* 

As  long  as  Burnel  continued  in  office,  the  improvement  of 
the  law  rapidly  advanced,  —  there  having  been  passed  in  the 
sixth  year  of  the  King's  reign  the  "  Statute  of  Gloucester  ;" 
in  the  seventh  year  of  the  King's  reign  the  "  Statute  of  Mort- 
main ;"  in  the  thirteenth  year  of  the  King's  reign  the  "  Statute 
of  Westminster  the  Second,"  the  "  Statute  of  Winchester," 
and  the  "  Statute  of  Circumspecte  agatis ; "  and  in  the  eigh- 
teenth year  of  the  King's  reign  the  "  Statute  of  Quo  Warranto,^^ 
and  the  "  Statute  of  Quia  Emptores"  With  the  exception  of 
the  establishment  of  estates  tail,  which  proved  such  an  obstacle 
to  the  alienation  of  land  till  defeated  by  the  fiction  of  Fines 
and  Common  Kecoveries,  —  these  laws  were  in  a  spirit  of 
enlightened  legislation,  and  admirably  accommodated  the  law 
to  the  changed  circumstances  of  the  social  system,  —  which 
ought  to  be  the  object  of  every  wise  legislator.  The  provisions 
for  checking  the  accumulation  of  property  in  the  possession  of 
ecclesiastical  corporations,  for  defining  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
ecclesiastical  courts,  for  preventing  subinfeudation  by  enact- 
ing that  on  every  transfer  of  land  it  shall  be  held  of  the 
chief  lord  of  the  fee,  and  for  the  appointment  of  the  circuits 
of  the  judges,  such  as  we  now  have  them,  deserve  particular 
commendation.  But  we  must  not  conclude  the  brief  notice 
of  the  legislation  of  this  period,  under  the  auspices  of  the 
Chancellor,  without  mentioning  the  "  Ordlnatio   pro  Statu 

*  I  liavc  repeatedly,  but  ineffectually,  attempted  to  extend  the  principle  of 
this  measure  to  modern  securities,  —  bonds,  and  bills  of  exchange, — and  to  assi- 
milate our  law  in  this  respect  to  that  of  Scotland,  of  France,  and  of  every  other 
civilised  country. 


17i  EEIGN   OF   EDWARD   I. 

CHAP.     Hibernise*,"  for  effectually  introducing  the  English  law  into 

^*         Ireland,  and   for   the  protection   of  the   natives   from   the 

jjj^   j^i^      rapacity  and  oppression  of  the  King's  officers  ;  —  a  statute 

for  govern-  framed  in  the  spirit  of  justice  and  wisdom,  which,  if  steadily 

"reiand        enforced,  would  have  saved  Ireland  from  much  suffering,  and 

England  from  much  disgrace, 
vice-chan-        The  Chancellor,  being  so  deeply  engaged  in  state  affairs, 
^1'?'  was  often  unable  to  attend  to  his  judicial  duties,  and  he  was 

obliged  from  time  to  time  to  intrust  the  Great  Seal  to  the 
custody  of  a  Keeper,  who  acted  under  him.  This  was  gene- 
rally John  de  Kirby,  who  had  been  in  possession  of  the 
Great  Seal,  as  Keeper,  without  any  Chancellor  over  him,  at 
the  conclusion  of  the  last  reign.  In  1278  there  is  an  entry 
that,  on  the  Chancellor  going  abroad,  he  delivered  the  King's 
Seal  into  the  King's  wardrobe,  to  be  kept  under  the  seal  of 
Kirby,  whom  the  Chancellor  had  appointed  to  expedite  the 
business  of  the  Chancery.f  There  is  an  original  letter  extant 
in  the  Tower,  written  in  the  following  year  by  the  King  to 
Kirby,  in  which  he  is  desired  to  come  to  the  King,  and  to 
leave  the  Seal,  sealed  up  under  his  own  seal,  in  the  custody 
A.D.  1279.  of  Thomas  Bek.  From  the  25th  of  May  to  the  19th  of 
June  the  Chancellor  was  with  the  King  in  France.  During 
this  time  the  Seal  was  in  the  joint  keeping  of  Kirby  and 
Bek,  and  it  was  restored  to  Burnel  on  his  return.:}:  There 
are  likewise  several  entries  of  the  Seal  being  delivered  to 
Kirby  when  the  Chancellor  was  about  to  visit  his  diocese, 
or  to  retire  to  his  country  house  (ad  partes  proprias).^ 
Kirby,  for  his  good  services,  was  in  1287  made  Bishop  of 
Ely.  The  subsequent  Keepers  of  the  Seal,  under  Burnel, 
were  Hugh  de  Hendal,  Walter  de  Odiham  |,  and  William  de 
Marchia. 
A.D.  1290.         However,  the  Chancellor   himself,  as   head   of   the  law, 

*  17  Ed  1.  f   Rot.  Clans.  6  Ed.  1.  m.  12. 

I  Rot.  Vase.  7  Ed.  1.  Rot.  Claus.  7  Ed.  1.  m.  6.  Rot.  Pat.  7  Ed.  1. 
m.  1.5. 

§  Rot.  Pat.  4  Ed.  1.  m.  16.  Rot.  Pat.  10  Ed.  1.  m.  18.  m.  14.  Rot. 
Claus.  10  Ed.  1.  m  6.  11  Ed.  1.  m.  8.  Rot.  Pat.  12  Ed.  1.  m.  7.  18.  Madd. 
Exch.  49.      Rot.  Claus.  12  Ed.  1.  m.  4. 

II  He  on  one  occasion  delivered  the  seal  to  these  two  as  early  as  1284  at 
Aberconwav,  when  he  was  going  to  Acton  Burnel.  Rot.  Claus.  12  Ed.  1. 
m.  47. 


LORD  CHANCELLOR  BURNEL.  173 

exercised  a  vigilant  superintendence  over  the  administration     chap. 
of  justice,  and  in  the  parliament  held  at  Westminster,  in  the 
beginning  of  the  year  1290,  brought  forward  very  serious   Prosecu- 
charges  against  the  Judges  for  taking  bribes  and  altering  the  tion  by 
records,  —  upon  which  they  were  all  convicted  except  two,   of  the 
whose  names  oug-ht  to  be  held  in  honourable  remembrance  —  Judges  for 

,  ,  ,  bribery  and 

John  de  Matingham  and  Elias  de  Bekingham.  Sir  T.  Way-  corruption, 
land.  Chief  Justice  of  the  Common  Pleas,  being  found  the 
greatest  delinquent,  had  all  his  goods  and  estate  confiscated 
to  the  King,  and  was  banished  for  life  out  of  the  kingdom. 
Sir  A.  de  Stratton,  Chief  Baron  of  the  Exchequer,  was  fined 
34,000  marks.  Sir  R.  de  Hengham,  Chief  Justice  of  the 
King's  Bench,  was  let  off  with  a  fine  of  7000  marks,  for 
although  he  had  improperly  altered  a  record,  it  was  not 
supposed  to  have  been  from  corrupt  motives.  The  taint  had 
spread  into  the  Court  of  Chancery,  and  E..  Lithebury, 
Master  of  the  Rolls,  was  fined  1000  marks.  These  sentences, 
pronounced  in  parliament  by  the  Chancellor,  had  upon  the 
whole  a  very  salutary  effect,  but  are  supposed,  for  some  ages, 
to  have  induced  the  Judges  to  adhere  too  rigorously  to  forms 
and  the  letter  of  the  law. 

The  Chancellor  was  now  engaged  in  assisting  the  King  in  a.d.  1290. 
the  most  memorable  transaction  of  his  reign,  the  settlement 
of  the  dispute  respecting  the  succession  to  the  Crown  of 
Scotland,  which  arose  on  the  death  of  Alexander  III.     The   Dispute 
ambitious   scheme  of  getting   possession   of   Scotland  by  a  cession  to 
claim  of  feudal  superiority  when  the  hope  of  accomplishing  crown  of 
the  object  by  marriage  had  failed,  is,  no  doubt,  to  be  ascribed 
to  Edward  himself;  but  the  manner  in  which  it  was  con- 
ducted was  chiefly  devised  by  Burnel.     He  accompanied  the   May,  1291. 
King  to  Norham,  and  there  addressed  the  Scottish  Parliament, 
assisted  by  Roger  de  Braba9on,  the  Chief  .lustice. 

It  is  remarkable  tliat  the  English  Chancellor  spoke  to  the  Chancellor 
Scotch  parliament  in  French*;  but  this  was  then  the  court  ^^^gTu"  h 
language,  not  only  of  England,  but  of  Scotland,  wliere  almost  nobles  in 


French. 


*  Rymer,  vol.  ii.  543.  It  is  hardly  possible  that,  like  Chancellor  Longchamp, 
he  knew  no  other  language  than  French, — the  vernacular  tongue,  springing  from 
the  Anglo-Saxon,  being  now  generally  spoken  in  England  and  in  the  lowlands  of 
Scotland. 


174  REIGN  OF   EDWARD   I. 

CHAP,     the  whole  of  the  nobility   were  of  Norman  extraction,  — 

superior  knowledge  and  address  having  established  the  illus- 

A  D  i'J9i.    trious  descendants  of  Rollo  in  the  northern  part  of  the  island, 

as  superior  bravery  had  in  the  southern. 
His  dex-  Nothing  can  exceed  the  dexterity  with  which  the  com- 

terity.  petitors  for  the  crown  were  induced  to  submit  themselves  to 

the  arbitrament  of  Edward,  and  the  whole  Scottish  nation  to 
put  themselves  in  his  power.  These  results  were  chiefly 
ascribed  to  the  management  of  the  Chancellor.  The  Prelates, 
Barons,  and  Knights  of  Scotland,  representing  the  whole 
community  of  that  kingdom,  having  met  in  a  green  plain  on 
the  left  bank  of  the  Tweed,  directly  opposite  to  the  castle  of 
Norham,  in  pursuance  of  the  leave  given  them  to  deliberate 
in  their  own  country,  —  Burnel  went  to  them  in  his  master's 
name,  and  asked  them  **  whether  they  would  say  any  thing 
that  could  or  ought  to  exclude  the  King  of  England  from 
the  right  and  exercise  of  the  superiority  and  direct  dominion 
over  the  kingdom  of  Scotland  which  belonged  to  him,  and 
that  they  would  there  and  then  exhibit  it  if  they  believed 
it  was  expedient  for  them ;  —  protesting  that  he  would  fa- 
vourably hear  them,  — allow  what  was  just, — or  report  what 
was  said  to  the  King  and  his  council,  that  what  justice  re- 
quired might  be  done."  Upon  repeated  demands,  the  Scots 
answered  nothing;  whereupon  the  Chancellor  recapitulated 
all  that  had  been  said  at  the  last  meeting  relative  to  the 
King's  claim ;  and  a  public  notary  being  present,  the  right  of 
deciding  the  controversy  between  the  several  competitors  for 
the  crown  of  Scotland  was  entered  in  form  for  the  King  of 
England.  After  which  the  Chancellor,  beginning  with 
Robert  Bruce,  Lord  of  Annandale,  asked  him  in  the  presence 
of  all  the  Bishops,  Earls,  Barons,  &c.,  "  whether,  in  demand- 
ing his  right,  he  would  answer  and  receive  justice  from  the 
King  of  England  as  superior  and  direct  Lord  over  the  king- 
dom of  Scotland  ? "  Bruce,  in  the  presence  of  them  all,  and 
of  the  public  notary,  none  contradicting  or  gainsaying, 
answered  "that  he  did  acknowledo;e  the  King  of  England 
superior  and  direct  Lord  of  the  kingdom  of  Scotland,  and 
that  he  would  before  him,  as  such,  demand  answer  and  receive 
justice.     The  same  question  was  successively  put  to  all  the 


LORD   CHANCELLOR   BURNEL. 


175 


other  competitors,  who  returned  the  like  response.  Not  con- 
tented with  this,  Burnel  required  that  they  should  sign  and 
seal  a  solemn  instrument  to  the  same  effect, — which  they 
accordingly  did,  —  quickened  by  hints  thrown  out  that  the 
candidate  who  was  the  most  complying  would  have  the  best 
chance  of  success.* 

Eighty  commissioners  were  appointed  from  both  nations  to 
assist  in  taking  evidence,  and  hearing  the  arguments  of  all 
who  were  interested.  Their  meetings  were  held  at  Berwick, 
and  the  English  Chancellor  presided  over  their  deliberations. 

Edward  being  obliged  to  return  to  the  south  to  attend  the 
funeral  of  his  mother.  Queen  Eleanor  (Ex- Lady-Keeper  of 
the  Great  Seal),  left  Burnel  behind  at  Berwick  to  watch  over 
the  grand  controversy,  which  was  now  drawing  to  a  close. 
The  claims  of  all  the  competitors,  except  two,  were  speedily 
disposed  of ;  and  as  between  these  the  doctrine  of  representa- 
tion prevailed  over  proximity  of  blood.  The  judgment  was 
accordingly  in  favour  of  Baliol,  the  grandson  of  the  elder 
sister,  against  Bruce,  the  son  of  the  younger,  —  the  judge 
being  probably  influenced  as  much  by  a  consideration  of  the 
personal  qualities  of  the  competitors  as  by  the  opinion  of  the 
great  jurists  in  diifercnt  parts  of  Europe  who  were  consulted. 
Baliol  had  already  exhibited  that  mixture  of  subserviency  and 
obstinacy,  of  rashness  and  irresoluteness,  which  made  him 
such  a  desirable  vassal  for  a  Lord,  resolved  by  all  expedients, 
as  soon  as  a  show  of  decency  would  permit,  to  get  the  feud, 
by  pretended  forfeiture,  into  his  own  hands. 

Lord  Chancellor  Burnel  died  at  Berwick  on  the  25th  day 
of  October,  1292,  and  was  buried  in  his  own  cathedral  at 
Wells.  He  surely  well  deserves  a  niche  in  a  gallery  of  British 
statesmen. 

He  was  censured  for  the  great  wealth  he  amassed  f ;  but  he 
employed  it  nobly,  for  he  not  only  erected  for  his  family  the 
castellated  dwelling  in  which  he  received  the  King  and  par- 


CHAP. 
X. 

A.D,  1292. 


Chancellor 
gives  judg- 
ment in 
favour  of 
Baliol, 


Death  of 
Burnel. 


His  cha- 
racter. 


*   1  Pari.  Hist.  40. 

t  It  appears  from  the  inquisition  held  in  the  year  after  his  death  (21  Ed.  1), 
that  the  extent  of  his  temporal  possessions  was  commensurate  with  his  dignities, 
as  he  held  more  than  thirty  manors,  besides  other  vast  estates  in  nineteen  dif- 
ferent counties. — Cal.  Lug.  p.  m.  L  p.  1 15. 


176  REIGN   OF   EDWARD   I. 

CHAP,  liament,  but  likewise  a  splendid  episcopal  palace  at  Wells, 
^'  long  the  boast  of  his  successors.  Nepotism  was  another  charge 
against  him,  from  his  having  done  so  much  to  push  forward 
two  brothers  and  other  kindred.  This  however  must  be  re- 
garded as  a  venial  failing  in  churchmen,  whose  memory  could 
not  be  preserved  in  their  own  posterity.*  If  he  was  rather 
remiss  in  the  discharge  of  his  episcopal  duties,  he  is  to  be 
honoured  for  the  rational  and  moderate  system  he  pursued  in 
ecclesiastical  affairs,  —  neither  encroaching  on  the  rights  of  the 
clergy,  nor  trying  to  exalt  them  above  the  control  of  the  law. 
As  a  statesman  and  a  legislator,  he  is  worthy  of  the  highest 
commendation.  He  ably  seconded  the  ambitious  project  of 
reducing  the  whole  of  the  British  Isles  to  subjection  under 
the  crown  of  England.  With  respect  to  Wales  he  succeeded, 
and  Scotland  retained  her  independence  only  by  the  unrivalled 
gallantry  of  her  poor  and  scattered  population.  His  measures 
for  the  improvement  of  Ireland  were  frustrated  by  the  incur- 
able pride  and  prejudices  of  his  countrymen.     But  England 

*  The  whole  of  the  family  possessions  centred  in  the  Chancellor's  nephew, 
Philip,  who  was  summoned  to  parliament  as  a  Baron  by  writ  in  1311.  The 
male  line  of  the  family  soon  after  failed;  but  in  the  reign  of  Edward  III.  the 
Chancellor  was  represented,  through  a  female,  by  Nicholas  Lord  Burnel,  who 
gained  great  renown  in  the  French  wars,  and  had  a  keen  controversy  respecting 
the  Burnel  arms  with  the  renowned  warrior  Robert  de  Morley.  It  happened 
that  they  both  were  at  the  siege  of  Calais,  under  Edward  II  I.,  in  1346,  arrayed 
in  the  same  arms.  Nicholas  Lord  Burnel  challenged  the  shield  as  belonging 
to  the  Burnels  only,  he  having  at  that  time  imder  his  command  100  men,  on 
whose  banners  were  his  proper  arms.  Sir  Peter  Corbet,  then  in  his  retinue, 
offered  to  combat  with  Robert  de  Morley  in  support  of  the  right  which  his 
master  had  to  the  arms,  but  the  duel  never  took  place,  probably  because  the 
king  denied  his  assent.  The  suit  was  then  referred  to  the  court  of  chivalry, 
held  on  the  sands  at  Calais,  before  William  Bohun,  Earl  of  Northampton,  high 
constable  of  England,  and  Thomas  Beauchamp,  Earl  of  Warwick,  earl  marshal. 
The  trial  lasted  several  days,  when  Robert,  apprehending  that  the  cause  would 
go  against  him,  took  an  opportunity,  in  presence  of  the  king,  to  swear  by  God's 
flesh,  that  if  the  arms  in  question  were  adjudged  from  him,  he  never  more 
would  arm  himself  in  the  king's  service.  On  this  the  king,  out  of  personal  re- 
gard for  the  signal  services  he  had  performed  in  those  arms,  and  considering  the 
right  of  Nicholas  Lord  Burnel,  was  desirous  to  put  an  end  to  the  contest  with  as 
little  offence  as  possible.  He,  therefore,  sent  the  Earl  of  Lancaster,  and  other 
lords,  to  Nicholas,  to  request  that  he  would  permit  Robert  de  Morley  to  bear 
the  arms  in  dispute  for  the  term  of  his  life  only,  to  which  Nicholas,  out  of 
respect  to  the  king,  assented.  The  king  tiien  directed  the  high  constable,  and 
earl  maishal,  to  give  judgment  accordingly.  This  they  performed  in  the  church 
of  St.  Peter,  near  Calais,  and  their  sentence  was  immediately  proclaimed  by  a 
herald  in  the  presence  of  the  whole  army  there  assembled." —  Pennant's  North 
Wales. 


LORD  CHANCELLOR  BURNEL.  177 

continued  to  enjoy  the  highest  prosperity  under  the  wise  laws     chap. 
which  he  introduced.* 


*  Edward  L,  returning  from  the  Holy  I>and,  at  Bologna  engaged  in  his 
service  Franciscus  Accursii,  a  very  learned  civilian,  whom  he  employed  as  his 
ambassador  to  France  and  to  Pope  Nicholas  III., — but,  as  far  as  I  can  trace, — 
not  in  his  law  reforms,  or  in  any  part  of  his  domestic  administration.  A  hall  at 
Oxford  was  appropriated  to  the  use  of  this  Italian, — from  which  some  have 
supposed  that  he  there  gave  lectures  on  the  civil  law.  When  he  left  England  in 
1281,  he  received  from  the  king  400  marcs,  and  the  promise  of  an  annuity  of  40 
marcs.  —  See  Palg.  on  Council,  note  L.  p.  134.  Duck.  xxii. 


VOL.T..  N 


178  EEIGN   OP    EDWARD    I. 


CHAPTER  XL 

CHANCELLORS  AND  KEEPERS  OF  THE  GREAT  SEAL  FROM  THE  DEATH 
OF  LORD  CHANCELLOR  BURNEL  DURING  THE  REMAINDER  OF  THE 
REIGN  OF  EDWARD  I. 

CHAP.  On  the  death  of  Burnel  the  Great  Seal  was,  for   a   short 

^'-  time,  in  the  keeping  of  William  de  Hamilton*,  a  man  of 

~  business  and  of  moderate  abilities,  who  subsequently  became 

1292.  Chancellor.     But  if  he  expected  to  succeed  to  the  envied 

John  de  q^qq  on  this  occasion,  he  was  disappointed ;  for  soon  after  the 

Langton,  '  ^^     _ 

Chancellor.  King:  heard  of  the  loss  he  had  sustained,  he  named  as  the 
Dec.  17.  new  Chancellor  John  de  Langton,  a  person  who,  though 
1292.  much  inferior  to  his  predecessor,  acted  a  considerable  part  in 

His  origin,  this  and  the  succeeding  reign.  He  was  of  an  ancient  family 
in  Lincolnshire,  which  produced  Cardinal  Stephen  Langton, 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  so  illustriously  connected  with 
Magna  Charta,  and  of  which  Bennet  Langton,  the  friend  of 
Dr.  Johnson,  was  the  representative  in  the  reign  of  George 
IIL  He  early  distinguished  himself  by  his  talents  and  in- 
dustry, and  rendered  himself  useful  to  Lord  Chancellor  Burnel. 
Being  introduced  into  the  Chancery  as  a  clerk,  he  rose  to  be 
Master  of  the  Rolls,  and  showed  qualities  fitting  him  for  the 
highest  offices  in  the  state,  f 

*  There  is  an  entry  in  the  Close  Roll,  20  Ed.  1.,  stating  that  the  Great 
Seal  was  in  the  keeping  of  Walter  de  Langton,  keeper  of  the  wardrobe,  under 
the  seal  of  William  de  Hamilton  ;  but  it  is  certain  that  Hamilton  sealed  the 
writs,  and  did  the  business  of  the  Great  Seal,  which  was  probably  ordered  to 
be  kept  in  the  King's  wardrobe  under  the  superintendence  of  the  keeper  of  the 
wardrobe. 

f  Tlie  following  is  a  true  copy  of  a  letter  of  congratulation  to  him  on  his 
appointment  as  Chancellor,  lately  discovered  in  the  Tower  :  — 

"  Domino  suo  reverendo  suus  devotus  in  omnibus  si  quid  melius  sit  salutem. 
Immensa  Dei  dementia  qua;  suae  virtutis  gratia  gratis  interdum  occurrit  homini 
non  qua;sita  vos  ad  regni  gubernaculum  in  regite  Cancellarias  officio  feliciter 
promovit  non  est  diu.  Super  quo  Ei  regratior  a  quo  fons  emanat  indeficiens 
totius  sapientiEB  salutaris.  Sed  ecce  Domine  vos  qui  in  parochia  de  Langeton 
orii'^inem  duxistis  sicut  placuit  Altissimo  et  ibidem  refocillati  fuistis  maternis 
sinibus  nutritivis.  Quae  immenso  gaudio  vos  post  doloris  aculeos  pariendi 
refocillavit  ad  honorem  Dei  et  Regni  gubernaculum  quo  praestis  in  quo  ipse 
placeat  qui  vos  ad  culmen  honoris  hujusmodi  evocare  dignatus  'est  ut  ei  primo 


JOHN  DE  LANGTON,  LORD  CHANCELLOR.  17! 

He  continued  Chancellor  for  ten  years  to  the  entire  satis-     CHAP. 

XT 
faction  of  his  royal  master,  who  required  no  ordinary  zeal  ' 


and  activity  in  his  ministers. 

Immediately  upon  his  appointment  he  published  an  ordi-    Ordinance 
nance  in  the  King's  name  for  the  more  regular  despatch  of  patch  of 
business,   "that  in  all  future  parliaments  all  petitions  shall  business, 
be  carefully  examined,  and  those  which  concern  the  chancery 
shall  be  put  in  one  bundle,  and  those  which  concern  the  ex- 
chequer in  another,  and  those  which  concern  the  justices  in 
another,  and  those  which  are  to  be  before  the  King  and  his 
Council  in  another,  and  those  which  are  to  be  answered  in 
another."* 

A  parliament  was  called  at  Westminster  soon  after,  when  a.d.  1293. 
the  new  Chancellor  had  to  begin  the  session  with  disposing  of  EarTof  ° 
a  very  novel  appeal,  which  was  entered  by  the  Earl  of  Fife  Fife ». King 
against  Baliol  King  of  Scotland  as  vassal  of  Edward  King 
of  England ;  —  and  the  question  arose,  whether  the  appeal  lay  ? 
This  was  immediately  decided  by  Lord  Chancellor  Langton, 
with  the  unanimous  concurrence  of  the  Lords,  in  the  affirm- 
ative ;  and  the  respondent  was  ordered  to  appear.  Formerly 
in  the  English  parliaments  there  had  always  been  placed  on 
the  right  hand  of  the  throne,  and  on  the  same  level  with  it, 
a  chair  for  the  King  of  Scotland,  who  came  to  do  homage 
for  Cumberland  and  his  other  possessions  in  England, — as 
the  Kings  of  England  did  homage  to  the  Kings  of  France 
for  Normandy  and  Guienne.  Baliol  now  claimed  the  place 
and  precedence  of  his  royal  predecessors ;  but  the  Chancellor, 
in  the  name  of  the  House,  announced  the  resolution  of  their 
Lordships,  "  that  he  should  stand  at  the  bar  as  a  private 
person  amenable  to  their  jurisdiction,  and  that  having  been 
guilty  by  his   contumacy  of  a  breach  of  feudal  allegiance, 

secundario  domino  Regi  et  popuio  complacere  possitis  ad  honorem  Jesu  Christi, 
ut  autem  ei  tiducialius  obsequamini  qui  vos  sic  promovit  de  gratia  sua  speciali 
ut  ei  visceralius  obsequamini  cum  vacare  poteritis  afFectionc  pleniori  portitorium 
quoddam  non  extra  septa  portarum  portantem  vobis  mitto  rogans  quatcnus 
exilitatem  tanti  munusculi  exemplo  Catonis  placide  admittentes  servitium 
divinum  in  eodem  cxercere  et  discere  vobis  placeat  in  honorem  illius  qui  omnia 
creavit  ex  nichilo  et  retributor  est  universalis  bonitatis." — Royal  and  other 
Letters,  temp.  Edward  I.  65.  xx.  S. 

*   Claus.  21  Ed.  1.   m.  7.      This    shows   the  Aula   Regia    to   have   become 
familiar. 

Ji  2 


180 


REIGN   OF    EDWARD    I. 


CHAP. 
XI. 


Parliament 
at  Berwick. 


A.D.  1297. 


King  goes 
abroad. 


three  of  his  principal  castles  should  be  seized  into  the  King's 
hands  till  he  gave  satisfaction."  * 

Baliol,  seeing  the  degradation  to  which  he  had  reduced 
himself  and  his  country,  soon  after  renounced  his  allegiance 
as  unlawfully  extorted  from  him,  and  in  the  vain  hope  of 
effectual  assistance  from  France,  set  Edward  at  defiance. 
"  And  now,"  says  Daniel,  "  began  the  contests  between  the 
two  nations  which  spilt  more  Christian  blood,  did  more  mis- 
chief, and  continued  longer,  than  any  wars  that  we  read  of 
between  any  two  people  in  the  world,  "f 

Lord  Chancellor  Langton  had  the  proud  satisfaction  of  pre- 
siding at  a  parliament  held  at  Berwick  in  1296,  after  Edward 
had  overrun,  and  for  the  time  subjugated,  Scotland.  There  he 
administered  the  oaths  of  allegiance  to  all  the  Scottish  no- 
bility, who  were  reduced  to  the  sad  necessity  of  swearing 
fealty  to  the  haughty  conqueror,  and  of  binding  themselves 
to  come  to  his  assistance  at  any  time  and  place  he  might 
prescribe.  But  Wallace  soon  arose  ; — Robert  Bruce  was  to 
follow; — and  amid  the  general  gloom  the  Highland  seers 
could  descry  in  the  distant  horizon  shadows  of  the  glories  of 
Bannockbum. 

We  must  confine  ourselves  to  events  in  which  Lord  Chan- 
cellor Langton  was  more  immediately  concerned.  The  fol- 
lowing year  Edward,  thinking  that  he  had  conquered  Scot- 
land, determined  to  carry  on  war  against  France,  that  he 
might  take  vengeance  for  the  perfidy  of  the  monarch  of 
that  country,  by  which  he  asserted  he  had  been  tricked  out 
of  Guienne.  Having  assembled  his  fleet  and  army  at  Win- 
chelsea,  then  the  great  port  of  embarkation  for  the  Continent, 
he  hastened  thither  himself  to  meet  them,  accompanied  by  the 
Chancellor,  who  on  board  the  ship  "  Edward  "  delivered  the 
Great  Seal  into  his  own  hand  as  he  was  setting  sail  for  Flan- 
ders. I  The  King  carried  it  abroad  with  him,  having  appointed 
John  de  Burstide,  who  attended  him  as  his  secretary,  to  keep 
it.  But  Langton  still  remained  Chancellor,  and  on  his  way 
back  to  London,  at  Tonbridge  Castle,  another  seal  was  de- 


*   1  Pari.  Hist.  41. 

t  Rot.  Pat.  25  Ed.  1.  n.  2.  m.  7. 


Rot. 


t  Dan.  Hist.  p.  111. 
Claus.  m.  7, 


JOHN  DE  LANGTON,  LORD  CHANCELLOR.  18: 

livered  to  him  by  Prince  Edward,  appointed  guardian  of  the     CHAP, 
realm  in  the  Kinji's  absence. 


A  parliament  was  soon  after  held  while  the  King  remained  ^  j,.  1297. 
abroad,    nominally  under   the   young   Prince,    but    actually   Pariiament 
under  Langton.     Here  broke  out  a  spirit  of  liberty  which  minster, 
coidd  not  be  repressed,  and  the  Chancellor  was  obliged  to 
allow  the  statute  to  pass  both  Houses,  called  "  The  Confirm-  «  Confirm- 
ation of  the  Charters,"  whereby  not  only  Magna  Charta  charters*"^ 
and   Charta   de   Foresta   were   confirmed ;    but   it  was 
enacted  that  any  judgment  contrary  to  them  should  be  void ; 
that  copies  of  them  should  be  sent  to  the  cathedral  churches 
throughout  the  realm,  and  read  before  the  people  twice  every 
year  * ;   that   sentence   of  excommunication  should  be  pro- 
nounced on  all  who  should  infringe  theraf ;  and  that  no  aids 
should  be  taken  without  the  consent  of  parliament.  X 

The  statute  was  in  the  form  of  a  charter,  but  the  Chan- 
cellor conceived  that  he  had  no  power  to  give  the  royal 
assent  by  putting  the  seal  to  it,  and  it  was  sent  to  Flanders 
by  messengers  from  both  Houses,  to  be  submitted  to  Edward 
himself.  After  much  evasion  and  reluctance,  he  ordered  De 
Burstide  to  seal  it  with  the  Great  Seal  which  he  had  brought 
along  with  him. 

The  King,  baffled  in  his  military  operations  against  France, 
and  alarmed  by  the  news  of  an  insurrection  in  Scotland 
under  Wallace,  found  it  prudent  to  return  to  his  own  domi- 
nions, and  (according  to  the  Close  Roll)  on  Friday,  the  i4th 
of  March,  1298,  he  landed  at  Sandwich  from  Flanders,  and 
the  next  day,  about  one  o'clock,  John  de  Langton,  the  Chan- 
cellor, came  to  the  King's  bed-chamber  at  Sandwich,  and 
there,  in  the  presence  of  divers  noble  persons,  by  the  King's 
bed-side,  he  delivered  up  to  the  King  the  seal  that  had  been 
used  in  England  during  his  absence,  and  the  King  imme- 
diately after,  with  his  own  hand,  delivered  to  the  Chancellor 
the  Great  Seal  which  he  had  taken  with  him  to  Flanders.  § 

Edward,  having  obtained  (it  is  to  be  feared  by  the  advice   a.d.  1298 
of  the  Keeper  of  his  conscience)  a  dispensation  from  the  Pope 


Articuli 
super 
Chartas," 


*   25  Ed.  1.  c.  2.  f   C.  3.  t  C.  4.  C.  5  and  6,     2  Inst.  525. 

§   Rot.  Pat.  26  Ed.  1.  mm.  2X  12.  in  dorso.     26  Ed.  1,      Rot.  57.  a. 

N   3 


182 


REIGN    OF    EDWARD   I. 


CHAP. 

XI. 


Goes  to 
Rome. 


from  the  observance  of  "the  confirmation  of  the  Charters"  to 
which  he  had  given  his  assent  when  out  of  the  realm,  the 
Parliament  the  following  year  passed  the  statute  of  "  Articuli 
super  Chartas*,"  which  introduced  the  new  enactment,  "that 
the  commonalty  should  choose  three  persons  in  every  county 
to  be  authorised  by  the  King's  letters  patent  under  the 
Great  Seal,  to  hear  and  determine  such  complaints  as  should 
be  made  of  those  who  offended  in  any  point  against  the 
Charters,  as  well  the  King's  officers  as  others,  and  to  punish 
them  by  imprisonment,  ransom,  or  amercement,  according  to 
the  trespass."  To  this  statute  the  King  gave  his  royal  assent 
in  person  from  the  throne,  "the  Chancellor  and  the  Judges 
sitting  on  the  woolsacks,"  and  from  this  time  no  sovereign  of 
England  has  denied  that  the  Charters  are  law,  however  in 
practice  they  may  have  been  violated,  f 

The  Chancellor  was  now  involved  in  a  dispute  in  which  he 
was  personally  interested,  and  which  caused  him  great  trouble 
and  anxiety  for  some  years.  He  had  not  had  the  good  luck 
to  be  promoted  to  the  episcopal  bench,  —  when  the  see  of  Ely 
becoming  vacant,  he  thought  he  was  secure  of  it.  But  while 
some  of  the  monks  voted  for  him  according  to  the  wishes  of 
the  government,  others  gave  their  voices  for  their  own  Prior, 
who,  they  said,  would  have  much  more  leisure  to  attend  to 
the  duties  of  a  faithful  overseer  of  the  church  of  Christ. 

The  Court  then  lay  at  York,  the  Chancellor,  as  usual, 
attending  the  King.  He  posted  off  to  Lambeth  to  consult 
the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  leaving  the  Seal  with  three 
persons,  John  de  Crancombe,  John  de  Caen,  and  William  de 
Birlay,  to  be  kept  by  them  in  their  joint  custody  on  the 
King's  behalf  until  he  should  return.  |  The  Archbishop 
advised  him  to  proceed  in  person  to  Rome,  the  Prior  of  Ely 
having  already  appealed  to  the  Pope.  Langton,  without 
resigning  his  office  of  Chancellor,  had  leave  of  absence  to 
prosecute  his  suit,  and  on  the  14th  of  February,  1299,  deli- 
vered up  the  Great  Seal,  to  be  held  during  his  stay  abroad, 
by  John  de  Burstide  as  Keeper.     He  landed  at  Dover  on  his 


*  28  Ed.  1.  Stat.  3.  f   1  Pari.  Hist.  43. 

t   Rot.  Pat.  26  Ed.  1.  m.  27.,  and  Rot.  Claus.  26  Ed.  1.  m.  10. 


JOHN  DE  LANGTON,  LORD  CHANCELLOR.  183 


return,  on  the  11th  of  June  following,  and  on  the  16th  of  the     CHAP. 
same  month  the  Seal  was  re-delivered  to  him  by  the  King. ' 


*        XT. 


He  had  not  succeeded  at  the  Vatican,  notwithstanding  all  the  ^  „.  1302. 
influence  exerted  in  his  favour.  The  Holy  Father,  taking 
this  opportunity  to  show  the  plenitude  of  his  power,  entirely 
set  aside  the  election  of  the  monks,  consecrated  the  Bishop 
of  Norwich  to  the  see  of  Ely,  bestowed  Norwich  on  the 
Prior  of  Ely,  and,  by  way  of  consolation  to  the  English 
Chancellor,  made  him  Archdeacon  of  Canterbury. 

On  the  12th  day  of  August,   1302,  Langton  resigned  his   Resigna- 
office  of  Chancellor  for  some  reason  not  explained  to  us.    This  ^°"  ^ 
occurrence  certainly  did  not  proceed  from  a  desire  to  sacrifice 
liim  to  a  rival,  for  the  King  was  much  perplexed  in  the  ap- 
pointment of  a  successor.     The  Close  Roll  gives  a  very  cir- 
cumstantial account  of  the  ceremony  of  the  resignation :  — 

"  Be  it  remembered  that  in  the  30th  year  of  King  Edward,  on 
Monday  after  the  Assumption  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  about  the 
hour  of  vespers,  in  the  chamber  wherein  the  King  then  lodged,  in 
the  Hostel  of  the  Archbishop  of  York,  near  Westminster,  imme- 
diately after  the  King  rose  from  council.  Lord  John  de  Langton, 
the  Chancellor  of  England,  restored  to  the  King  his  Great  Seal, 
and  the  King  in  the  presence  of  Amadio  Earl  of  Savoy,  John  de 
Bretagne,  and  divers  others  of  his  council,  delivered  the  same  to 
the  Lord  John  de  Drakensford,  then  Keeper  of  his  wardrobe,  to  be 
kept  there."  f 

After  a  lapse  of  ten  days,  the  King  had  not  yet  made  up   Adam  de 
his  mind  who  should  be  Chancellor,  but  there  being  a  ne-   Keener  oT' 
cessity  that  the  judicial  business  connected  with  the  office    Great  Seal. 
should  proceed,  the  Great  Seal  was  given  under  certain  re- 
strictions into  the  keeping  of  Adam  de  Osgodebey,  Master  of 
the  Rolls,  of  which  we  have  the  followine;  entrv :  — 

"  On  the  23d  of  August,  in  the  30th  year  of  the  King,  in  the 
King's  chamber  at  Kensington,  in  the  presence  of  Otho  de  Grandi- 
son,  Amadio  Earl  of  Savoy,  John  de  Bretagne,  and  others  of  the 
King's  Council,  the  King's  Great  Seal  was  delivered  by  the  King's 
order  by  the  hand  of  Lord  John  de  Drakensford,  Keeper  of  the 
wardrobe,  to  Lord  Adam  de  Osgodebey,  Keeper  of  the  Rolls  of  the 
Chancery,  who  was  enjoined  to  keep  it  under  the  seal  of  Master 

*    Rot.  CI.  27  Ed.  1.  in.  11.  f   CI.  Rol.  30  Ed.  I.  m.  8. 

M  4 


184 


REIGN    OF    EDWARD    I. 


CEiAP. 
XI. 


A.  D.  1302. 
William 
DE  Grene- 

FIELD, 

Chancellor. 


His  family. 


Attempt  in 
parliament 
to  make 
office  of 
Chancellor 
elective. 


John  de  Caen,  and  the  Lords  William  de  Birlay  and  Robert  de 
Bardelley,  until  the  King  should  provide  himself  with  a  Chan- 
cellor* The  Seal  being  so  disposed  of,  the  King  set  forward  on 
his  journey  to  Dover  by  the  way  of  Chichester." 

At  last,  on  the  30th  of  September  following,  a  new  Chan- 
cellor was  declared  in  the  person  of  William  de  Grene- 
FiELD,  Dean  of  Chichester.  The  reader  may  be  gratified  by 
the  record  of  the  appointment  and  installation :  — 

"  On  Sunday  the  morrow  of  St.  Michael,  in  the  same  year,  in 
the  King's  Chapel,  at  St.  Redegund,  immediately  after  mass,  in  the 
presence  of  Lord  John  de  Drakensford  and  others,  chaplains  and 
clerks  of  the  said  chapel  of  the  King,  Lord  Adam  de  Osgodebey 
delivered  the  Great  Seal  to  our  Lord  the  King,  who  then  received 
it  into  his  own  proper  hands,  and  straightway  delivered  it  to 
Master  William  de  Grenefield,  Dean  of  Chichester,  whom  he  had 
chosen  for  his  Chancellor,  to  keep,  and  the  said  Chancellor  deli- 
vered the  said  Seal  again  to  the  said  Adam,  to  be  carried  with  him 
the  said  Chancellor  to  Dover ;  and  on  the  same  day  at  Dover,  the 
Chancellor  received  it  back  from  the  said  Adam,  and  the  next  day 
sealed  writs  with  it  in  the  House  of  God  there."  f 

Langton,  the  Ex-chancellor,  remained  some  years  without 
any  promotion;  but  in  1305  he  was  made  Bishop  of  Chi- 
chester, and  he  obtained  quiet  possession  of  that  see,  which 
he  continued  to  govern  with  great  credit  till  he  was  again 
restored  to  the  office  of  Chancellor  in  the  succeeding  reign. 

William  de  Grenefield  (sometimes  called  Grenevill),  now 
his  successor,  was  descended  from  an  ancient  family  in  the 
West  of  England,  represented  by  the  present  Duke  of  Buck- 
ingham. He  entered  the  Church  when  very  young,  and  was 
a  Canon  of  York  before  he  was  Dean  of  Chichester.  He 
frequented  the  court  of  Edward  I.,  and  had  shown  qualities 
which  induced  the  belief  that  he  would  make  a  useful  servant 
to  the  Crown.  When  raised  to  his  new  dignity  he  is  said  to 
have  been  "  eminent  in  counsel,  and  very  eloquent." 

He  and  Edward's  other  ministers  were  excessively  un- 
popular, insomuch  that  at  a  parliament  called  soon  after  his 
appointment,  an  attempt  was    made    to    carry    a   favourite 

•  — quousque  Dominus  Rex  sibi  de  Cancellario  providisset.     CI.  30  Ed.  1. 
m.  6. 

t  CI.  Rol.  30  Ed.  1.  m.  5. 


DE   GRENEFIELD,    CHANCELLOR.  185 

scheme  several  times  brought  forward  in  weak  reigns  about     chap. 

XI 

this  period  of  English  History,  but  which  we  should  hot  have 


expected  to  find  proposed  to  him  who  had  conquered  Wales,  ^  j,  J302. 
and  led  his  victorious  armies  to  the  extremity  of  Scotland, — 
"that  the  Chancellor,  Chief  Justice,  and  Treasurer  should 
be  chosen  or  appointed  by  the  community  of  the  kingdom." 
The  King,  by  the  Chancellor's  advice,  returned  for  answer, — 
"  I  perceive  you  would  at  your  pleasure  make  your  King 
truckle  to  you  and  bring  him  under  subjection.  Why  have 
you  not  asked  the  Crown  of  me  also  ?  whilst  at  the  same 
time  you  look  upon  that  as  very  fit  and  necessary  for  your- 
selves which  you  grudge  me  that  am  your  King ;  for  it  is 
lawful  for  every  one  of  you,  as  master  of  his  own  family,  to 
take  in  or  turn  out  what  servant  he  pleases ;  but  if  I  may 
not  appoint  my  Chancellor,  Chief  Justice,  and  Treasurer,  I 
will  be  no  longer  your  King  :  yet  if  they  or  any  other  officers 
shall  do  you  any  wrong  or  injustice,  and  complaint  be  made 
of  it  to  me,  you  shall  then  have  some  reason  to  grumble  if 
you  are  not  righted."  This  firmness  had  such  an  effect,  that 
the  Barons  humbly  begged  the  King's  pardon  for  their 
presumption.* 

The  only  other  public  matter  in  which  Lord  Chancellor  Letter  to 
Grenefield  was  concerned,  was  in  framing  an  answer  to  a  letter  *espe°tfn<» 
which  the  Pope  had  written  to  Edward,  remonstrating  with  indepen- 
him  upon  his  invasion  of  Scotland,  and  claiming  that  kingdom   gcotknd. 
as  a  right  belonging  to  the  see  of  Rome ;  but  his  Holiness 
was  gravely  assured  that  "  ever  since  the  coming  of  Brute 
and  his  Trojans  into  this  island,   Scotland  had  been  under 
feudal  subjection  to  the  Kings  of  England,  who  had  fre- 
quently made  gift  of  it  to  one  of  their  subjects,  and  resumed 
the  gift  at  their  pleasure."     The  Barons  of  England,  to  the 
number  of  112,  unanimously  concurred  in  "an  address  to 
the  Pope,  devoutly  kissing  his  blessed  feet,"  in  which  they 
told  him  "  that  he  had  no  right  to  interfere  in  the  affairs  of 
Scotland,  which  belonged  exclusively  to  the  Crown  of  Eng- 
land."    It  is  curious  that  although  this  address  was  voted  in 
Parliament  and  appears  on  the  Parliament  lioll,  subscribed 

*   1  Pari.  Hist.  48,  49. 


186 


EEIGN   OP   EDWARD   I. 


CHAP. 
XL 


Resigna- 
tion of  De 
Grenefield. 


His  jour- 
ney to 
Rome. 


His  death. 


by  all  the  Barons,  it  is  not  subscribed  by  the  Chancellor  or 
any  spiritual  Peer. 

De  Grenefield  had  great  reason  to  avoid  appearing  too 
openly  in  this  controversy,  and  notwithstanding  his  caution, 
he  seems  to  have  given  offence  to  the  Roman  Pontiff.  On 
the  4th  of  December,  1303,  he  was  elected  Archbishop  of 
York,  and  on  the  24th  of  the  same  month  the  royal  assent 
was  given  to  his  election  ;  but  although  he  was  not  liable  to 
any  reasonable  objection,  the  Pope  refused  to  allow  his  con- 
secration. Letters  and  proxies  being  ineffectual,  the  Arch- 
bishop elect  resolved  to  go  in  person  to  Rome  ;  and,  to  show 
his  devotedness  to  his  spiritual  duties,  he  absolutely  resigned 
the  office  of  Chancellor  before  his  departure. 

The  journey  of  the  Ex-chancellor  to  Rome  must  have  been 
very  rapid,  and  the  energy  of  his  personal  application  extra- 
ordinary, for  having  delivered  up  the  Great  Seal  at  West- 
minster on  the  29th  of  December,  1304,  he  was  consecrated 
there  on  the  30th  of  January  following,  —  his  representations 
on  the  equity  of  his  case  being  fortified  by  a  present  to  the 
Pope  of  9500  marks.  He  was  admitted  to  the  temporalities 
of  the  see  on  the  31st  of  March,  1305  ;  but  he  is  said  to  have 
been  reduced  to  such  poverty  by  the  exactions  of  the  Court  of 
Rome,  that  he  was  twice  forced  to  have  recourse  to  the  clergy 
of  his  diocese  for  subsistence,  first  by  way  of  "  benevolence," 
and  the  second  time  of  "  subsidy."  He  is  celebrated  for  his 
support  of  the  Knights  Templars,  then  persecuted  by  the  Pope 
and  Philip  of  France.  In  the  year  1311  he  sat  in  the  Coun- 
cil of  Vienna,  called  to  quiet  the  disputes  Avhich  then  agitated 
the  church,  and  representing  the  clergy  of  England  he  was 
allowed  precedence  next  after  the  Prince,  Archbishop  of 
Treves.     He  died  in  1315.* 

During  a  temporary  absence  of  De  Grenefield,  when  he 
had  been  sent  on  an  embassy,  Osgodebey,  the  Master  of  the 
Rolls,  had  acted  as  Keeper  of  the  Seal ;  but  on  his  resignation 


*  While  he  was  Chancellor,  the  practice  was  established  of  members  of  the 
House  of  Commons  being  allowed  their  wages.  At  the  end  of  the  session,  writs 
out  of  Ciiancery  under  the  Great  Seal  were  delivered  to  them,  certifying  their 
attendance,  and  requiring  the  sheriff  by  assessment,  to  raise  the  necessary  sura 
for  paying  them  —  Rolls  of  Parliament,  33  Edward  I. 


DE   HAMILTON,    CHANCELLOR. 


187 


a  new  Chancellor  was  appointed,  —  William  de  Hamilton, 
Dean  of  York.* 

At  the  time  of  his  nomination,  being  absent  from  court, 
the  Great  Seal  was  delivered  into  the  king's  wardrobe  to  be 
kept  by  John  de  Burstide;  and  on  the  16th  of  January  fol- 
lowing it  was  delivered  to  the  new  Chancellor,  who  continued 
to  hold  it  above  two  years.  Soon  after  he  was  appointed 
there  was  an  admonition  given  to  him  by  the  King  in  full 
parliament  (probably  in  consequence  of  a  petition  from  the 
Commons)  against  granting  letters  of  protection  from  suits  to 
persons  absent  in  Ireland,  f 

In  1306  the  Chancellor  put  the  Great  Seal  to  the  famous 
statute  "  De  Tallagio  non  concedendo  |,"  framed  in  the  form 
of  a  charter,  which  had  become  necessary  from  the  King,  of 
his  own  authority,  having  taken  a  talliage  of  all  cities,  bo- 
roughs, and  towns,  and  which  finally  put  an  end  to  the  direct 
claim  of  the  kings  of  England  to  impose  any  tax,  and  drove 
those  Avho,  in  future,  wished  to  rule  without  a  parliament,  to 
resort  to  such  subterfuges  as  "benevolences,"  and  "ship- 
money." 

Any  credit  which  De  Hamilton  might  have  had  in  inducing 
the  King  to  agree  to  this  concession  was  outweighed  by  the 
disgrace  which  he  allowed  to  be  brought  upon  the  King  and 
the  nation  from  the  mock  trial  and  murder  of  Sir*  William 

*  Rot.  Glaus.  33  Ed.  1.  m.  22.  "  Master  William  de  Grenefield,  Canon  of 
York  and  the  king's  Chancellor,  being  elected  Archbishop  of  York,  did  in  the 
king's  chamber  at  Lincoln,  on  Tuesday  next  after  the  feast  of  the  Lord's 
nativity,  to  wit,  on  the  feast  of  St.  Thomas  the  Martyr,  in  the  thirty-third  year 
of  the  king's  reign,  say  to  the  king  before  liis  council,  that  it  behoved  him  to  go 
to  Rome  on  the  Thursday  following  relative  to  the  business  of  the  said  election, 
and  begged  the  king  to  ordain  what  was  to  be  done  with  the  Great  Seal ;  and 
the  king  then  nominated  and  elected  William  de  Hamilton,  Dean  of  York, 
Chancellor  and  Keeper  of  the  Seal,  and  commanded  the  Archbishop  elect  to 
deliver  the  Seal  the  next  day  into  the  wardrobe  to  Sir  John  de  Burstide,  to 
remain  there  under  the  seals  of  Sir  Adam  de  Osgodebey,  &c.,  until  the  arrival 
of  the  new  Chancellor ;  and  the  archbishop  elect  the  next  day,  at  the  sealing 
time,  delivered  the  Seal  to  the  king  in  bed."  On  the  IGtli  of  January  following, 
by  virtue  of  a  writ  of  privy  seal  the  Great  Seal  was  delivered  to  Sir  William  de 
Hamilton,  so  chosen  Chancellor,  and  the  same  day  after  dinner  he  sealed  a  writ 
for  Master  William  de  Grenefield,  elect  of  York,  tl)e  Ex-chancellor. —  Rot. 
Tat.  33  Ed.  1.  p.  1.  m.  29. 

t  Rot.  Pari.  38  Ed.  1.  Memorandum  quod  v.j  die  April,  a.  33.  Dominus  Rex 
in  pleno  parliamento  suo  ajjud  Westm.  inhibuit  Wilhilmo  de  Hamelton,  Can- 
cellario  suo  ne  de  cetero  concedat  alicui  literas  Regis  de  protectione  in  Hibn. 

I  34  Ed.  1.  2  Inst.  531.  Its  genuineness  has  been  questioned,  —  without 
sufficient  reason. 


CHAP. 
XL 


A.  D.  1304. 
William 
BE  Hamil- 
ton, Chan- 
cellor. 


Statute 
«  De  Tal- 
lagio non 
conceden- 
do." 


Conviction 
and  execu- 
tion of  Sir 
William 
Wallace 
for  treason, 
Aug.  1305. 


188 


EEIGN   OF   EDWARD   I. 


CHAP. 
XI. 

August  23. 
1305. 


Death  of 

the  Chan- 
cellor. 


April  21. 
1307. 


Ralph  de 
Baldock, 
Chancellor. 


Wallace,  who,  owing  no  allegiance  to  the  King  of  England, 
was  tried  at  Westminster  under  a  commission  sealed  by  an 
English  Chancellor,  and  was  executed  on  Tower  Hill  as  a 
traitor,  for  having  defended,  against  a  public  and  oppressive 
enemy,  the  liberties  of  his  native  land  with  signal  conduct, 
intrepidity,  and  pereeverance,  entitling  him  to  be  placed  in  the 
highest  class  of  heroes  and  patriots. 

De  Hamilton  did  not  live  to  see  the  eifect  of  this  barbarous 
policy  in  the  rising  of  the  Scottish  nation,  headed  by  Robert 
Bruce, —  all  ready  again  to  brave  every  danger  in  the  hope  of 
freedom  and  vengeance.  He  died  in  possession  of  the  office 
of  Chancellor  on  the  20th  of  April,  1 307,  while  in  attendance 
on  the  King  near  the  Scottish  border,  —  not  having  reached 
any  higher  dignity  in  the  church  than  that  of  Dean  of  York. 

The  Great  Seal  was  found  in  a  purse  sealed  up  under  the 
private  seal  of  the  deceased  Chancellor.  The  King  imme- 
diately declared  his  resolution  to  bestow  the  vacant  office  on 
Ralph  de  Baldock,  Bishop  of  London,  then  in  the  South,  and 
the  following  day,  as  the  Great  Seal  could  not  be  personally 
delivered  to  him,  his  appointment  was  made  out  in  the  follow- 
ing form :  — 

"  Edward,  by  the  grace  of  God  King  of  England,  Lord  of  Ire- 
land, and  Duke  of  Aquitaine,  to  the  Treasurer  or  his  deputy,  and 
to  the  Barons  of  our  Exchequer,  health.  Forasmuch  as  William 
de  Hamilton  who  was  our  Chancellor  is  now  with  God,  we  com- 
mand and  ordain  that  the  Bishop  of  London  be  our  Chancellor, 
and  that  he  come  without  delay  to  London  to  our  said  Exchequer 
to  receive  in  your  presence  our  Great  Seal,  which  we  now  send 
thither  by  our  dear  clerks  Adam  de  Osgodebey,  Master  John  de 
Caen,  and  Robert  de  Bardelley.  We  command  you  that  you  cause 
the  said  Seal  to  be  delivered  to  the  said  Bishop,  and  that  you  re- 
ceive from  him  the  oath  of  office  belonging  to  the  said  office.  Given 
under  our  Privy  Seal  at  Cornhill  the  21st  day  of  April,  in  the  35th 
year  of  our  reign."* 

"  Hereupon  on  the  vigil  of  the  Ascension  next  following,  Ralph 
DE  Baldock,  in  the  Court  of  Exchequer  at  Westminster,  before 
William  de  Carleton,  Baron  of  the  Exchequer,  Deputy  of  the 
Bishop  of  Lichfield  and  Coventry,  the  King's  Treasurer,  then  with 


*  Pas.  Commun.  35  Ed,  1.      Rot.  46. 


A  D.  1307. 


DE   BALDOCK,    CHANCELLOR.  189 

the  King  in  the  Marches  of  Scotland,  before  the  other  Barons,  and  CHAP. 
also  Roger  de  Braban^on,  the  King's  Justiciary  for  Pleas  before  ■^^• 
the  King  himself,  and  Ralph  de  Hingham,  Justiciary  of  the  Bench, 
took  the  oath  well  and  faithfully  to  demean  himself  in  the  office  of 
Chancellor,  and  the  impressions  of  the  private  seals  with  which 
the  purse  containing  the  Great  Seal  was  guarded,  being  broken,  it 
was  taken  therefrom  and  delivered  to  the  said  Ralph  de  Baldock, 
to  be  kept  by  him  as  Chancellor."* 

De  Baldock,  by  industry  and  ability,  had  reached  his  His  educa- 
present  high  station  from  an  obscure  origin.  He  studied  at  rise. 
Merton  College,  Oxford,  and  made  himself  master  of  all  the 
learning  of  the  times.  He  wrote  in  Latin  "  Annals  of  the 
English  Nation,"  a  work  which  was  praised  in  his  lifetime, 
although  it  has  not  come  down  to  us.  When  appointed 
Bishop  of  London,  he  gained  great  fame  by  the  splendid 
repair  of  St.  Paul's  Cathedral  at  his  cost,  and  it  was  on  this 
occasion  that  the  immense  collection  of  ox  skulls  were  dug 
up,  which  fortified  the  tradition  that  here  had  stood  a  great 
temple  of  Diana. 

Having  received  the  Great  Seal  he  remained  stationary.   Death  of 
devoting  himself  to   his   official   duties,    till   news   reached       ^^^     " 
London  of  the  death  of  the  King.     Edward,  at  the  head  of  a 
mighty  army,  was  marching  for  Scotland  to  take  vengeance 
for  the  defeat  which  his  General,  Aymer  de  Valence,  had 
sustained  from  Robert  Bruce,  and  (as  he  hoped)  finally  to 
subjugate  the  Scottish  nation ;  but  he  sickened  and  died  at 
Burgh  on  Sands,  near  Carlisle,  on  the  7th  of  July  1307,  in  July  7. 
the  69th  year  of  his  age,  and  the  35th  of  his  reign. 

In  the  present  day  such  an  event  as  the  demise  of  the 
Crown  would  be  known  in  a  few  hours  all  over  the  kingdom  ; 
but  for  a  period  of  eighteen  days  the  news  of  the  death  of 
Edward  I.  did  not  reach  the  Chancellor  in  London,  who 
down  to  the  25th  of  July,  continued  to  seal  writs  as  usual, 
unconscious  that  a  new  reign  had  commenced.  Letters  of  Accession 
Privy  Seal  were  then  received  from  the  new  King,  ordering  jj  ^^'^ 
that  his  father's  seal  should  be  sent  to  him  under  the  seal  of 
the  Chancellor,  and  accordingly  he  received  it  into  his  own 
hands  at  Carlisle,  on  the  2d  of  August.f 

*   Rot.  Fin.  35  Ed.  1.  m.  1.        Uot.  Pat.  .35  Ed.  1.  m.  1, 
t  Rot.  Fin.  1  Ed.  2.  m.  11. 


190 


REIGN   OF   EDWARD   I. 


CHAP. 
XI. 

Removal  of 

DeBal. 

dock. 


His  death. 

Jurisdic- 
tion of 
Chancellor 
in  the  reign 
of  Edw.  I. 


Improve- 
ments in 
law. 


Gratitude 
to  law  re- 
formers. 


His  eagerness  to  change  the  Chancellor  In  whom  his  father 
had  confided,  showed  that  the  influence  of  personal  favourites 
was  already  felt,  and  was  a  prelude  to  his  own  misfortunes  and 
the  disgrace  which  he  brought  upon  the  country. 

De  Baldock,  freed  from  the  cares  of  office,  spent  the  re- 
mainder of  his  days  in  the  pursuit  of  literature  and  the  ser- 
vices of  religion.     He  died  on  the  24th  of  July,  1313. 

Althougrh  we  have  no  trace  of  the  decisions  of  the  Chan- 
cellors  of  Edward  I.,  we  know,  from  recent  discoveries  in  the 
Tower  of  London,  that  they  exercised  important  judicial 
functions,  both  in  the  King's  council  and  in  their  own  court, 
where  they  sometimes  had  the  assistance  of  others,  and  some- 
times sat  alone.  No  case  of  importance  was  heard  in  the 
Council  when  the  Chancellor  was  absent;  and  cases  were 
referred  by  the  Council  for  his  consideration  in  Chancery, 
either  by  himself,  or  with  the  advice  of  specified  persons 
whom  he  was  to  summon  to  assist  him.  Sometimes  the  sub- 
ject of  these  suits  was  such  as  would  now  only  be  taken  cog- 
nisance of  in  courts  of  common  law, —  as  disturbance  of  right 
of  pasture; — but  others  were  of  a  nature  that  would  now  be 
properly  considered  in  a  court  of  equity,  —  as  assignment  of 
dower,  a  discovery  of  facts  by  the  examination  of  the  defend- 
ant, and  the  exercise  of  the  visitatorial  power  of  the  Chan- 
cellor representing  the  Sovereign. 

All  writers  who  have  touched  upon  our  juridical  history 
have  highly  extolled  the  legal  Improvements  which  distin- 
guished the  reign  of  Edward  I.,  without  giving  the  slightest 
credit  for  them  to  any  one  except  the  King  himself;  but  if 
he  is  to  be  denominated  the  English  Justinian,  it  should  be 
made  known  who  were  the  Tribonians  who  were  employed 
by  him :  and  the  English  nation  owes  a  debt  of  gratitude  to 
the  Chancellors,  who  must  have  framed  and  revised  the  sta- 
tutes which  are  the  foundation  of  our  judicial  system, — who 
must,  by  explanation  and  argument,  have  obtained  for  them 
the  sanction  of  Parliament,  —  and  who  must  have  watched 
over  their  construction  and  operation  when  they  first  passed 
Into  law.  I  shall  rejoice  If  I  succeed  In  doing  tardy  justice 
to  the  memory  of  Robert  Burnel,  decidedly  the  first  in  this 
class,  and  If  I  attract  notice  to  his  successors,  who  walked  in 


STATE   OF   THE    LAW.  X91 

his  footsteps.      To  them,  too,  we  are  probably  indebted  for     CHAP, 
the  treatises  entitled  "Fleta*"  and  "Brittonf,"  which  are        ■^^" 
said  to  have  been  written  at  the  request  of  the  King,  and  Lawbooks 
which,  though  inferior  in  style  and  arrangement  to  Bracton, 
are  wonderful  performances  for  such  an  age,  and  make  the 
practitioners  of  the  present  day,  who  are  bewildered  in  the 
midst  of  an  immense  legal  library,  envy  the  good  fortune  of 
their  predecessors,  who,  in  a  few  manuscript  volumes,  copied 
by  their  own  hand,  and  constantly  accompanying  them,  could 
speedily  and  clearly  discover  all  that  was  known  on  every 
point  that  might  arise. 

We  now  approach  a  period  when  civil  strife  and  national 
misfortune  suspended  all  improvement,  and  when  a  career  of 
faction  and  violence  terminated  in  the  deposition  and  murder 
of  the  Sovereign. 

*  Fleta  must  have  been  written  after  the  thirteenth  year  of  the  King,  and 
not  much  later  ;  for  it  frequently  quotes  the  statute  of  Westminster  the  second, 
without  referring  to  the  later  statutes  of  the  reign.  The  title  is  taken  from 
its  having  been  written  in  the  Fleet  Prison. 

■f  Britton  has  been  attributed  to  John  Breton,  Bishop  of  Hereford  ;  but  this 
cannot  be  correct,  for  he  died  in  the  third  year  of  the  King,  and  the  Treatise 
quotes  the  statutes  of  the  thirteenth.  It  set  the  example  of  writing  lawbooks 
in  French,  which  was  followed  for  four  centuries. 


192 


KEIGN    OF   EDWARD   II. 


CHAPTER  XII. 


CHANCELLORS  DURING   THE   REIGN   OF   EDWARD   II. 


CHAP. 
XII. 

July  8. 
1307. 
Accession 
of  Ed- 
ward II. 


John  de 
Langton, 
Chancellor 
the  second 
time. 


It  is  not  certainly  known  from  records  or  otherwise,  how  the 
young  King  disposed  of  the  Great  Seal  from  the  time  when 
he  received  it  at  Carlisle  till  his  return  to  London  in  the 
autumn  of  the  year  1307.  He  probably  carried  it  with  him 
into  Scotland  in  the  short  and  inglorious  campaign  which 
he  then  made  in  that  country, —  forgetting  alike  what  the 
exigencies  of  justice  required  in  his  own  dominions,  and  the 
dying  injunctions  of  his  father  to  lead  on  the  expedition  with 
the  utmost  energy,  and  never  to  desist  till  he  had  reduced 
the  Scottish  nation  to  complete  subjection.  From  the  hour 
of  his  accession  to  the  throne,  he  betrayed  an  utter  incapacity 
for  government,  and  an  unconquerable  aversion  to  all  serious 
business.  He  seems  for  a  long  time  to  have  appointed  neither 
Chancellor  nor  Keeper  of  the  Seal.  He  retreated  without 
striking  a  blow, — disbanded  his  army,  and  thought  of  nothing 
but  conferring  power  and  places  on  his  favourite,  Piers 
Gaveston.* 

"Whilst  the  Barons,  from  the  beginning,  showed  the  utmost 
indignation  at  the  advancement  of  this  upstart,  John  de 
Langton,  Bishop  of  Chichester,  who  had  been  Chancellor  in 
the  late  reign,  formed  a  coalition  with  him,  and  in  re- 
compense was  restored  to  his  former  office.  It  was  thought, 
even  by  the  Gascon  youth  himself,  that  it  woulc^  have  been 
too  great  an  outrage  at  once  to  have  made  him  Chancellor, 
although,  as  we  shall  see,  he  was  ere  long  intrusted  with 
the  Seal  as  Keeper. 

The  two  years  during  which  John  de  Langton  was  now 


•  A  charge  was  afterwards  brought  against  Gaveston  of  having  about  this 
time  put  the  Great  Seal  to  blank  charters,  which  he  filled  up  according  to  his 
fancy. 


JOHN  DE  LANGTON,  CHANCELLOE.  1&3 

Chancellor,  were  chiefly  occupied  with  the  disputes  between     chap, 
the  King  and  the  Barons  on  account  of  the  preference  shown  ' 


to  the  foreign  favourite. 

Edward  continued  occasionally  to  find  a  respite  beyond  King 
sea  from  the  factious  proceedings  of  his  native  subjects.  In  *  ^^^  ' 
the  beginning  of  1308,  going  to  Aquitaine,  he  left  the  Chan- 
cellor guardian  of  the  realm,  and  delivered  to  him  a  new 
seal  to  be  used  for  certain  necessary  purposes.  The  Great 
Seal  was  intrusted  to  the  keeping  of  William  Melton,  the 
King's  secretary,  who  accompanied  him.  On  Edward's 
return,  the  Chancellor  delivered  to  him  the  Seal  which  had 
been  in  use  during  his  absence,  and  the  King  delivered  back 
to  the  Chancellor  the  Great  Seal  which  he  had  carried  with 
him  abroad.* 

Soon  after,  the  King  paid  a  short  visit  to  Boulogne,  when  King  goes 
the  Chancellor  seems  to  have  accompanied  him,  for  Piers  J°  ^°"" 
Gaveston  was  left  with  a  seal  to  be  used  for  the  sealing  of 
writs  and  other  necessary  business.  In  the  Close  Roll  we 
have  a  very  circumstantial  account  of  the  manner  in  which 
this  seal  was  dealt  with  in  the  Court  of  Exchequer  on  the 
King's  return,  t 

Edward  was  in  the  habit  of  occasionally  taking  the  Seal  King  him- 
into  his  own  custody,  and  using  it  without  any  responsible  the  Great 
adviser.      Thus,  on  the  13th  of  June,  1308,    at   the   New  Seal. 
Temple  in  London,  the  Bishop  elect  of  Worcester,  the  Trea- 
surer, ordered  the  Chancellor,  pursuant,  he  said,  to  the  verbal 
commands  he  had  received  from  the  King,  to  send  the  Great 
Seal  to  Windsor  by  Adam  de  Osgodebey, — which  was  ac- 


♦   Rot,  Cl.  1  Ed.  2.  m.  7. 

■j-  «  Whereupon  William  de  Melton,  controller  of  the  King's  wardrobe,  came 
and  brought  into  the  Exchequer  the  King's  Seal  used  in  England  at  the  time 
when  the  King  was  in  foreign  parts ;  which  Seal  was  used  for  sealing  the  writs 
that  issued  out  of  the  King's  Chancery  in  England,  at  that  time  under  the  teste 
of  Peter  de  Gaveston,  Earl  of  Cornwall,  then  the  King's  lieutenant  in  England, 
and  the  said  Seal  being  in  a  bag  or  purse  of  white  leather,  sealed  with  the  Privy 
Seal  of  John  de  Langton,  Bishop  of  Chichester,  Chancellor  of  England,  was  by 
him  delivered  in  at  the  Exchequer  in  the  presence  of  the  Chancellor  of  the  same 
Exchequer,  and  the  Barons  and  the  Remembrancer.  And  straightway  the  said 
Seal,  being  in  the  purse  so  sealed  up,  was  delivered  to  the  Chamberlain  of  the 

Exchequer  to  be  kept  in  the  King's  treasury,"  &c Hil,  Com.  1  Ed.  2.      Rot. 

40.  b,     Madd.  Exch.  51,  52. 

VOL.  I.  O 


194 


BEI6N  OF   EDWARD   II. 


CHAP. 

XII. 


A.D.    1310. 


Revolution 
in  the  go- 
vernment. 


The  Chan- 
eel  I  or  re- 
signs. 

His  cha- 
racter. 


cordingly  done, — and  it  remained  with  the  King  till  the  20th 
of  the  same  month,  when  it  was  again  restored  to  the  Chan- 
cellor in  London.  In  this  interval,  by  the  personal  command 
of  the  King,  was  sealed  the  patent  appointing  Gaveston 
Lieutenant  of  Ireland,  contrary  to  the  sentence  pronounced 
against  him  in  Parliament.* 

In  May,  1310,  John  de  Langton  was  obliged  to  yield  to 
the  storm  raging  against  him  and  the  favourite.  A  petition 
was  presented  in  Parliament,  which,  being  backed  by  an 
armed  force,  was  equivalent  to  a  command,  praying  that 
Edward  would  dismiss  his  ministers,  and  devolve  on  a  junto 
the  whole  authority  of  the  Crown,  with  power,  for  a  limited 
time,  to  enact  ordinances  for  the  government  of  the  kingdom 
and  the  regulation  of  the  royal  household. 

Gaveston  was  banished,  and  Langton,  resigning  the  Great 
Seal,  retired  to  his  bishopric. f  He  did  not  again  mix  with 
the  factious  disputes  which  long  continued  to.  convulse  the 
kingdom.  He  seems  to  have  been  a  man  unscrupulous  as  to 
the  means  by  which  he  reached  power,  but,  as  far  as  he 
thought  consistent  with  the  safety  of  his  tenure  of  it,  dis- 
posed to  promote  beneficial  measures,  and  to  restrain  irregu- 
larities and  excesses  in  the  o-overnment.  Having;  assisted  the 
zeal  of  the  first  Edward  for  the  public  good,  he  continued, 
while  he  remained  in  office,  to  a  certain  degree,  to  mitigate 
the  son's  evil  propensities,  which  at  last  produced  conse- 
quences so  tragical.  Lord  Coke  relates  the  following  anec- 
dote, to  show  that  « this  Lord  Chancellor  of  England  was  of 
a  great  spirit,  and  feared  not  the  face  of  great  men  in  that 
dangerous  time  to  do  that  which  he  ought.  Earl  Warren, 
though  married  to  the  King's  niece,  carried  off  the  Countess 
of  Lancaster  from  her  husband  to  his  castle  of  Kyegate,  in 
Surrey,  and  there  lived  with  her  in  open  advoutry.  Lang- 
ton, as  Bishop  of  Chichester,  according  to  his  office  and 
duty,  called  the  said  Earle  Warren  in  question  for  the  said 
shameful  offence,  and  by  ecclesiastical  censures  excommunl- 


•  See  Mem.  in  Ci.  R.  1  Ed.  2.,  which  the  Chancellor  is  supposed  to  have 
enterea  to  show  that  he  was  not  to  be  considered  answerable  for  Gaveston's 
apjjomtment. 

t  May  11.  1310. 


WALTER  REYNOLDS,  CHANCELLOR.  195 

cated  him  for  the  same ;    in  revenge  whereof,   the   Earle     CHAP. 
adding  a  new  offence  to  the  old,  came  with  many  of  his 


followers,  weaponed  for  the  purpose,  towards  the  Bishop  to 
lay  violent  hands  upon  him ;  but  the  Bishop  being  well 
attended  with  gentlemen  and  other  his  household  servants 
issued  out,  and  not  only  manfully  defended  himself  against 
that  barbarous  attempt,  but  valiantly  overcame  the  Earle, 
and  laid  him  and  his  gallants  in  prison :  armaque  in  armatos 
sumere  jura  sinunt.''^* 

For  some  time  after  Langton's  resignation  of  the  Great  Office  of 
Seal  there  was  great  difficulty  as  to  the  disposal  of  it.     As  j^^  abe  -  "'^ 
the  person  holding  it  necessarily  came  so  much  into  the  royal  ance. 
presence,  even  the  Barons  felt  a  delicacy  in  putting  it  into 
the  hands  of  any  one  personally  obnoxious  to  the  King. 
For  about  two  months  it  remained  in  the  custody  of  In- 
gelard  de  Warlegh  f,  with  power  merely  to  seal  writs  with  it 
in  the  presence  and  with  the  concurrence  of  three  persons 
specified ;  and  then  Osgodebey,  the  Master  of  the  Rolls,  held 
it  for  a  short  time  under  similar  restrictions.  | 

At  last,  on  the  6th  of  July,  a  compromise  took  place,  and  a.d.  isio. 
Walter  Reynolds  was  declared  Chancellor  §,  he  having  on  ^^^l^^^,^ 
the  occasion  advanced  lOOOZ.,  said  to  have  been  lent  to  the  Chancellor. 
King,  but  probably  divided  between  the  King  and  the  Barons. 

Reynolds,  by  his  parts  and  address,  had  gained  the  favour  Tutor  to 
of  that  discerning  prince,  Edward  I.,  who  made  him  tutor  to  E'^^a'''^  I^- 
his  son,  a  Privy  Councillor,  and  Bishop  of  Worcester.  He 
cannot  be  held  accountable  for  the  defective  character  or 
conduct  of  his  royal  pupil,  who,  though  he  might  have  been 
expected  to  have  inherited  great  talents  from  both  his 
parents,  was  by  nature  of  an  understanding  narrow,  frivolous, 
and  incapable  of  cultivation  or  correction.  Edward  was 
nevertheless  attached  to  his  preceptor,  in  spite  of  profiting  so 
little  by  his  tuition,  and  was  much  gratified  by  the  forbear- 
ance of  the  Barons  in  allowing  one  he  loved  to  hold  the  office 
which  was  substantially  in  their  gift. 

*  2  Inst.  574.  He  died  9th  July,  1337,  and  he  was  buried  in  the  cathedral 
of  Chichester,  under  the  great  south  window,  which  remains  to  this  day  a 
monument  of  his  taste  as  well  as  of  his  magnificence. 

t  Rot.  CI.  4  Ed.  2.  m.  6.  %  Rot.  CI.  4  Ed.  2.  m.  26.  §  Ibid. 

o  2 


196 


REIGN   OF   EDWARD   II. 


CHAP. 
XII. 

His  con- 
duct as 
Chancellor. 

His  resig- 
nation. 


Execution 
of  Gave- 
ston, 
June  12. 
1312. 


Reynolds 
the  Ex- 
chancellor 
made 
Keeper  of 
the  Great 
Seal. 

Oct.  6. 
1312. 


Reynolds  continued  Chancellor  till  the  28tli  of  September, 
1311,  having  twice  during  that  time  given  the  Seal  to  be 
kept  by  Osgodebey,  the  Master  of  the  Rolls ; — once  when  he 
attended  the  King  to  Berwick-upon-Tweed,  and  the  second 
time  when  he  went  to  assist  at  a  general  council  of  the 
western  church  held  at  Vienne,  in  Dauphiny.  Soon  after  his 
return  he  resigned  the  office  of  Chancellor,  or,  more  properly, 
he  was  driven  from  it  by  the  disputes  between  the  King  and 
the  Barons,  which  now  raged  with  more  violence  than  ever. 
Edward  had  the  indiscretion  to  recall  Gaveston,  and  again 
to  load  him  wuth  favours  at  court.  This  proceeding  excited 
such  general  disgust,  that  he  was  compelled  to  agree  to  an 
act,  to  confer  permanently  upon  a  committee  of  Parliament 
the  power  of  appointing  to  all  the  great  offices  of  state ;  — 
and  Gaveston  being  taken  prisoner,  his  head  was  struck  off  by 
the  hand  of  the  executioner. 

While  these  things  were  going  on,  the  Barons,  for  expe- 
diting judicial  business,  arranged  that  the  Great  Seal  should 
remain  with  the  Master  of  the  Rolls.  Twice  the  King  got 
possession  of  it ;  but  he  was  obliged  to  return  it  to  the  same 
custody. 

The  unpopular  favourite  being  put  to  death,  the  Barons 
became  more  moderate,  and  there  was  a  reaction  in  the 
nation  against  a  parliamentary  commission  for  carrying  on 
the  government,  which,  in  experience,  had  always  been  found 
to  aggravate  the  confusion  whence  it  had  arisen. 

A  settlement  accordingly  took  place,  upon  the  under- 
standing that  there  should  not,  for  the  present,  be  a  Chan- 
cellor, but  that  the  King  should  appoint  a  Keeper  to  do  all 
the  duties  of  the  office,  under  the  superintendence  of  three 
persons,  to  be  named  by  the  Barons. 

Walter  Reynolds  was  the  new  Keeper*,  and  he  is  a 
singular  instance  of  a  person  holding  the  Great  Seal  with 
this  title  after  having  held  it  as  "Chancellor,"  while  there 
are  very  many  Instances  of  a  person  holding  it  as  "  Chan- 
cellor "  after  having  held  it  as  "  Keeper." 

Reynolds  was  translated  from  Worcester  to  the  see  of 


*  Rot.  Cl.  6  Ed.  2.  m.  26. 


WALTER  REYNOLDS,  CHANCELLOR.  197 

Canterbury,  by  Papal  permission,  on  the  1st  of  October,  CHAP. 
1313*;  but  he  had  a  keen  controversy  for  this  dignity  with 
Thomas  Cobham,  Dean  of  Salisbury.  He  at  last  prevailed, 
and,  in  April,  1314,  he  was  installed  in  the  archbishopric 
with  extraordinary  magnificence.  He  still  continued  Keeper, 
with  the  same  restrictions ;  the  Great  Seal  being  deposited  in 
a  purse,  under  the  seals  of  the  superintendents,  and,  after 
each  day's  sealing,  restored  to  the  purse  in  their  presence. 

Intestine   feuds   now  ceased  for  a  time,  that  the   nation  a.d.  1314. 
might  take  vengeance  on  the  Scots,  who  not  only  had  recon-  Bannock- 
quered  their  own  country,  but,  under  Robert  Bruce,  had  made  burn, 
successful  inroads  into  England,  enriching  themselves  by  the 
plunder  of  the  northern  counties.    The  Barons,  forgetting  their 
paltry  differences  about  the  appointment  of  the  Chancellor, 
rallied  round  Edward,  and  he  marched  to  the  frontier  with 
a  well-equipped  army,    amounting   to   a  hundred  thousand 
men.     It  is  Avell  known  that  this  expedition  ended  in  the 
fatal  battle  of  Bannockbum,  the  greatest  defeat  which  Eng- 
land has  sustained  since  the  Norman  conquest. 

According  to  the  English  authorities,  which  I  think  may  June  is. 
be  relied  upon,  no  one  had  attended  the  Kino*  to  the  North    *^^^' 

.  .       Q  Whether 

as  Chancellor  or  Keeper ;  but  Hume  of  Goldscroft,  in  his  the  Great 

*'  History  of  Scotland  and  of  the  House  of  Douglas,"  relates  ^^^^  ^^^ 

that  the  Lord  Keeper  was  among  the  slain,  and  that  the  battle  of 

Great  Seal  being  taken  as  a  trophy  of  the  victory,  was  re  •  ^*""ock- 
stored  to  the  English  by  Robert  Bruce. f     Reynolds,  who 

*  In  December,  1313,  Edward  went  on  a  pilgrimage  to  a  statue  of  Our  Lady 
at  Boulogne,  still  famous.  During  his  absence,  the  Great  Seal  remained  in  the 
custody  of  the  Archbishop  elect.  —  R.  CI.  7  Ed.  2. 

f  "  The  English  king  did  bring  into  the  field  all  that  he  was  able  to  make, 
not  only  of  English,  but  of  his  beyond-sea  dominions;  neither  of  those  that  were 
his  own  subjects  only,  but  he  was  also  aided  and  assisted  by  his  friends  and  con- 
federates in  Flanders,  Holland,  Zealand,  Brabant,  Picardy,  Gascony,  Normandy, 
Guienne,  Bullonois,  and  Bourdeaux  ;  of  these  and  of  his  own  countrymen  he  had 
in  all  150,000,  intending  to  have  exterminated  the  whole  nation  of  Scots,  with 
so  confident  a  presumption  of  victory,  that  he  brought  with  him  a  Carmelite 
friar  (a  poet  according  to  the  time)  to  commit  his  triumph  to  writing.  He  was 
defeated  by  30,000,  or  35,000  at  the  most  (as  all  agree),  and  that  in  a  plain  and  June  22. 
open  field,  where  there  was  slain  of  his  men  50,000."  "  The  Carmelite  also  1314. 
changed  his  note,  singing  their  victory  whose  overthrow  be  came  to  set  forth, 
and  chanting  their  discomfiture  whose  praises  he  was  hired  to  proclaim.  He 
thus  began  his  ditty : — 

"  De  planctu  cudo  metrum  cum  carmine  nudo, 
Risum  detrudo,  dum  tali  themate  ludo.'" 
Among  the  slain  he  enumerates  "  Sir  Robert  Northbrooke  (Lord  Keeper  of  the 

o  3 


198 


EEIGN   OF   EDWARD   II. 


CHAP. 
XII. 


Council  at 
York. 


Resigna- 
tion of 
Reynolds. 

His  sub- 
sequent 
career. 


His  death. 


Chancellor 
still  chief 
of  Chapel 
Royal. 


had  probably  remained,  with  the  Great  Seal,  in  London, 
went  to  York  to  be  present  at  the  Parliament,  or  rather 
Council  of  the  prelates  and  nobility,  which  Edward  called  on 
his  arrival  there,  after  his  precipitate  flight.  However,  the 
nation  was  in  such  consternation  from  their  late  calamity, 
that  no  business  was  conducted  at  this  assembly  except  the 
exchange  of  the  wife  of  Robert  Bruce  against  some  English 
prisoners  of  war. 

Reynolds  did  not  long  retain  the  Great  Seal  after  his 
return  to  the  South,  having  finally  resigned  it  on  the  26th  of 
September,  1314. 

He  is  much  blamed  for  his  subsequent  conduct.  He  now 
took  part  with  the  Court  of  Rome  in  its  encroachments  on 
the  prerogatives  of  the  Crown,  and  he  obtained  no  fewer  than 
eight  bulls  from  the  Pope,  conferring  upon  himself  privileges 
and  jurisdictions  of  a  novel  and  invidious  nature.  But  what 
was  much  worse,  he  took  part  against  the  King,  his  former 
pupil,  who  had  treated  him  with  so  much  personal  kindness, 
and  had  exalted  him  to  his  present  height  of  greatness.  By 
abetting  the  profligate  Queen  and  her  associates,  he  was  sup- 
posed to  have  hurried  the  unhappy  Edward  to  a  prison  and 
a  grave. 

The  Ex-chancellor  became  more  superstitious  as  he  became 
more  unprincipled,  and  he  is  said  to  have  died  of  fear,  because 
the  Pope  had  threatened  him  with  spiritual  censures  for 
having  somewhat  irregularly  consecrated  Berkeley,  Bishop  of 
Exeter,  with  a  view  to  please  the  Queen  and  her  favourite. 

While  he  was  Chancellor  there  was  published  an  ordinance 
by  the  King,  relating  to  the  chapel  at  Windsor,  which  shows 
that  the  Chancellor  for  the  time  being  was  still  considered 
chief  of  the  Chapel  Royal,  and  bound  to  see  that  it  was  pro- 
vided with  proper  ornaments.* 

On  his  resignation  of  the  Great  Seal  he  was  succeeded  by 


Broad  Seal)  and  Sir  Ralph  Mortimer,  who  had  married  the  King's  sister."  He 
adds,  «  Mortimer  was  dimitted  ranscme  free,  and  obtained  the  King's  Broad  Seal 
at  Bruce's  hands." — pp.  32 — 35. 

•  "  Et  le  Chaunceler  de  Roy,  qui  quil  soit,  pur  coe  quil  est  chef  de  la  Chapele 
nostre  Seignour  le  Roy  face  chescun  an  un  tour  illoeges  sil  puit,  pur  congie  de 
nostre  Seignour  le  Roy  pur  veer  que  la  dite  Chapele  (i.  e.  de  Wyndesor)  soit 
servie  des  ornementz,"  &c.— Ryl.  Append,  ad  Plac.  P.  p.  535.  Anno  6  Ed.  2. 


JOHN   DE   SANDALE,    CHANCELLOE.  199 

John  de  Sandale,  then  Treasurer  of  the  Exchequer,  who     chap. 
was  declared  Chancellor  *,  and  held  the  office  near  four  years. 


He   had   the  good  "luck  to  be   speedily   promoted   to   the  Jqhn  de 
Bishopric  of  Winchester.  Saxdale, 

He  was  present  at  the  parliament  held  at  Lincoln  on  the  Sept.  26. 
28th  of  January,  1315,  and  superintended  the  judicial  business  ^2^^- 
there  transacted — when  the  Justices  of  both  Benches  brought 
in  briefs  of  such  matters  as  were  properly  determinable  in 
parliament  t;  but  the  King  himself  declared  the  cause  of  the 
summons*to  be  for  advice  and  assistance  against  the  Scots. 

During  almost  the  whole  time  he  was  Chancellor,  there  Keepers  of 
were  concurrently  Keepers  of  the  Great  Seal,  whether  to  currentu". ' 
assist  or  control  him,  may  be  doubtful.  In  the  entries  in  the 
KoUs,  a  reason  is  generally  assigned  for  the  appointment  of 
these  Keepers,  —  as  that  the  Chancellor  was  going  to  the  Earl 
of  Lancaster  at  Kenilworth  on  the  King's  business, — or  was 
absent  from  Court  about  his  election  to  his  diocese,  —  or  was 
employed  on  a  foreign  mission  for  the  King. 

De  Sandale  at  last  incurred  the  displeasure  of  Hugh  le  De  Sandale 
Despenser,  the  new  favourite,  and  was  removed  from  the  ^^"^""^  • 
office  of  Chancellor  on  the  11th  of  June,  1318.     He  lived  in 
obscurity  about  two  years,  and  fortunately  died  before  the 
transactions  occurred  which  brought  such  a  reproach  on  the 
memory  of  his  predecessor. 

Little  is  to  be  found  respecting  his  character,  conduct,  or  Epicurism 
tastes,  except  that  he  appears  to  have  been  somewhat  of  an  chancellor 
epicure.     In  the  10th  year  of  the  King's  reign  (1316),  he  ^^  San- 

dale. 

•   Rot.  CI.  7  Ed.  2.  m.  7. 

f  An  order  was  made  by  the  Lords  that  the  Chancellor  and  the  other  judges 
should  lay  before  parliament  the  cases  pending  in  their  courts,  which  they 
cannot  decide  without  parliament.  —  Rolls,  i.  350.  By  another  order  made  at 
this  parliament,  we  have  great  light  thrown  upon  the  history  of  proxies  in  the 
House  of  Lords.  "  Et  injunctum  fuit  Johi.  de  Sandale,  Cancellar.  quod  ipse 
rcciperet  procuratoria  et  excusationes  Prelatorura  et  aliorum  summonitorum  ad 
dictum  parliamentum  et  non  venientium  et  quod  ipse  ac  alii  quos  Dns.  Rex 
sibi  associaret,  ea  examinaret  et  excusationes  sufficientes  allocarent,  dum  tamen, 
excusantes  Procuratores  herent  sufficientes :  et  quod  nomina  non  venientium 
nee  se  excusantium  nee  procuratores  destinantium  Dno.  Rcgi  referrent,  ita  quod 
ipse  inde  posset  pcipere  quod  deberet."  —  Rolls,  v.  2.  p.  350,  Other  entries 
show  that  the  attendance  of  peers  in  early  times  was  very  strictly  enforced,  and 
that  aU  who  were  absent  without  the  king's  licence  were  fined.  But  the  King 
gave  such  as  he  favoured  leave  to  attend  by  a  proxy,  who  was  at  first  a  stranger, 
and  afterwards  another  peer. 

o  4 


•^00 


REIGN   OF   EDWAED   II. 


CHAP. 

XII. 


John  sb 

HOTHAH, 

Chancellor, 
June  11. 
1S18. 


Ascen- 
dancy of 
Earl'of 
Lancaster, 
Oct.  1319. 


sent  two  famous  poulterers,  Adam  Fitz  Kupert  and  Thomas 
de  Duston,  into  divers  parts  of  the  realm  to  purchase  delicate 
poultry  for  his  table,  and  he  fortified  them  with  letters  patent 
of  intendance  and  safe  conduct  under  the  Great  Seal,  for 
which  he  obtained  a  warrant  under  the  King's  sign-manual.* 

His  successor  was  John  de  Hotham,  who  rose  to  the 
dignity  of  Chancellor  by  the  successive  steps  of  King's  chap- 
lain, Provost  of  Queen's  College,  Oxford,  Chancellor  of  that 
University,  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  and  Bishop  of  Ely. 
He  is  said  to  have  been  a  prudent  and  pious  man,  but  of  no 
learning ;  yet  he  now  held  the  oflSce  of  Chancellor  till  the 
beginning  of  the  year  1320,  and  he  was  restored  to  it  at  the 
commencement  of  the  succeeding  reign. 

During  his  first  Chancellorship  he  nominally  presided  at  a 
parliament  held  at  York,  where  the  Earl  of  Lancaster,  at 
the  head  of  a  military  force,  dictated  all  the  laws  that  were 
passed.  One  of  these  was,  "  that  the  Chancellor  should  make 
a  charter  under  the  Great  Seal,  absolute  and  without  con- 
dition, pardoning  the  Earl  of  Lancaster  himself,  and  all  such 
as  he  should  by  his  letters  name  to  the  Chancellor,  of  all 
treasons  against  the  King,  and  other  crimes  of  which  they 
might  at  any  time  hitherto  have  been  guilty."  Here  likewise 
a  parliamentary  sanction  was  given  to  an  indenture  which  the 
King  had  been  forced  to  sign,  providing  that  two  Bishops, 
one  Earl,  one  Baron,  named  by  parliament,  and  one  Baron  or 
Banneret  of  the  family  of  the  Earl  of  Lancaster  acting  in  his 
name,  should  be  present  and  remain  with  the  King,  to  de- 
liberate with  and  advise  him  in  due  manner,  —  and  it  was 
ordered  that  this  indenture  should  be  carried  by  the  Chan- 
cellor to  the  Chancery,  and  enrolled  there,  f 

While  De  Hotham  continued  Chancellor,  it  is  difficult  to 
say  whether  he  was  to  be  considered  the  minister  of  the  King 


•  Adam  filius  Robertl  et  Tliomas  de  Duston,  Prelatarli  venerabilis  Patris 
J.  Wyntoniensis  Episcopi  Cancellarii  Regis,  quos  idem  'Cancellarius  ad  prele- 
triam  pro  sustentatione  ipsius  Cancellarii  et  Clericorum  Regis  de  eadem  Cancel- 
laria  pro  dcnariis  ipsius  Cancellarii  emendam  et  providendam  ad  diversas  partes 
rcgni  mittat,  habent  literas  Regis  omnibus  ballivis  et  fidelibus  suis,  quod  eisdem 
preletariis  in  praemissis  intendentes  sint  et  respondentes  quociens  et  quando,  &c., 
per  unum  annum  duraturas.  T.  R.  apud  Westm.  primo  die  Junii.  —  Pat. 
10  Ed.  2.  partii.  m.  10. 

t  1  Pari.  Hist.  65, 


JOHN   DE   SALMON,    CHANCELLOR.  201 

or  of  the  Earl  of  Lancaster.    There  are  three  different  entries     CHAP. 

XII 

in  the  Close  Roll  of  his  going  from  court,  being  sent  by  the 


King  to  the  Earl  of  Lancaster,  and  of  the  appointment  of 
Keepers  of  the  Great  Seal  in  his  absence ;  but  the  object  of 
these  missions  must  have  been  to  receive  the  commands  of  the 
haughty  Baron,  who  was  now  master  of  the  kingdom. 

A  new  parliament  was  held  in  the  beginning  of  1320,  the  Resigna- 
Earl  of  Lancaster  still  maintaining  his  ascendancy,  —  when  charTcellor. 
De  Hotham,  disgusted  with  the  irksomeness  of  his  position, 
or  frightened  by  the  perils  that  were  thickening  round  all  who 
were  connected  with  the  Court,  resigned  his  office  of  Chan- 
cellor*, and  withdrew  from  secular  affairs  tiU  Edward  III. 
was  placed  on  the  throne. 

The  new  Chancellor  was  John  de  Salmon,  Bishop  of  John  de 
Norwich  f,  who  is  stated  in  the  Close  Roll  to  have  been   chancellor 
*'  made  in  full  parliament,"  meaning,  I  presume,  by  the  body  Jan.  26. 
of  the  Barons,  on  the  recommendation  of  the  Earl  of  Lan- 
caster, —  the  authority  of  the  committee,  which  he  ruled  by 
his  proxy,  being  suspended  while  parliament  was  sitting,  — 
although  in  ordinary  times  a  creation  in  "  full  parliament" 
only  means  an  exercise  of  the  royal  prerogative  in  the  pre- 
sence of  the  three  estates  of  the  realm,  for  the  sake  of  greater 
solemnity,  and  to  do  honour  to  the  object  of  the  royal  favour. 

There  was  now  an  interval  of  tranquillity  in  England,  and  A.n.  1320. 
the  Chancellor  went  to    France  Avith    the  King,  who  was   Chancellor 

o'  goes  to 

summoned  to  do  homage  for  the  Duchy  of  Aquitaine.     The   France ' 
Great  Seal  was  not  carried  abroad  with  the  King  as  had  been  ^'       '"^' 
usual,  but  was  ordered  to  be  kept  close  in  some  secure  place 
during  his  absence,  and  the  little  seal  which  had  been  before 
used  when  the  King  was  absent  in  France,  was  to  be  again 
used  in  England  while  he  remained  abroad.     The  Chancellor 


*  23cl  Jan.  1320. 

f  Rot.  Glaus.  13  Ed.  2.  m.  9.  It  is  there  stated  that  the  King  had  com- 
manded Ilotham  not  to  execute  any  mandate  under  the  Great  Seal,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  messages  of  any  person  of  whatever  rank  who  might  come  to  him 
in  his  Majesty's  name,  unless  he  had  verbally,  or  under  the  Privy  Seal  declared 
to  him  his  pleasure  thereupon  ;  that  on  the  23d  of  January,  1320,  the  Chancellor 
delivered  the  Great  Seal  to  the  King  at  York,  who  with  his  own  hands  placed 
it  at  the  head  of  his  bed,  but  subsequently  intrusted  it  to  three  clerks  in  Chan- 
cery, and  on  the  following  day  the  Uishop  of  Norwich,  who  had  been  appointed 
Chancellor,  in  full  parliament  received  it  from  the  King. 


202 


REIGN   OP   EDWARD   II. 


CHAP. 
XII. 


Surrender 
of  Great 
Seal  by 
Dc  Salmon. 


July,  1321, 
Great  Seal 
in  custody 
of  Queen 
Isabella. 


Isabella  not 

"  Lady 
Keeper." 


scaled  up  the  Great  Seal  and  delivered  it  to  the  King,  and 
gave  the  little  seal  to  the  Master  of  the  KoUs,  to  be  assisted 
by  Kobert  de  Bardeley  and  William  de  ClyiF.  He  returned 
to  England  in  about  two  months,  when  the  Great  Seal  was 
restored  to  him. 

He  was  soon  after  absent  from  court  visiting  his  diocese, 
and  he  made  a  journey  to  the  marches  of  Scotland  on  a 
public  embassy,  on  which  occasions,  by  his  appointment,  the 
Master  of  the  Rolls  held  the  Great  Seal  and  acted  for  him ; 
but  in  the  end  of  July,  1321,  being  grievously  indisposed,  he 
surrendered  the  Great  Seal  to  the  King,  that  his  majesty 
might  dispose  of  it  as  to  him  should  seem  good.  The  King 
forthwith  sent  it  by  Richard  Camel,  his  Chamberlain,  to  the 
Queen,  with  directions  that  it  should  remain  in  her  custody, 
and  that  she  should  deliver  it  daily  to  the  Master  of  the  Rolls, 
who  should  return  it  to  her  after  each  day's  sealing.  Imme- 
diately on  the  Queen's  receiving  it,  she  delivered  it  to  the 
Lady  Elizabeth  de  Montibus,  lady  of  her  bed-chamber,  to  be 
enclosed  in  a  casket,  and  every  day  on  which  the  seal  was  re- 
quired for  use,  the  Master  of  the  Rolls  had  it  from  the  hands 
of  the  Queen,  or  the  Lady  Elizabeth,  and  returned  it  to  them 
to  be  placed  in  the  casket  when  the  sealing  was  finished.*  But 
I  cannot  fairly  include  Queen  Isabella  more  than  the  Lady 
Elizabeth  de  Montibus  in  my  list  of  "  Keepers,"  whose  lives 
are  to  be  written,  as,  unlike  Queen  Eleanor's,  her  functions 
were  merely  ministerial ;  she  had  no  commission,  and  she  was 
not  intrusted  with  any  portion  of  judicial  power.  I  am  not 
permitted,  therefore,  to  attempt  to  enliven  my  tedious  nar- 
rative by  entering  into  the  details  of  her  character  or  her 
actions  —  her  spirit,  her  enterprise,  her  deadly  antipathies, 
her  guilty  loves,  her  share  in  her  husband's  murder,  or  her 
punishment  by  her  heroic  son. 

On  the  5th  of  November  the  Queen  restored  the  Great 
Seal  to  the  King,  and  it  remained  a  considerable  time  in  his 
own  keeping ;  his  majesty  intrusting  it  daily  to  persons  who 
were  to  use  it,  and  receiving  it  back  from  them  after  each 
day's  sealing.     At  the  end  of  some  months  De  Salmon,  who 


*   CI.  Rol.  15  Ed.  2, 


JOHN   DE   SALMON,   CHANCELLOE.  203 

was  still  considered  Chancellor,  having  recovered  his  health,     chap. 
returned  to  Court  and  resumed  the  discharge  of  his  duties. 


XII. 


He  now  took  a  decided  part  against  the  Earl  of  Lancaster,   j^^  Salmon 
who,  become  generally  odious  by  his  violent  and  arbitrary  again  acts 
conduct,  had  raised  the  standard  of  revolt.    The  King,  acting  cellor. 
by  the  Chancellor's  advice,  displayed  more  energy  and  conduct   Chancellor 
at  this  juncture  than  during  any  other  part  of  his  reign.    Sud-   Eai-rof 
denly  collecting  an  army,  he  marched  against  the  rebels,  took  Lancaster, 
their  castles,  dispersed  their  forces,  got  possession  of  the  person   ■^''^''"1**'^ 
of  Lancaster,  tried  him  by  a  court-martial,  and  ordered  him   Lancaster, 
to  be  led  to  instant  execution.  ^^2^9^  ^^' 

But  the  Chancellor  in  vain  attempted  to  prevail  on  Edward   Edward's 
to  begin  a  new  plan  of  government,  on  the  principle  of  an  incurable 
impartial  administration  of  justice  to  all  his  subjects.     The  favourites, 
banished  Spensers  were  recalled  and  loaded  with  new  favours. 
Not  only  were  the  forfeitures  of  the  Lancastrian  party  be- 
stowed upon  them,  but  to  enrich  them,  royalist  barons  were 
stripped  of  manors  inherited  from  a  long  line  of  ancestors, 
and  the  insolence  of  the  younger  Spenser  was  enflamed  by 
success  to  a  pitch  insupportable  to  all  who  approached  him. 

The  Chancellor,  although  he  had  not  opposed  the  recall  of  Resigna- 
the  Spensers,  whose  banishment  had  taken  place  under  an  rhan/[f^ 
arbitrary  ordinance  of  the  Barons,  in  which  neither  the  Pre- 
lates nor  the  Commons  had  concurred,  strenuously  resisted 
the  influence  they  were  now  acquiring,  and  their  illegal  acts 
in  the  King's  name.  Finding  his  resistance  ineffectual,  he 
resolved  to  retire  from  political  life,  and  his  resignation  was 
hastened  by  a  severe  recurrence  of  his  former  malady.  He 
finally  resigned  the  Great  Seal  on  the  5th  of  June,  1323.* 
He  died  on  the  6th  of  July,  1325,  without  having  violated 
his  purpose  to  spend  the  rest  of  his  days  in  retirement.  He 
is  chiefly  celebrated  by  his  biographers  for  having  built  the 
hall  and  chapel  of  the  episcopal  palace  at  Norwich,  and  for 
having  settled  a  maintenance  for  four  priests  there  to  pray  for 
the  pardon  of  his  sins. 

The  Spensers  now  for  a  time  carried  every  thing  their  own 
way  without  the  slightest  check  to  their  authority,  and  they 

*  Rot.  Cl.  17  Ed.  2.  m.  39. 


204  EEIGN   OF   EDWARD   II. 

CHAP,     appointed  for  Chancellor  one  on  whose  fidelity,  pliancy,  and 
^'^'       zeal  they  entirely  relied,  Egbert  de  Baldock,  Archdeacon 
,„.,a     of  Middlesex. 

A.n.  131:3. 

lioBKRT  DK  Dreadful  storms  were  impending,  but  such  tranquillity  pre- 
Chancelbr  mailed  for  a  brief  space  as  allowed  the  usual  amusements  of 
the  King  to  proceed.  It  is  related  that  the  Court  being  at 
Windsor,  and  field  sports  going  on  in  which  the  new  Chan- 
cellor did  not  take  much  delight,  he  obtained  leave  from  the 
King  to  return  home  for  more  suitable  recreation.  Impatient 
to  escape,  he  delivered  the  Great  Seal  to  the  King,  while  his 
Majesty  was  engaged  in  hunting ;  and  when  the  chase  was 
over,  it  was  placed  in  the  custody  of  William  de  Ayremynne, 
then  Keeper  of  the  Privy  Seal.*  From  the  16th  of  No- 
vember till  the  12th  December  the  Chancellor  was  absent  on 
a  journey  to  York  to  treat  with  the  Scots,  during  which 
time  the  Great  Seal  was  in  the  keeping  of  Hichard  de  Ay- 
remynne, who  had  succeeded  his  brother  William  as  Master 
of  the  EoUs.f 
Cirii  war.  Soon  after  his  return  the  troubles  began  which  terminated 
fatally  for  him  as  well  as  his  royal  master.  Those  troubles 
were  mainly  caused  by  the  misconduct  of  Lord  Chancellor 
Baldock,  who  seems  to  have  been  a  very  profligate  man, 
and  to  have  been  unscrupulous  in  perverting  the  rules  of 
justice,  regardless  of  public  opinion,  and  reckless  as  to  con- 
sequences, so  long  as  he  gratified  the  royal  favourites.  It 
was  his  maladministration  which  made  the  nation  blind  to  the 
enormity  of  the  conduct  of  the  Queen,  now  combined  with 
Mortimer,  her  paramour,  against  the  King  her  husband. 
A.D  1326.  When  she  landed  in  Suffolk  with  her  small  army  from 
Queen!^'  "  Holland,  three  princes  of  the  blood,  the  Earls  of  Kent,  Nor- 
folk, and  Leicester,  joined  her,  with  all  their  followers. 
Three  Prelates,  the  Bishops  of  Ely,  Lincoln,  and  Hereford, 
brought  her  both  the  force  of  their  vassals,  and  the  authority 
of  their  character.  She  rallied  all  ranks  round  her  standard 
by  the  declaration  "  that  the  sole  purpose  of  her  enterprise 
was  to  free  the  King  and  kingdom  from  the  tyranny  of  the 

•   Rot.  Cl.  18  Ed.  2.  m.  38.  f   Rot.  Ci.  18  Ed.  2.  ra.  26. 


ROBERT  DE  BALDOCK,  CHANCELLOR.  205 

Spensers,  and  above  all  of  their  creature  Lord  Chancellor     chap. 
Baldock!"  ^^^• 


Edward,  after  ineffectually  trying  to  rouse  the  citizens  of  Oct.  1326. 
London  to  some  sense  of  duty,  having  departed  for  the  West,   TheBishop 
where  he  vainly  hoped  to  meet  with  a  better  reception,  the  beheaded 
rage  of  the  populace  broke  out  without  control  against  him  by  the  mob. 
and  his  ministers.    Having  seized  the  Bishop  of  Exeter,  a  loyal 
prelate,  as  he  was  passing  through  the  streets, — beheaded  him, 
and  thrown  his  body  into  the  river  Thames, — they  made 
themselves  masters  of  the  Tower,  in  the  hope  of  there  finding 
the  Chancellor,  whom  they  threatened  with  a  similar  fate; 
but  he  had  fled  to  the  King,  carrying  the  Great  Seal  along 
with  him. 

Before  long  Edward  was  a  prisoner  in  Kenilworth  Castle,   Dec.  1326. 
and  the  two  Spensers  and  Lord  Chancellor  Baldock  fell  into 
the  hands  of  the  insurgents.      Spenser,  the  father,  without   Fate  of  the 
form  of  trial,  was  immediately  condemned  to  death  by  the   Spensers. 
rebellious  Barons  and  hanged  on  a  gibbet,  his  head  being 
afterwards  set  on  a  pole,  and  exposed  to  the  insults  of  the 
populace.     The  younger  Spenser,  the  great  favourite  of  the 
King  and  patron  of  Baldock,  was  arraigned  before  Sir  William 
Trussel,  a  special  Justiciar,  and,  without  witness  or  proof  of 
any  sort,  sentence  of  death  was  instantly  pronounced  upon 
him.     The  learned  Judge's  address  to  this  prisoner  is  equally 
bitter  against  the  Chancellor,  and  shows  how  he  would  have 
been  dealt  with  had  he  been  a  layman  :  — 

"  Hugh,  your  father,  Robert  Baldock,  and  other  false  traitors   Sentence 
your  adherents,  taking  upon  you  royal  power,  you  caused  the  King   «"  younger 
to  withdraw  himself,  and  carried  him  out  of  the  realm,  to  the     P'^"*^'"* 
danger  of  his  body  and  dishonour  to  him  and  his  people,  felo- 
niously taking  with  you  the  treasure  of  the  realm,  contrary  to  the 
Great  Charter,     Hugh,  all  the  good  people  of  the  kingdom,  great 
and  small,  rich   and  poor,  by  common  assent  do  award  that  you 
are  found  as  a  thief,  and  therefore  shall  be  hanged,  and  are  found 
as  a  traitor,  and  therefore  shall  be  drawn  and  quartered ;  and  for 
that  you  have  been  outlawed  by  the  King  and  by  common  consent, 
and  returned  to  the  Court  without  warrant,  you  shall  be  beheaded  ; 
and  for  that  you  abetted  and  procured  discord  between  King  and 
Queen,  and  others  of  the  realm,  you  shall  be  embowelled  and  your 


206 


REIGN   OP    EDWARD   II. 


CHAP. 
XII. 

A.D.  1326. 
Chancellor 
Baldock 
seized  by 
the  mob, 
and  thrown 
into  New- 
gate. 

Dies  of  his 
wounds. 


Prince  Ed- 
ward 

chosen  Gus- 
tos of  the 
kingdom. 


Imprison- 
ment of 
Edward  II. 


bowels  burnt ;    and  so  go  to  your  judgment,  attainted,  wicked 
traitor!"* 

Baldock  being  a  priest,  he  could  not  with  safety  be  so 
suddenly  despatched ;  but  he  was  sent  to  the  Bishop  of  Here- 
ford's palace  in  London,  and  the  populace  were  informed  of 
his  arrival,  and  reminded  of  his  misdeeds.  As  his  relentless 
enemies  foresaw,  the  palace  was  broken  open  by  a  riotous 
mob, — he  was  seized,  and,  after  many  indignities,  thrown  into 
Newgate, — where  he  soon  after  expired  from  the  cruel  usage 
he  had  sustained.  There  seems  a  considerable  resemblance 
between  his  fate  and  that  of  his  successor.  Lord  Chancellor 
JeiFreys,  at  a  distance  of  360  years ;  but,  though  not  charge- 
able with  the  same  degree  of  cruelty,  his  systematic  perversion 
of  justice  had  excited  a  still  greater  degree  of  resentment 
against  him,  or  the  rage  of  the  people  would  have  given  way 
to  their  reverence  for  the  sacerdotal  character.  He  had 
reached  no  higher  dignity  in  the  Church  than  Archdeacon  of 
Middlesex.  When  he  received  the  Great  Seal  a  few  months 
before,  he  no  doubt  confidently  expected  that  he  should  long 
hold  it,  and  that  it  would  lead  to  the  primacy. 

On  the  20th  of  October,  1326,  the  King  having  gone 
away  with  Hugh  le  Despenser  to  Ireland,  and  left  the  realm 
without  any  government,  the  prelates,  earls,  barons,  and 
knights  assembled  at  Bristol,  and  chose  Edward,  the  King's 
son,  Custos  of  the  kingdom  whilst  his  father  continued  ab- 
sent. On  the  same  day  the  Prince  assumed  the  government, 
and  issued  the  necessary  legal  proceedings  under  his  privy 
seal,  "  because  he  had  no  other  seal  for  the  purpose." 

When  the  King  returned  from  Ireland  he  found  himself 
already  dethroned.  The  Queen  was  now  in  the  enjoyment  of 
supreme  power.  She  kept  her  husband  in  close  confinement, 
hypocritically  pretending  to  lament  his  misfortunes.  She  pre- 
tended to  associate  the  Prince  her  son  with  herself  in  the 
government;  and  she  contrived  to  get  the  Great  Seal  into 
her  possession,  —  which  considerably  facilitated  her  proceed- 
ings, for  less  respect  was  paid  by  the  multitude  to  the  privy 
seal,  which  she  had  hitherto  used. 


•   1  St.  Tr.  36. 


EDWARD   II.    DEPOSED.  207 

The  Bishop  of  Hereford  was  sent  to  the  King,  at  Kenil-     CHAP, 
worth,  with  a  deceitful  message,  to  request  that  he  would 


give  such  directions  respecting  the  Great  Seal,  as  were  ^  ^  ^^^e. 
necessary  for  the  conservation  of  the  peace,  and  the  due  King  sends 
administration  of  justice.  The  King,  without  friend  or  ad-  to  Queen, 
viser,  said  he  would  send  the  Seal  to  his  Queen  and  son, 
not  only  for  these  purposes,  but  likewise  for  matters  of  grace. 
He  then  handed  the  Great  Seal  to  Sir  William  le  Blount, 
who,  on  the  30th  of  November,  delivered  It  to  the  Queen 
and  the  Prince ;  but  the  Queen  had  the  uncontrolled  domi- 
nion over  it.  She  pretended  to  hand  it  over  to  Ayremynne, 
the  Master  of  the  Rolls,  as  Keeper,  and  she  employed  it  to 
summon  a  parliament  at  Westminster,  in  her  husband's  name, 
for  the  purpose  of  deposing  him.  According  to  the  tenour  of 
the  writs  under  the  Great  Seal,  the  parliament  was  to  be 
held  before  the  King,  if  he  should  be  present;  and  if  not, 
before  Isabel,  the  Queen-consort,  and  Edward,  the  King's 
son. 

The  sympathies  of  the  people  beginning  to  be  excited  in  Queen's 
favour  of  the  King,  and  her  scandalous  commerce  with  Mor-  ^^°^^  *™^" 
timer  being  published  to  the  world,  she  was  under  some  ap- 
prehension of  a  counter-revolution;  but  she  uttered  a  pro- 
clamation, setting  forth  the  misgovernment  of  the  Spensers 
and  the  late  Lord  Chancellor  Baldock,  to  the  great  injury  of 
Holy  Church  and  the  dishonour  of  the  King  and  his  heirs, 
and  she  gathered  a  strong  army  round  her  to  overawe  the 
metropolis. 

At  the  parliament  which  met  on  the  7th  of  January,  1327,  Edward  ir. 
no  Chancellor  was  present.     Adam  de  Orleton,  Bishop  of    ^^"^^  ' 
Hereford,  acted  as  Prolocutor,  and  put  the  memorable  ques- 
tion to  the  assembled  Lords  and  Commons,  — "  Whether 
King  Edward  the  father,  or  his  son  Edward,  should  reign 
over  them  ?  " 

The  articles  against  the  King  contained  no  specific  charge 
of  misrule  to  give  any  colour  to  the  proposed  deposition,  and 
no  proof  was  adduced  in  support  of  them.  Nevertheless,  no 
one  ventured  to  raise  a  voice  in  his  behalf;  and  a  deputation 
sent  to  Kenilworth  extorted  from  him  a  resignation  of  the 
Crown.      Then  Sir  William  Trussel,  of  whose  oratory  we 


208 


REIGN   OF   EDWARD   II. 


CHAP. 
XII. 

A.D.  1327. 


Murder  of 
Edward  II. 


Adam  be 
Orleton 
acts  as 
Chancellor. 

His  equi- 
vocal line 
respecting 
the  murder 
of  the 
King. 


Origin  of 
office  of 
Master  of 
the  Rolls. 


have  had  a  specimen,  in  the  name  of  the  whole  Parliament, 
renounced  their  allegiance  in  the  following  form : — 

"  I,  William  Trussel,  procurator  of  the  prelates,  earls,  and 
barons,  and  other  people  in  mj  procuracy  named,  having  for  this 
full  and  sufficient  power,  do  surrender  and  deliver  up  to  you, 
Edward,  heretofore  King  of  England,  the  homage  and  fealty  of  the 
persons  in  my  procuracy  named,  &c. ;  and  do  make  this  protestation 
in  the  name  of  all  those  that  will  not,  for  the  future,  be  in  your 
fealty  or  allegiance,  nor  claim  to  hold  any  thing  of  you  as  King, 
but  account  you  as  a  private  person,  without  any  manner  of  royal 
dignity." 

On  the  20th  of  January,  1327,  the  deposition  of  Ed- 
ward 11.  being  completed,  Edward  III.,  then  a  youth  of 
fourteen  years  of  age,  was  proclaimed  King,  and  was  sup- 
posed to  begin  his  reign,  although  it  was  not  till  the  21st  of 
September  following  that,  in  Berkeley  Castle,  were  heard  the 
agonising  shrieks  caused  by  the  horrid  deed  of  Gournay  and 
Montravers. 

Without  any  formal  appointment  as  Chancellor,  after  the 
death  of  Baldock,  Adam  de  Orleton,  Bishop  of  Hereford, 
must  be  considered  as  having  acted  in  that  capacity  under 
the  Queen.  He  is  famous  not  only  for  having  conducted  the 
proceedings  in  parliament  on  the  deposition  of  Edward,  but 
for  being  supposed  to  have  counselled  his  murder  by  the 
equivocal  line  which  he  composed  and  sent  to  his  keepers, 

"  Edwardum  occidere  nolite  timere;  —  bonum  est." 

although  he  contended  that  his  words,  by  a  proper  punc- 
tuation or  pause,  conveyed  a  strong  injunction  against 
regicide.* 

No  important  change  was  introduced  into  the  law  during 
the  reign  of  Edward  II.,  but  the  institutions  of  his  father 
were  steadily  maintained  by  his  successive  Chancellors,  and 
having  stood  the  shock  of  such  convulsions,  might  now  be 
considered  permanently  established  for  the  administration  of 
justice  in  England.  It  has  been  suggested  that  the  office  of 
Master  of  the  Rolls,  so  nearly  connected  with  that  of  Chan- 
cellor, was  now  created,  and  that  William  de  Ayremynne  was 


*  Edwardum  occidere  nolite ;  —  timere  bonum  est. 


ADAM  DE  OKLETON,  CHANCELLOE.  209 

the  first  who  bore  that  title*;    but  John  de  Langton  had     chap. 

.    •  •  XII 

been  called  "  Custos  Rotulorum  Cancellariae  Domini  Regis."  f 

Adam  de  Osgodebey  is  expressly  stated  to  have  filled  the  ^  ^  1337. 
office  in  the  same  reign,  and  as  there  were  clerks  in  the 
Chancery  from  the  most  remote  antiquity  to  assist  the  Chan- 
cellor, who  were  afterwards  denominated  '*  Masters  in  Chan- 
cery," I  have  little  doubt  that  the  senior  or  chief  of  them  had 
for  ages  before  had  the  particular  care  of  the  records  of  the 
Court,  and  being  so  often  intrusted  with  the  custody  of  the 
Seal  in  the  Chancellor's  absence,  had  gradually  been  permitted 
to  act  as  his  deputy. 

Towards  the  conclusion  of  this  reign,   under  Lord  Chan-   Complaints 
cellor  Baldock,  there  were  heavy  complaints  in  parliament  of  J||ent  orihe 
the  delays  of  justice,  and  that  when  petitions  for  redress  were   Court  of 
presented  to  parliament,  they  were  sometimes  referred  to  the 
King  and  sometimes  to  the  Chancellor,  without  any  thing 
being  ever  done  upon  them.  | 

From  petitions  and  answers  lately  discovered,  it  appears  jurisdic- 
that  during  this  reign  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Court  of  Chan-  ^'^5°"^°^;*!'^ 
eery  was  considerably  extended,  and  the  "  Consuetudo  Can-  reign  of 
cellarije"  is  often  familiarly  mentioned.     We  find  petitions 
referred  to  the  Chancellor  in  his  Court,  either  separately  or 
in  conjunction  with  the  King's  Justices  or  the  King's  Ser- 
jeants—  on  disputes  respecting  the  wardship  of  infants,  par- 
tition, dower,  rent-charges,  tithes,  and  goods  of  felons.     The 
Chancellor  was  in  full   possession    of   his  jurisdiction    over 
charities,    and   he    superintended    the    conduct    of  coroners. 
Mere  wrongs,  such  as  malicious  prosecutions  and  trespasses  to 
personal  property,  are  sometimes  the  subject  of  proceedings 
before  him ;  but  I  apprehend  that  those  were  cases  where, 
from  powerful  combinations  and  confederacies,  redress  could 
not  be  obtained  in  the  courts  of  common  law. 

There  was  now  and  during  some  succeeding  reigns  the 
exercise  of  a  prerogative  of  the  Crown  vested  in  the  Court  of 

•   Reeve's  Hist,  of  the  Law,  vol.  ii.  p.  362. 

f  See  Discourse  on  Office  of  M.  R. 

j  Et  auxint  Sire  firent  vos  liges  gentz  que  par  la  ou  ils  ont  liote  leur  avant 
lour  petitions  au  diverses  parliamentz  des  divcrses  grievances  et  les  unes  sont 
ajournes  devant  le  Roi,  et  les  autres  devant  le  Chancellier  dount  nul  issue  n'est 
fait  q'il  plaise  a  vautre  haute  seignurie  comander  remedie.  Resp.  II  plest  au 
Roi.  — Par.  Rol.  19  Ed.  2.  i.  430. 

VOL.  I.  P 


210  REIGN   OF   EDWARD   II. 

CHAP.     Chancery,  which  we  should  have  expected  to  find  reserved 
^^^"       for   the    King's  executive  government,   viz.    the   power   of 
Letters  of    granting  letters  of  marque  and  reprisals  against  the  subjects 
marqueand  of  a  foreign  state  that  refused  to  render  justice  to  the  subjects 
PluSd'by    of  the  Crown  of  England.*     Thus,  in  2  Edward  II.,  certain 
Chancellor.  English  merchants  plundered   by  Flemish   pirates,  not  ob- 
taining redress  from  the  Earl  of  Flanders,  they  petitioned 
the  King,  and  they  were  referred  by  him  to  the  Court  of  Chan- 
cery, there  to  pursue   their   remedy  as  was  accustomed  in 
similar  cases,  f     Again,  in  the  8th  year  of  this  reign,  Adam 
le  Clerk,  having  complained  that  his  ship  and  merchandise 
had  been  captured  and  carried  into  the  town  of  Perth  in 
Scotland,  it  is  ordered  that  he  should  apply  to  the  Chancellor, 
and   that  justice  should  be  done  to  him   according   to   the 
custom  of  the  Chancery.  | 
Year  Now  begins  the  series  of  reports  of  cases  decided  in  the 

Books.  .  . 

superior  courts,  the  grand  repertory  of  law  in  England ;  but 
the  "  Year  Books"  are  now  rather  curious  for  their  antiquity 
than  valuable  for  their  contents,  being  chiefly  the  notes 
taken  by  the  reporters  in  Court,  without  being  properly 
digested  or  revised. 

In  the  9th  year  of  the  King,  while  Sandale  was  Chancellor, 
was  passed  a  statute,  still  acted  upon,  by  which  it  was  enacted 
that  Sheriflfe  who  were  formally  chosen  by  the  freeholders, 
should  be  assigned  by  the  Chancellor  and  Judges,  and  the 
power  of  appointing  them  was  vested  in  the  Crown.  § 

At  the  close  of  the  reign,  at  the  Parliament  held  under 
Lord  Chancellor  Baldock,  the  statute  "  De  Prei'ogativa  Regis" 
was  passed,  giving  to  the  King  the  profits  of  the  lands  of 
idiots  II,  the  probable  foundation  of  the  Lord  Chancellor's 
jurisdiction  in  lunacy  under  the  royal  sign-manual. 

The  only  law  book  imputed  to  this  reign  is  the  "  Mirror  of 

*  It  appears  from  Grotiiis  and  Puffendorf,  that  down  to  their  time  letters  of 
reprisal  were  considered  rather  in  the  nature  of  a  private  remedy,  and  did  not 
by  any  means  amount  to  war  betweea  two  nations.  The  capture  was  rather  in 
the  nature  of  a  security  to  obtain  justice. 

t  Hesp.  "  Adeaiit  Cancellariam  et  perquirant  remedium  sicut  consuevit  fieri 
m  consimilibus  caslbus,  secundum  formam  petitionis." 

X  llesp.  "  Sequatur  in  Cancel!,  et  ostendat  processum  inde  habitum  et  literas 
testimon.  si  quas  habeat  de  defen.  exhibitionls  justitiae  et  tunc  sequatur  secun- 
dum processum,  &c.,  et  fiat  ei  justitia  secundum  consuetudinem  Cancellari*." 

§  9  Ed.  2.  Stat.  2.  II  17  Ed.  2.  c.  9. 


STATE    OF    THE    LAW.  211 

Justices,"  which,  though  often  quoted  by  Lord  Coke,  is  a     chap. 

wretched  compilation,   and  shows  an  increasing  degeneracy    ' 

among  English  juridical  writers. 

The  Chancellors  were  still  all  churchmen,  and  from  this   Establish- 
order  only  could  good  lawyers  hitherto  be  selected  ;  but  there   inns  of 
was  now  rising  up  a  class  of  laymen  who,  devoting  them-   Court, 
selves  to  the   study  of  the  municipal  law  of  England,  and 
educated  at  the  Hostels  or  Inns  of  Court  (of  which  Lincoln's 
Inn   then  was,   and   ever   has   continued   to   be,  the  most 
eminent*,)   were   attracting   public  consideration   and   con- 
fidence,  and  from  among  whom,    in   the  succeeding  reign. 
Chancellors  were  chosen,  to  the  great  content  of  the  nation. 

*  The  Society  of  Lincoln's  Inn  was  founded  in  the  commencement  of  this 
reign,  under  the  patronage  of  William  Earl  of  Lincoln,  who,  for  the  accommo- 
dation of  the  men)bers,  gave  up  to  them  his  hostel,  which  he  held  under  the 
Bishops  of  Chichester. 


p  2 


212 


REIGN  OF   EDWARD  III. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


CHANCELLORS  AND  KEEPERS  OF  THE  GREAT  SEAL  FROM  THE 
COMMENCEMENT  OF  THE  REIGN  OF  EDWARD  HI.  TILL  THE  AP- 
POINTMENT OF  SIR  RICHARD  BOURCHIER,  THE  FIRST  LAY  LORD 
CHANCELLOR. 


CHAP. 
XIII. 

Jan.  25. 

1327. 

John  de 

Hotham 

again 

Cliancellor. 


His  death 
and  cha- 
racter. 


Henry 
DK  Bdrg- 

HEKSH, 

Chancellor. 


The  Parliament  which  continued  irregularly  to  sit  under 
writs  issued  in  the  name  of  Edward  II.,  commenced  the  new 
reign  by  the  appointment  of  a  council  of  regency,  consisting 
of  twelve  persons — five  prelates  and  seven  temporal  peers  — 
with  the  Earl  of  Lancaster  as  President  or  Protector; — and 
John  de  Hotham,  Bishop  of  Ely,  was  called  from  his  retreat 
to  be  made  Chancellor.  But  he  only  consented  to  hold  the 
office  till  a  settlement  of  the  kingdom  should  take  place  ;  and 
he  finally  resigned  it  on  the  1st  of  March  following. 

In  this  interval  acts  of  parliament  were  passed  indem- 
nifying the  Queen  and  her  partisans  for  all  they  had  done, 
and  enabling  them  to  carry  on  the  government  in  the  name 
of  the  young  King.  As  yet  all  went  smoothly,  for  he 
was  not  of  competent  age  to  understand  the  wrongs  done  to 
his  father,  his  mother's  shame,  or  the  usurpation  of  his  own 
rights. 

Hotham  joyfully  returned  to  his  diocese,  where  he  occu- 
pied himself  in  repairing  and  ornamenting  the  cathedral,  till 
he  was  struck  with  the  palsy.  After  being  bed-ridden  two 
years,  he  died  in  1336.  He  is  said  to  have  been  pious,  and 
naturally  shrewd,  though  of  little  knowledge  acquired  from 
books.  He  is  gratefully  remembered  by  his  successors  in 
the  see  of  Ely  for  the  princely  munificence  with  which  he 
enriched  it. 

Till  the  12th  of  May  the  Great  Seal  remained  in  the 
keeping  of  Henry  de  ClyfF,  Master  of  the  Rolls ;  and  on  that 
day  it  was  delivered  to  Henry  de  Burghersh,  or  Bur- 


HENRY  DE  BURGHERSH,  CHANCELLOR.  213 

WASH,  as  Chancellor.*     He  was  of  noble  birth,  and  nephew     CHAP. 

XIT I 

of  Bartholomew  de  Badislimer,  Baron  of  Leeds,  a  man  of 


great  power  and  fame  in  the  reign  of  Edward  II.  Having  ^  ^  ^^^7. 
been  educated  at  Oxford, — in  1320,  while  yet  a  young  man, 
he  obtained,  through  his  uncle's  interest,  the  rich  bishopric  of 
Lincoln.  He  soon  after  quarrelled  with  the  King,  and  the 
temporalities  of  his  see  were  sequestered.  They  were  re- 
stored in  1324,  and  he  was  again  taken  into  favour  at  court. 
But  he  subsequently  took  the  Queen's  part  against  her  hus- 
band, and  was  active  in  bringing  about  the  ruin  of  this 
unhappy  prince.  Along  with  the  other  chief  conspirators,  he 
was  promoted  at  the  commencement  of  the  new  reign,  and 
enjoyed  power  till  the  young  King  discovered  their  plots  and 
avenged  the  memory  of  his  father. 

The  Great  Seal  of  Edward  II.,  which  had  likewise  been  New  Great 
that  of  Edward  I.,  continued  to  be  used  till  the  5th  day  of 
October,    1327,  when   a  new  Great  Seal,  with  the  effigies 
and  style  of  Edward  III.,  was  put  into  the  hands  of  the 
Chancellor.f 

The  business  of  the  parliament  being  finished,  he  accom- 
panied the  Queen-mother  to  Berwick.  During  his  absence 
the  Seal  was  left  with  the  Master  of  the  Rolls,  and  it  was 
restored  to  him  on  his  return  to  court.  He  went  abroad  with 
the  King  on  the  26th  of  May,  1329,  and  returned  on  the 
11th  of  June  following,  still  confident  of  continuing  pros- 
perity. 

But  the  termination  of  his  official  career  was  at  hand.  Temporary 
Mortimer,  the  paramour  of  Isabella,  had  quarrelled  with  the  ^'^Mor*"*^^ 
Earl  of  Lancaster  and  the  Princes  of  the  blood,  and  had  timer. 


*  Rot,  Cl.  2  Ed.  3.  m.  26. 

t  Rot.  Cl.  1  Ed.  3.  m.  11.  "When  the  King  dies,  the  Great  Seal  of  the 
last  King  continues  the  Great  Seal  of  England  till  another  be  made  and  deli- 
vered. Edward  III.,  who  began  his  reign  25th  January,  on  the  3d  of  October 
following  directed  a  proclamation  to  all  the  sheriffs  of  England,  signifying  that 
he  had  made  a  new  Great  Seal,  sent  them  an  impression  of  the  new  seal  in  wax, 
and  commanded  them,  after  the  4th  of  October,  to  receive  no  writs  but  under  the 
new  Seal.  On  the  4th  of  October,  being  Sunday,  the  Bishop  of  Ely,  Chancellor, 
producing  the  new  Seal,  declares  the  King's  pleasure  that  it  should  be  from 
thenceforth  used.  The  Monday  after  the  old  Seal  is  broken,  prmcipiente  rege, 
and  the  pieces  delivered  to  the   Spigurnel." — 1  Hale's  Pleas  of  the  Crown,  176. 

The  Spigurnel  was  an  officer  whose  place  was  to  seal  the  King's  writs Camb. 

Rem.    26. 

P  3 


214 


REIGN   OF    EDWARD   III. 


CHAP. 
Xlll. 


A.D.  1330. 
Edward 
III.  seizes 
the  reins  of 
govern- 
ment. 


Nov.  1330. 
A  parlia- 
ment. 


King's 
speecli. 


Burgliersh 
dismissed. 
Nov.  28. 
1330. 


made  a  victim  of  the  Earl  of  Kent,  the  King's  uncle.  For  a 
short  time  Mortimer  enjoyed  a  sort  of  dictatorship.  He 
threw  the  Earl  of  Lancaster  into  prison,  and  prosecuted 
many  of  the  prelates  and  nobility.  The  immense  fortunes 
of  the  Spensers  and  their  adherents  were  mostly  converted 
to  his  own  use.  He  affected  a  state  and  dignity  not  inferior 
to  the  royal.  His  power  became  formidable  to  every  one, 
and  all  parties,  forgetting  past  animosities,  conspired  in  a 
Avish  for  his  overthrow. 

Edward,  now  in  his  18th  year,  feeling  himself  capable  of 
governing,  repined  at  his  insignificance,  and  resolved  to  free 
himself  from  the  fetters  of  this  insolent  minister.  By  an  ex- 
traordinary combination  of  courage  and  dexterity  on  the  part 
of  Mortimer's  enemies,  the  minion  was  seized  in  the  castle  of 
Nottingham,  in  an  apartment  adjoining  the  Queen-dowager's, 
at  a  moment  when  he  thought  himself  absolute  and  perma- 
nent master  of  the  kingdom. 

A  parliament  was  immediately  summoned,  before  which 
he  was  accused  of  having  procured  the  death  of  the  late 
King,  and  of  various  other  crimes,  and  upon  the  supposed 
notoriety  of  the  facts, — without  hearing  his  answer,  or  ex- 
amining a  witness,  he  was  convicted  and  executed. 

Instead  of  the  Chancellor,  the  young  King  himself  is  said 
to  have  made  a  speech  at  the  opening  of  this  parliament, 
complaining  much  of  the  conduct  of  the  Queen  and  Mor- 
timer, and  intimating  that  with  the  consent  of  his  subjects,  he 
designed  to  take  the  reins  of  government  into  his  own  hands.* 

Burghersh  being  an  ecclesiastic,  was  safe  from  corporal 
punishment,  but  he  was  deprived  of  the  Great  Sealf,  and  on 
the  day  before  Mortimer's  execution  it  was  intrusted  to  John 
DE  Stratford  I,  Bishop  of  Winchester,  by  whose  advice  the 


•   I  Pari.  Hist.  83. 

t  One  of  the  charges  against  him  was  the  abuse  of  his  ecclesiastical  patronage. 
It  seems  the  livings  in  the  Chancellor's  gift  were  intended  as  a  provision  for  the 
clerks  of  the  different  courts  of  justice  who  were  then  all  in  orders,  and  that 
Burghersh  had  been  in  the  habit  of  selling  them  or  giving  them  to  favourites ; 
whereupon  an  order  was  made  by  parliament,  that  "  the  Chancellor  should  give 
the  hvmgs  in  his  gift,  rated  at  twenty  marks  and  under,  to  the  King's  clerks  in 
Chancery,  the  Exchequer  and  the  two  Benches,  according  to  usage,  and  to 
none  others."— Rolls,  4  Ed.  3.  vol.  ii.  136. 

t    Rot.  CI.  4  Ed.  3.  m.  20. 


JOHN   DE   STRATFORD,    CHANCELLOR.  21 

young  King  had  acted  in   bringing  about   this   revolution,     chap. 
The  Ex-chancellor  died  In  exile  at  Ghent  about  ten  years  ' 


after.     It  is  said  that  "  he  was  a  covetous  man,  and  easily   His  exile 
abused  his  power  to  the  oppressing  of  his  neighbours."*  and  death. 

The  new  Chancellor  was  a  native  of  Stratford  in  Essex,  .Tohn  de 
from  which  place  he  took  his  name  according  to  the  custom  chancellor' 
of  the  age.  He  and  his  brother  Robert,  of  whom  we  shall 
have  to  speak  very  soon,  were  instances  then  not  uncommon 
of  persons  of  talents,  enterprise,  and  perseverance,  raising 
themselves  from  obscurity  to  the  highest  offices  in  the  state. 
He  studied  at  Oxford,  and  there  acquired  great  reputation  His  origin 
for  his  proficiency  in  the  civil  and  canon  law.  It  is  curious  ^^^^^  "*^*' 
to  observe  that  the  law  in  those  times,  not  less  than  in  the 
present,  was  the  great  avenue  for  new  men  to  political  ad- 
vancement. In  the  struggle  for  power  which  was  ever  going 
on,  those  who  were  distinguished  for  their  learning  and  their 
subtlety  were  found  useful  to  the  Crown,  to  the  barons,  and 
to  the  great  ecclesiastics  —  were  confidentially  employed  by 
them  on  occasions  of  difficulty,  and  were  rewarded  with  eccle- 
siastical and  temporal  offices  in  which  they  had  often  more 
influence  than  the  great  hereditary  nobles.f  John  de  Strat- 
ford was  early  promoted  to  the  deanery  of  Lincoln,  and 
giving  earnest  of  the  talents  which  he  afterwards  displayed, 
he  was  promoted  to  the  judicial  office  of  Dean  of  the  Arches, 
which  has  continued  down  to  our  own  times  to  be  filled  by 
men  of  the  greatest  learning  and  ability.  Here  he  showed 
such  knowledge  of  the  laws,  and  such  judgment  and  prudence 
in  deciding  causes,  that  he  was  made  a  Privy  Councillor  to 
Edward  II.,  and  was  admitted  to  an  important  share  in  the 
government  of  the  kingdom. 

In  1323  he  was  sent  ambassador  to  the  Pope,  then  es-  Ambas- 
tablished  at  Avignon,  to  settle  various  points  of  controversy   p^  ^_ 
of  great  delicacy,  which  had  arisen  between  the  Crown  of 
England  and  his  Holiness.     It  happened  that  at  that  time 
the  Bishop  of  Winchester  died,  and  the  Pope,  at  the  earnest 

*   See  L.  C.  26, 

I  The  two  Stratfords,  who  successively  held  the  office  of  Lord  Chancellor  in 
the  14th  century,  may  aptly  be  compared  to  the  two  Scotts,  Lord  Eldon  and 
Lord  Stowell,  in  the  1 9th. 

P  4 


216 


REIGN   OF   EDWARD   III. 


CHAP. 
XIII. 


His  rise  till 

appointed 

Chancellor. 


Punish, 
ment  of 
Queen 
Isabella. 


Measures 
to  restore 
internal 
tranquil- 
lity. 


Court  of 
Chancery 
becomes 
stationary. 


request  of  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  without  the  sanction 
of  the  King,  somewhat  irregularly  consecrated  his  Excellency 
the  English  minister  Bishop  of  the  vacant  see. 

Baldoek,  then  Lord  Chancellor,  having  intended  this  pre- 
ferment for  himself,  was  mortally  offended,  and  took  violent 
steps  to  prevent  the  new  Bishop  from  deriving  any  benefit 
from  the  elevation.  A  very  severe  proclamation  was  issued 
against  Stratford  in  the  name  of  the  King,  *'so  that  none 
should  harbour  or  relieve  him,"  and  the  fruits  of  the  bishopric 
were  confiscated  to  the  Crown.  The  Pope  and  the  Arch- 
bishop, however,  still  befriended  him,  and  Baldock's  influence 
declining,  he  was  again  taken  into  favour  and  employed  in 
several  important  embassies.  In  the  last  year  of  Edward  11. 
he  was  made  Lord  Treasurer,  and  he  adhered  with  great 
constancy  and  zeal  to  his  unhappy  master.  Probably  this 
was  the  reason  why,  when  the  regicides  were  punished 
and  the  youthful  Sovereign  took  upon  himself  the  govern- 
ment of  the  realm,  Stratford  was  appointed  to  the  office  of 
Chancellor. 

Lender  his  advice  the  Queen-mother  was  confined  to  her 
own  house  at  Castle-Rising :  and  to  prevent  her  from  again 
forming  a  party  which  might  be  formidable  to  the  Sovereign, 
her  revenue  was  reduced  to  4000Z.  a-year,  so  that  she  was 
never  able  to  reinstate  herself  in  any  credit  or  authority. 

Effective  measures  were  taken  to  restore  order  and  tran- 
quillity throughout  the  realm.  Writs  under  the  Great  Seal 
were  directed  to  the  Judges,  enjoining  them  to  administer 
justice  without  paying  any  regard  to  the  arbitrary  orders 
they  might  receive  from  any  great  men  or  officers  of  state. 
As  robbers,  thieves,  murderers,  and  criminals  of  all  kinds,  had 
during  the  late  convulsions  multiplied  to  an  enormous  degree, 
and  they  sometimes  enjoyed  high  protection,  a  promise  was 
exacted  from  the  Peers  in  parliament  that  they  would  break 
off  all  connection  with  such  malefactors ;  and  the  ministers  of 
justice  were  urged  to  employ  the  utmost  diligence  in  dis- 
covering, pursuing,  and  punishing  them. 

There  was  likewise  introduced  about  this  time  a  great  im- 
provement in  the  administration  of  justice,  by  rendering  the 
Court  of  Chancery  stationary  at  Westminster.     The  ancient 


JOHN   DE    STEATFORD,    CHANCELLOR. 


217 


kings  of  England  were  constantly  migrating,  —  one  principal     ^^.^F' 

reason  for  which  was,  that  the  same  part  of  the  country,  even  

with  the  aid  of  purveyance  and  pre-emption,  could  not  long 
support  the  Court  and  all  the  royal  retainers,  and  the  render 
in  kind  due  to  the  King  could  be  best  consumed  on  the  spot. 
Therefore,  if  he  kept  Christmas  at  Westminster,  he  would 
keep  Easter  at  Winchester,  and  Pentecost  at  Gloucester, 
visiting  his  many  palaces  and  manors  in  rotation.  The 
Aula  Regis,  and  afterwards  the  courts  into  which  it  was 
partitioned,  were  ambulatory  along  with  him  —  to  the  great 
vexation  of  the  suitors.  This  grievance  was  partly  corrected 
by  Magna  Charta,  which  enacted  that  the  Court  of  Com- 
mon Pleas  should  be  held  "  in  a  certain  place,"  —  a  corner 
of  Westminster  Hall  being  fixed  upon  for  that  purpose.  In 
point  of  law,  the  Court  of  King's  Bench  and  the  Court  of 
Chancery  may  still  be  held  in  any  county  of  England,  — 
"  wheresoever  in  England  the  King  or  the  Chancellor  may 
be."  Down  to  the  commencement  of  the  reign  of  Edward  III., 
the  King's  Bench  and  the  Chancery  actually  had  continued 
to  follow  the  King's  person,  the  Chancellor  and  his  officers 
being  entitled  to  part  of  the  purveyance  made  for  the  royal 
household.  By  28  Edw.  1.  c.  5.,  the  Lord  Chancellor  and 
the  Justices  of  the  King's  Bench  were  ordered  to  follow  the 
King,  so  that  he  might  have  at  all  times  hear  him  sages  of  the 
law  able  to  advise  him.  But  the  two  Courts  were  now  by 
the  King's  command  fixed  in  the  places  where,  unless  on  a 
few  extraordinary  occasions,  they  continued  to  be  held  down 
to  our  own  times,  at  the  upper  end  of  Westminster  Hall, 
the  King's  Bench  on  the  left  hand,  and  the  Chancery  on 
the  right,  both  remaining  open  to  the  Hall,  and  a  bar  being  » 
erected  to  keep  oiF  the  multitude  from  pressing  on  the 
Judges. 

The  Chancellor,  on  account  of  his  superior  dignity,  had  Marble 
placed  for  him  a  great  marble  table,  to  which  there  was  an  ^^i,]^  ;„ 
ascent  by  five  or  six  steps,  with  a  marble  chair  by  the  side  of  Court  of 

Chsnccr  V 

it.  On  this  table  writs  and  letters  patent  were  sealed  in  the 
presence  of  the  Chancellor  sitting  in  the  marble  chair.  Here 
he  received  and  examined  the  petitions  addressed  to  him. 


218 


REIGN   OF   EDWARD   III. 


CHAP. 
XIII. 

AD.   1331. 


A  parlia- 
ment. 

Questions 
put  to  par- 
liament by 
the  Chan- 
cellor. 


Chancellor 
returns 
from  em- 
bassy. 

A.D.  1332, 


On  the  appointment  of  a  new  Chancellor,  he  was  inaugurated 
by  being  placed  in  this  chair.* 

John  de  Stratford  continued  Chancellor  under  his  first 
appointment  nearly  four  years,  during  which  time  he  appears 
to  have  been  almost  constantly  absorbed  in  political  business, 
and  to  have  hardly  ever  attended  personally  to  the  judicial 
duties  of  his  office.  From  the  4th  to  the  20th  of  April,  1331, 
he  was  in  Normandy  with  the  King. 

In  the  year  1331,  a  parliament  met  at  Westminster,  the 
day  after  Michaelmas-day.  The  Chancellor  declared  the 
cause  of  the  summons,  and  applied  himself  to  the  prelates, 
earls,  and  barons  for  their  advice,  whether  they  thought  it 
best  for  the  King  to  proceed  by  war  or  by  an  amicable  treaty 
with  the  King  of  France  for  the  restitution  of  Aquitaine  ?  f 
The  parliament  agreed  to  the  latter  as  the  least  dangerous 
process,  and  the  Chancellor,  accompanied  by  the  Bishops  of 
Worcester  and  Norwich,  and  others,  went  on  an  embassy  to 
the  court  of  France  for  this  purpose.  They  set  sail  on  the 
21st  of  November,  and  succeeded  in  preserving  for  a  time  the 
relations  of  amity  between  the  two  nations. 

The  Chancellor's  return  is  not  recorded,  but  it  must  have 
been  before  the  12th  of  March  in  the  following  year,  for  on 
that  day  a  new  parliament  was  opened  at  Westminster  by  a 
speech  from  him,  in  which  he  intimated  that  the  King  wished 
for  the  advice  of  the  parliament  "  whether  he  should  comply 
with  a  request  from  the  King  of  France  and  many  other 
kings  and  princes,  to  accompany  them  to  the  Holy  Land 
against  the  common  enemy  of  Christendom?"!  A  subject  of 
greater  urgency  on  which  the  advice  of  parliament  was  asked 
was,  "  whether  the  King  might  go  over  to  the  French  court 
to  settle  in  person  the  differences  between  the  two  crowns?" 


*  The  marble  table  and  chair  are  said  to  have  been  displaced  when  the  Court 
was  covered  in  from  the  Hall.  But  till  the  Courts  were  finally  removed  out 
of  Westminster  Hail,  there  were  easy  means  of  communication  between  the 
Chancery  and  King's  Bench,  which  enabled  Sir  Thomas  More  to  ask  his  father's 
blessing  in  the  one  Court  before  he  took  his  seat  in  the  other  ;  and  I  myself 
remember,  when  a  student  of  law,  that  if  the  Chancellor  rose  while  the  King's 
Bench  was  sitting,  a  curtain  was  drawn  and  the  Judges  saluted  him  —  Orig. 
Jurid.  tit.  "  Chancery."  In  the  "  Lives  of  Lord  Clarendon,  &c.,"  published  in 
1712,  It  is  said,  "  This  marble  table  is  now  covered  with  the  Courts  there 
erected,  to  which  there  are  four  or  five  steps  to  go  up." 

t  1  Pari.  Hist.  88.  \  Ibid.  89. 


JOHN   DE    STRATFORD,    CHANCELLOR.  219 

Edward  had  begun  to  talk  of  his  preposterous  claim  to  the     CHAP, 
throne  of  France  through  his  mother  Isabella,  and  Philip  de 


Valois  had  threatened  to  declare  forfeited  all  the  fiefs  which 
Edward  held  in  France,  as  Edward,  questioning  his  title,  had 
declined  to  do  homage  to  him  as  his  liege  lord.  It  is  remark- 
able that  after  the  Chancellor's  oration.  Sir  Jeffrey  Scroop, 
by  the  King's  command  and  in  his  presence,  harangued  the 
parliament,  and  enforced  the  topics  on  which  the  Chancellor 
had  dwelt.* 

The  Lords  and  Commons  objected  to  the  expedition  to  the   Separation 
Holy  Land  ;  but  consented  to  the  proposed  meeting  with  the   "l^^co^- 
French  King.     It  is  remarkable  that  the  knights,  citizens,   mons. 
and  burgesses  withdrew  to  a  separate  chamber  to  deliberate,  ^'^' 
and  that  this  is  the  first  instance  of  their  doing  so.     There 
seemed  then  a  probability  that  there  might  have  been  three 
houses  of  parliament,  one  for  each  of  the  three  estates  of  the 
realm,  as  there  always  had  been  in  France  till  the  memorable 
meeting  of  the  States  General  at  Versailles  in  1789,  —  for  the 
Lords  spiritual  likewise  on  this  occasion  retired  to  a  separate 
chamber,  and  came  in  the  first  instance  to  a  separate  vote, 
although   all   the    branches  of  the   legislature  were  finally 
unanimous  in  the  advice  they  gave.f 

We  may  remark  as  we  pass,  that  notwithstanding  the  great    Great  in- 
jealousy  afterwards  displayed  by  the   Tudor  sovereigns  of  pad"ament 
parliament  ever  interfering;  with  the  functions  of  the  execu-  under 

.  .  .  Planta- 

tive  government,  in  the  time  of  the  Plantagenets  nothing  genets. 
was  more  common  than  for  the  King  expressly  and  specifically 
to  consult  parliament  on  questions  of  peace  and  war,  and 
even  as  to  the  manner  in  which  war  was  to  be  carried  on. 
It  was  probably  found  that  lOths  and  15ths  were  more 
readily  voted  from  this  seeming  cordiality  and  confidence, 
and  privilege  had  not  yet  acquired  any  independent  sway  by 
which  it  seemed  likely  ever  to  become  formidable  to  pre- 
rogative. 

Edward  called  another  parliament  to  meet  on  the  9th  of  Chancel- 
September,  1332,  where  Lord  Chancellor  Stratford  declared,   o^nmee^itiy 

"  that  the  cause  of  their  meeting  was  about  the  affairs  of  of  new  par- 
liament. 

*   1  Pari.  Hist.  90.  f  Ibid.  91. 


220 


REIGN   OF   EDWARD    III. 


CHAP. 
XIII. 


Keepers  of 
Great  Seal 
appointed 
by  the 
Chancellor. 


Richard 

DE   BURV, 

Chancellor, 
A.D.  1334, 


France  and  the  King's  expedition  thither,  and  to  put  an  end 
to  the  success  his  enemies  gained  in  those  parts."*  The 
Lords  and  Commons  did  each  by  their  several  petitions  advise 
the  King  not  then  to  go  into  France,  but  to  use  all  his  efforts 
to  brinsf  to  a  conclusion  the  war  that  had  broke  out  with 
Scotland  after  the  death  of  Robert  Bruce,  and  the  attempt  of 
Edward  Baliol  on  the  Scottish  crown.  This  war  lasted  till 
after  the  termination  of  John  de  Stratford's  first  chancellor- 
ship. Such  satisfaction  had  he  given  to  the  King  up  to  this 
time,  that  in  the  beginning  of  1334  he  was  raised  to  the 
metropolitan  see  of  Canterbury. 

Being  so  much  occupied  with  political  and  ecclesiastical 
affairs  while  he  retained  the  office  of  Chancellor,  he  intrusted 
the  custody  of  the  Great  Seal  successively  to  Robert  de 
Stratford  his  brother,  to  Henry  de  Clyff,  M.  R.,  to  William 
de  Melton,  Archbishop  of  York,  and  for  a  short  time  jointly 
to  Henry  de  Edenstowe,  Thomas  de  Baumburgh,  and  John 
de  St.  Paul,  probably  masters  in  Chancery,  and  these  persons 
sealed  writs  and  charters,  and  despatched  the  other  business 
of  the  court.  The  fees  of  the  oflSce,  as  was  usual  when  the 
custody  of  the  Great  Seal  was  thus  deputed,  were  brought  to 
the  credit  of  the  absent  Chancellor.f 

On  the  28th  of  September,  1334,  Archbishop  Stratford 
ceased  to  be  Chancellor  (whether  from  any  quarrel  with  the 
King  we  are  not  informed),  and  the  ofiice  was  conferred  on 
Richard  de  Bury,  Bishop  of  Durham  |,  one  of  the  most 
eminent  scholars  and  wits  who  cast  a  lustre  on  the  reign  of 
Edward  III.,  and  made  it  distinguished  for  literature  as  well 
as  for  military  glory.  From  a  most  interesting  book  written 
by  this  estimable  man,  which  is  a  sort  of  autobiography,  his 


•   I  Pari.  Hist.  91. 

t  Among  these  was  a  very  liberal  supply  of  wine  from  the  King's  vineyards 
in  Gascony.  In  the  Close  Roll,  3  Ed.  3.  we  find  the  following  memorandum 
respecting  what  was  to  be  done  by  the  customer  of  Southampton : — "  Quod  de 
vino  bianco  Regis  liberan.  sex  dolia  et  quatuor  pipa."  The  few  bottles  of 
Constantia,  till  very  lately  given  by  the  Crown  to  the  Chancellor  and  the  other 
great  officers  of  state,  may  be  considered  the  last  remnant  of  such  gratuities. 

Uhile  Stratford  was  Chancellor,  it  was  resolved  in  parliament  "that  the 
Chancellor  is  the  Ordinary  of  the  free  chapels  of  the  King,  and  that  it  belongs 
to  him  to  visit  them  by  virtue  of  his  office." — Rolls,  8  Ed    3.  vol.  ii.  p.  77, 

t   Rot.  CI.  8  Ed.  3.  m.  10. 


EICHARD   DE   BURY,    CHANCELLOR.  221 

"  Philobiblon,"  we  are  made  familiarly  acquainted  with     CHAP, 
his  history,  his  habits,  and  his  character. 


He  was  born  in  the  year  1287,  in  the  house  of  his  father,  jjj^  family, 
near  Bury  St.  Edmunds.  *  Although  the  son  of  Sir  Richard 
de  Angraville,  of  an  ancient  knightly  family,  he,  according 
to  the  custom  of  the  age,  took  his  name  from  the  place  of  his 
birth.  Having  lost  his  father  when  very  young,  he  was 
educated  by  his  maternal  uncle,  a  priest,  descended  from  the  Education, 
noble  house  of  Willoughby.  He  studied  at  Oxford,  where 
he  gained  great  distinction  from  his  proficiency  both  in 
philosophy  and  divinity,  and  was  eminent  at  once  for  the 
brilliancy  of  his  conversation  and  the  sanctity  of  his  life. 

In  the  work  referred  to,  which  was  the  amusement  of  his  His  college 
old  age,  he  gives  a  delightful  picture  of  his  college  days,  ^'^^' 
showing  the  enthusiasm  with  which  he  had  sought  improve- 
ment.! "From  an  early  age  we  attached  ourselves  with 
most  exquisite  solicitude  to  the  society  of  masters,  scholars, 
and  professors  of  various  arts,  whom  wit  and  learning  had 
rendered  most  conspicuous ;  —  encouraged  by  whose  agreeable 
conversation,  we  were  most  deliciously  nourished,  sometimes 
with  explanatory  examination  of  arguments,  at  others  with 
recitations  of  treatises  on  the  progress  of  physics  —  as  it  were 
with  multiplied  and  successive  dishes  of  learning.  Such 
were  the  comrades  we  chose  in  our  boyhood ;  such  we  enter- 
tained as  the  inmates  of  our  chambers  and  the  companions  of 
our  journies ;  such  the  messmates  of  our  board,  and  such  our 
associates  in  all  our  fortunes."  | 

Being   considered    a  very  accomplished    scholar,    he    was  Tutor  to 
selected  as  tutor  for  Edward  III.  when  Prince   of  Wales,  Edv^ard 
and  to  him  may  be  traced  the  love  for  literature  and  the  prince, 
arts  displayed  by  his  pupil  when  on  the  throne.     He  was 
rewarded  with   the   lucrative   appointment   of  treasurer   of 
Gascony. 

When  the  civil  disturbances  arose  towards  the  end  of  the 

*  "  In  quadam  villula."     Angl.  Sax.  vol.  ii.  p.  765. 

f  It  is  written  in  very  indifferent  Latin.  I  have  chiefly  followed  an  English 
translation  published  anonymously  in  the  year  1832;  printed  for  that  very 
learned  and  worthy  bookseller,  my  friend,  "  Thomas  liodd.  Great  Newport 
Street." 

\   Phil.  ch.  viii. 


222 


BEIGN   OF   EDWARD   III. 


CHAP. 

xiir. 


Edward 
III 


reign  of  Edward  II.,  he  took  part  with  the  Queen,  and  sup- 
plied her  with  money  out  of  the  royal  revenue,  which  she 
made  use  of  to  the  prejudice  of  her  husband.  He  was  ques- 
tioned for  this  during  the  ascendancy  of  the  opposite  faction, 
and  having  fled  to  Paris,  and  being  demanded  from  the  French 
government,  it  is  said  that  he  was  glad  to  hide  himself  for 
several  days  in  the  belfry  of  a  church  there. 
His  rise  on  Edward  HI.,  on  coming  to  the  throne,  with  his  own  hand 
^^^I^rrT  ^^  wrote  a  letter  to  the  Pope,  praying  that  the  stalls  in  the 
cathedrals  of  Hereford,  London,  and  Chichester,  lately  held 
by  Gilbert  de  Middleton,  might  be  conferred  on  his  tutor, 
whom  he  says  he  loves  beyond  all  the  clerks  in  his  realm : 
"Eo  quod  nostro  assidue  lateri  assistendo,  novimus  ipsum 
vinim  in  consiliis  providum,  conversationis  et  vitae  munditia 
decorum,  literarum  scientia  pneditum,  et  in  agendis  quibus- 
libet  circumspectum."  His  Holiness  complied,  and  De  Bury 
was  now  rapidly  promoted  in  the  state  as  well  as  in  the 
church,  being  appointed  cofferer  to  the  King,  then  treasurer 
of  the  wardrobe,  and  soon  after  keeper  of  the  Privy  Seal. 
This  office  he  held  five  years,  during  which  time  he  twice 
visited  Italy,  made  the  acquaintance  of  Petrarch,  and  was 
treated  with  great  honour  and  distinction  by  the  Supreme 
Pontiff",  John  XXII.,  who  nominated  him  chaplain  to  his 
principal  chapel,  and  took  upon  himself  to  appoint  him,  by  a 
special  bull,  to  the  first  see  which  should  become  vacant  in 
England. 

From  the  offices  and  preferments  he  already  enjoyed,  he 
was  enabled  to  display  great  magnificence  and  splendour ; 
and  when  he  appeared  in  the  presence  of  the  Pope  or  Car- 
dinals, he  was  attended  by  twenty  clerks  and  thirty -six 
esquires,  attired  in  the  most  expensive  and  sumptuous  gar- 
ments.* 

Soon  afterwards  the  see  of  Durham  became  vacant,  and  the 
Prior  and  Chapter  elected  as  bishop,  Robert  de  Greystones, 
a  monk  and  subprior  of  Durham,  who  was  actually  conse- 
crated by  the  Archbishop  of  York.  But  at  the  request  of 
the  King  the  election  was  set  aside  by  the  Pope,  De  Bury 


His  splen 
duur  at 
court  of 
Home. 


Bishop  of 
Durham. 


His  last  journey  to  Rome  is  said  to  have  cost  him  5000  marks. 


BICHABD   DE   BUEY,   CHANCELLOR.  223 

was  substituted,  and  on  the  19th  of  December,   1333,  the     CHAP. 

Y  TT  T 

ceremony  of  his  consecration  was  performed  by  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury.  The  following  year  he  was  personally 
installed  at  Durham.  On  this  occasion  he  gave  a  magnificent 
entertainment  to  the  King  and  Queen,  her  mother,  and  the 
King  of  Scotland,  at  which  were  present  two  archbishops, 
five  bishops,  seven  earls  and  their  countesses,  and  all  the 
nobility  north  of  Trent,  besides  a  great  number  of  knights 
and  esquires,  and  also  many  abbots  and  other  ecclesiastics. 

Soon  after  this  he  was  raised  to  the  dignity  of  Chancellor.   Sept  2S. 
We  have  no  account  of  his  procession  to  Westminster,  or  of  ^^' 
the  festivities  on  his  being  seated  in  the  marble  chair  at  the 
upper  end  of  the  hall,  but  we  need  not  doubt  that  they  were 
distinguished  by  their  taste  and  sumptuousness. 

De  Bury  filled  the  office  of  Chancellor  only  from  the  28th   His  con- 
of  September,   1334,  to  the  oth  June,   1335,  when  he  ex-  J^^^u^^ 
changed  it  for  that  of  Treasurer.     During  this  interval  he 
held  the  Great  Seal  himself,  and  did  all  the  duties  belonging 
to  it,  without  the  assistance  of  any  Vice-chancellor,  and  he 
seems  to  have  given  satisfaction  to  the  public 

A  parliament  met  at  Whitsuntide,  and  he  presided  at  it ;  -^  parfia- 
but  we  cannot  celebrate  him  as  a  legislator,  for  at  this  par- 
liament only  one  act  passed,  wliich  was  "  to  regulate  the 
herring  fishery  at  Yarmouth;"  and  the  time  was  occupied 
in  obtaining  a  supply  to  enable  the  King  to  carry  on  war 
against  the  Scots.  Edward  having  gained  the  battle  of 
Hallidown  Hill,  in  which  Douglas  the  Scottish  leader  fell, 
was  sanguine  in  the  hope  of  being  able  to  reduce  the  whole 
of  Scotland  to  subjection ;  but  he  was  soon  driven  back  by 
the  spirit  which  had  baffled  all  the  efforts  of  his  father  and 
grandfather,  and  he  came  to  the  conclusion  that  he  must  look 
out  for  an  easier  field  in  which  he  might  gain  distinction  as  a 
conqueror. 

De  Bury  went  thrice  to  Paris  as  ambassador  from  Edward  Ambas- 
to  the  King  of  France  respecting  his  claim  to  the  crown  of 
that  country,  and  afterwards  visited  Antwerp  and  Brabant, 
with  a  view  of  forming  alliances  for  the  coming  contesL 
But  before  the  French  war  had  made  much  progress  he 
resigned  the  Great  Seal  and  retired  from  public  life. 


sador  to 
Pari?. 


224 


REIGN   OF   EDWARD   III. 


CHAP. 

XIII. 

His  retire- 
uieiit. 


Philobi- 
bloD. 


His  love  of 
books,  and 
mode  of 
collecting 
thein. 


He  now  shut  himself  up  in  his  palace  at  Bishops  Auck- 
land among  his  books,  which  he  preferred  to  all  other  human 
enjoyments,  —  still,  however,  exercising  a  most  splendid  hos- 
pitality.* He  employed  himself  ardently  in  the  extension  of  his 
library,  which,  whether  out  of  compliment  to  him,  or  as  a  satire 
on  his  brother  ecclesiastics,  was  said  to  "  contain  more  volumes 
than  those  of  all  the  other  bishops  in  the  kingdom  put 
together."  By  the  favour  of  Edward  he  gained  access  to  the 
libraries  of  all  the  great  monasteries,  where  he  shook  off  the 
dust  from  volumes  preserved  in  chests  and  presses,  which 
had  not  been  opened  for  many  ages.  Not  satisfied  with 
this  privilege,  he  extended  his  researches  by  employing 
stationers  and  booksellers,  not  only  In  England,  but  also  in 
France,  Germany,  and  Italy,  regardless  both  of  expense  and 
labour.f 

To  solace  his  declining  years,  he  wrote  the  "  Phllobiblon," 
In  praise  of  books;  a  treatise  which  may  now  be  perused 
with  great  pleasure,  as  it  shows  that  the  author  had  a  most 
Intimate  acquaintance  with  the  classics,  and  not  only  a 
passion  for  books  exceeding  that  of  any  modern  collector, 
but  a  rich  vein  of  native  humour,  which  must  have  made 
him  a  most  delightful  companion. 

An  extract  from  chapter  vlil.,  entitled  "  Of  the  numerous 
Opportunities  of  the  Author  of  collecting  Books  from  all 
Quarters,"  may  bring  some  suspicion  upon  his  judicial 
purity ;  but  the  open  avowal  of  the  manner  In  which  his 
library  was  accumulated  proves  that  he  had  done  nothing 
that  would  not  be  sanctioned  by  the  public  opinion  of 
the  age : 

"  While  we  performed  the  duties  of  Chancellor  of  the  most 
Invincible  and  ever  magnificently  triumphant  King  of  England, 
Edward  III.,  (whose  days  may  the  Most  High  long  and 
tranquilly  deign  to  preserve !)  after  first  inquiring  Into  the 


•  This  appears  from  the  roll  of  his  domestic  expenses,  preserved  among  the 
muniments  of  the  bishopric. 

t  "  Pecuniam  laeto  corde  dispersimus,  nee  eos  (sc.  librarios  et  stationarios) 
uUatenus  impedivit  distantia,  neque  furor  maris  absterruit,  nee  eis  aut  as  pro 
expenso  deficit,  quin  ad  nos  optatos  libros  transmitterent  vel  afferrent.  Sciebant 
enim  pro  certo,  quod  spes  eorum  in  sinu  nostro  reposita  defraudari  non  poterat, 
sed  restabat  apud  nos  copiosa  redemi)tis  cum  usuris." 


RICHARD    DE    BURY,    CHANCELLOR  225 

things  that  concerned  his  Court,  and  then  the  public  affairs     chap. 

of  his  kingdom,  an  easy  opening  was  afforded  us,  under  the  ' 

countenance  of  royal  favour,  for  freely  searching  the  hiding- 
places  of  books.  For  the  flying  fame  of  our  love  had  already 
spread  in  all  directions,  and  It  was  reported  not  only  that  we 
had  a  longing  desire  for  books,  and  especially  for  old  ones,  but 
that  any  body  could  more  easily  obtain  our  favour  by  quartos 
than  by  money.  Wherefore,  when  supported  by  the  bounty 
of  the  aforesaid  Prince  of  worthy  memory,  we  were  enabled 
to  oppose  or  advance,  to  appoint  or  discharge ;  crazy  quartos 
and  tottering  folios,  precious  however  in  our  sight  as  well  as 
in  our  affections,  flowed  In  most  rapidly  from  the  great  and 
the  small,  instead  of  new-year's  gifts  and  remunerations,  and 
instead  of  presents  and  jewels.  Then  the  cabinets  of  the 
most  noble  monasteries  were  opened ;  cases  were  unlocked ; 
caskets  were  unclasped ;  and  astonished  volumes  which  had 
slumbered  for  long  ages  In  their  sepulchres  were  roused  up, 
and  those  that  lay  hid  In  dark  places  were  overwhelmed  with 
the  rays  of  a  new  light.  Books  heretofore  most  delicate,  now 
become  corrupted  and  nauseous,  lay  lifeless,  covered  Indeed 
with  the  e"!xcrement8  of  mice,  and  pierced  through  with  the 
gnawing  of  worms;  and  those  that  were  formerly  clothed 
with  purple  and  fine  linen,  were  now  seen  reposing  In  dust 
and  ashes,  given  over  to  oblivion,  the  abodes  of  moths. 
Amongst  these  nevertheless,  as  time  served,  we  sat  down 
more  voluptuously  than  the  delicate  physician  could  do  amidst 
his  stores  of  aromatics ;  and  where  we  found  an  object  of  love, 
we  found  also  full  enjoyment.  Thus  the  sacred  vessels  of 
science  came  Into  our  power  —  some  being  given,  some  sold, 
and  not  a  few  lent  for  a  time.* 

"  Without  doubt,  many  who  perceived  us  to  be  contented 
with  gifts  of  this  kind,  studied  to  contribute  those  things 
freely  to  our  use.     We  took  care,  however,  to  conduct  the 

*  A  modern  deceased  Lord  Chancellor  was  said  to  have  collected  a  very 
complete  law  library  by  borrowing  books  from  the  bar  which  he  forgot  to 
return.     If  so,  he  only  acted  on  the  maxims  of  his  predecessor  De  Bury  : 

"  Qui«quis  theologus,  quisquis  legista  peritus 
Vis  fieri ;  niultos  semper  habeto  libros. 
Non  in  mente  manet  quicquid  non  vidimus  ipsi. 
Quisque  sibi  libros  vendicet  ergo.      Vale." — p.  151. 

VOL.  I.  Q 


226  REIGN   OF    EDWABD   III. 

CHAP,     business  of  such  so  favourably,  that  the  profit  might  accrue 
^^^''      to  them:  justice  therefore  suffered  no  detriment. 

"  Moreover,  if  we  would  have  amassed  cups  of  gold  and 
silver,  excellent  horses,  or  no  mean  sums  of  money,  we  could 
in  those  days  have  laid  up  abundance  of  wealth  for  ourselves ; 
but  indeed  wc  wished  for  books,  not  bags ;  we  delighted 
more  in  folios  than  florins,  and  preferred  paltry  pamphlets  to 
pampered  palfreys. 

"  In  addition  to  this,  we  were  charged  with  the  frequent 
embassies  of  the  said  Prince,  of  everlasting  memory,  and, 
owing  to  the  multiplicity  of  state  affairs,  were  sent  first  to 
the  Roman  Chair,  then  to  the  Court  of  France,  then  to 
various  other  kingdoms  of  the  world,  on  tedious  embassies 
and  in  perilous  times,  carrying  about  with  us,  however,  that 
fondness  for  books  which  many  waters  could  not  extinguish ; 
for  this,  like  a  certain  drug,  sweetened  the  wormwood  of 
peregrination ;  this,  after  the  perplexing  intricacies,  scru- 
pulous circumlocutions  of  debate,  and  almost  inextricable 
labyrinths  of  public  business,  left  an  opening  for  a  little 
Avhile  to  breathe  the  temperature  of  a  milder  atmosphere. 
O  blessed  God  of  gods  in  Sion !  what  a  rush  of  the  flood  of 
pleasure  rejoiced  our  heart  as  often  as  we  visited  Paris,  the 
paradise  of  the  world  !  There  we  longed  to  remain,  where, 
on  account  of  the  greatness  of  our  love,  the  days  ever  ap- 
peared to  us  to  be  few.  In  that  city  are  delightful  libraries 
in  cells  redolent  of  aromatics ;  there  flourishing  green-houses 
of  all  sorts  of  volumes  ;  there  academic  meads  trembling  with 
the  earthquake  of  Athenian  peripatetics  pacing  up  and  down ; 
there  the  promontories  of  Parnassus,  and  the  porticos  of  the 
Stoics.  There,  in  very  deed,  with  an  open  treasury  and 
untied  purse-strings,  we  scattered  money  with  a  light  heart, 
and  redeemed  inestimable  books  from  dirt  and  dust. 

"  Again.  We  will  add  a  most  compendious  way  by  which 
a  great  multitude  of  books,  as  well  old  as  new,  came  into  our 
hands.  Never  indeed  having  disdained  the  poverty  of  re- 
ligious devotees,  assumed  for  Christ,  we  never  held  them  in 
abhorrence,  but  admitted  them  from  all  parts  of  the  world 
into  the  kind  embraces  of  our  compassion ;  we  allured  them 
with  most  familiar  affability  into  a  devotion  to  our  person. 


RICHARD   DE   BURT,   CHANCELLOR.  227 

and,  ha  vino;  allured,  cherished  them  for  the  love  of  God  with  CHAP. 

•               .           .             .  XIII. 

munificent  liberality,  as  if  we  were  the  common  benefactor  of  ' 


them  all,  but  nevertheless  with  a  certain  propriety  of  patron- 
age, that  we  might  not  appear  to  have  given  preference  to 
any,  —  to  these  under  all  circumstances  we  became  a  refuge; 
to  these  we  never  closed  the  bosom  of  our  favour.  Where- 
fore we  deserved  to  have  those  as  the  most  peculiar  and 
zealous  promoters  of  our  wishes,  as  well  by  their  personal  as 
their  mental  labours,  who,  going  about  by  sea  and  land,  sur- 
veying the  whole  compass  of  the  earth,  and  also  inquiring 
into  the  general  studies  of  the  Universities  of  the  various 
provinces,  were  anxious  to  administer  to  our  wants,  under  a 
most  certain  hope  of  reward. 

"  Amongst  so  many  of  the  keenest  hunters,  what  leveret 
could  lie  hid  ?  What  fry  could  evade  the  hook,  the  net,  or 
the  trawl  of  these  men  ?  From  the  body  of  divine  law, 
down  to  the  latest  controversial  tract  of  the  day,  nothing 
could  escape  the  notice  of  these  scrutinisers.  If  a  devout 
sermon  resounded  at  the  fount  of  Christian  faith,  the  most 
holy  Roman  court,  or  if  an  extraneous  question  were  to  be 
sifted  on  account  of  some  new  pretext;  if  the  dulness  of 
Paris,  which  now  attends  more  to  studying  antiquities  than 
to  subtly  producing  truth ;  if  English  perspi(;acity  overspread 
with  ancient  lights,  always  emitted  new  rays  of  truth  — 
whatsoever  it  promulgated,  either  for  the  increase  of  know- 
ledge or  in  declaration  of  the  faith  —  this,  while  recent,  was 
poured  into  our  ears,  not  mystified  by  imperfect  nar- 
ration nor  corrupted  by  absurdity,  but  from  the  press  of 
the  purest  presser  it  passed,  dregless,  into  the  vat  of  our 
memory."  * 

He  does  not  himself  seem  to  have  been  much  acquainted  His  en- 
with  Grecian  lore,  but  he  was  fully  convinced  of  its  value,   ^ourage- 

'       ^  •'  ^         '    ment  to  the 

and  he  says,  that  "  ignorance  of  the  Greek  language  is  at  study  of 
this  day  highly  injurious  to  the  study  of  Latin  authors ;  with- 
out it,  neither  Gentile  nor  Christian  writings  can  be  fully 
comprehended.     Wherefore,  we  have  taken  care  to  provide 
for  our  scholars  a  Greek  as  well  as  a  Hebrew  grammar,  with 

•   Pp.  50—56. 
Q  2 


Greek. 


228 


REIGN    OF    EDWARD    III. 


CHAP. 

XIII. 


His  de- 
scription 
of  the  bad 
usage  of 
books. 


certain  adjuncts,  by  the  help  of  which,  studious  readers  may 
be  instructed  in  writing,  reading,  and  understanding  those 
languages,  although  hearing  them  spoken  can  alone  give  a 
perfect  knowledge  of  their  idiom." 

He  is  nowhere  more  entertaining  than  in  describing  and 
reprobating  the  ill-usage  to  which  the  clasp-books  of  his 
time  were  liable  :  "  You  will  perhaps  see  a  stiff-necked  youth, 
lounging  sluggishly  in  his  study  :  while  the  frost  pinches  him 
in  winter  time,  oppressed  with  cold,  his  watery  nose  drops, — 
nor  does  he  take  the  trouble  to  wipe  it  with  his  handkerchief 
till  it  has  moistened  the  book  beneath  it  with  its  vile  dew. 
For  such  a  one  I  would  substitute  a  cobbler's  apron  in  the 
place  of  his  book.  He  has  a  nail  like  a  giant's,  perfumed 
with  stinking  ordure,  with  which  he  points  out  the  place  of 
any  pleasant  subject.  He  distributes  innumerable  straws  in 
various  places,  with  the  ends  in  sight,  that  he  may  recall  by 
the  mark  what  his  memory  cannot  retain.  These  straws, 
which  the  stomach  of  the  book  never  digests,  and  which  no- 
body takes  out,  at  first  distend  the  book  from  its  accustomed 
closure,  and  being  carelessly  left  to  oblivion,  at  last  become 
putrid.  He  is  not  ashamed  to  eat  fruit  and  cheese  over  an 
open  book,  and  to  transfer  his  empty  cup  from  side  to  side 
upon  it :  and  because  he  has  not  his  alms-bag  at  hand,  he 
leaves  the  rest  of  the  fragments  in  his  books.  He  never  ceases 
to  chatter  with  eternal  garrulity  to  his  companions ;  and  while 
he  adduces  a  multitude  of  reasons  void  of  physical  meaning, 
he  waters  the  book,  spread  out  upon  his  lap,  with  the  sputter- 
ing of  his  saliva.  What  is  worse,  he  next  reclines  with  his 
elbows  on  the  book,  and  by  a  short  study  invites  a  long  nap ; 
and  by  way  of  repairing  the  wrinkles,  he  twists  back  the 
margins  of  the  leaves,  to  the  no  small  detriment  of  the  volume. 
He  goes  out  in  the  rain,  and  returns,  and  now  flowers  make 
their  appearance  upon  our  soil.  Then  the  scholar  we  are 
describing,  the  neglecter  rather  than  the  inspector  of  books, 
stuffs  his  volume  with  firstling  violets,  roses,  and  quadrifoils. 
He  will  next  apply  his  wet  hands,  oozing  with  sweat,  to 
turning  over  the  volumes,  then  beat  the  white  parchment  all 
over  with  his  dusty  gloves,  or  hunt  over  the  page,  line  by 
Ime,  with  his  fore-finger  covered  with  dirty  leather.     Then, 


EICHARD   DE   BURY,    CHANCELLOR.  229 

as  the  flea  bites,  the  holy  book  is  thrown  aside,  which,  how-     CHAP, 
ever,  is  scarcely  closed  once  in  a  month,  and  is  so  swelled 


with  the  dust  that  has  fallen  into  it,  that  it  will  not  yield  to 
the  efforts  of  the  closer."* 

I  can  only  venture  on  one  other  extract,  which  goes  to  Gross  igno- 
show  why  the  Chancellors  in  those  days  were  ecclesiastics,  t^e*laity. 
and  exposes  the  gross  ignorance  which  prevailed  among  lay- 
men, who,  being  unable  to  read,  did  not  know  how  to 
hold  a  book,  and  are  coupled  with  "  dirty  scullions : "  "  Far- 
thermore,  laymen,  to  whom  it  matters  not  whether  they 
look  at  a  book  turned  wrong  side  upwards  or  spread 
before  them  in  its  natural  order,  are  altogether  unworthy  of 
any  communion  with  books.  Let  the  clerk  also  take  order 
that  the  dirty  scullion,  stinking  from  the  pots,  do  not  touch 
the  leaves  of  books,  unwashed."! 

Like  a  Bishop  and  an  Ex-chancelloi',  he  properly  concludes  Scriptural 
by  supporting  his  doctrine  with  the  highest  authorities.  f"J'^akb^^ 
"  The  most  meek  Moses  instructs  us  about  making  cases  great  care 
for  books  in  the  neatest  manner,  wherein  they  may  be  safely 
preserved  from  all  damage.  Take  this  book,  says  he,  and  put 
it  in  the  side  of  the  ark  of  the  covenant  of  the  Lord  your  God. 
O  befitting  place,  made  of  imperishable  Shittim  wood,  and 
covered  all  over,  inside  and  out,  with  gold  !  But  our  Saviour 
also,  by  his  own  example,  precludes  all  unseemly  negligence 
in  the  treatment  of  books,  as  may  be  read  in  Luke  iv.  For 
when  he  had  read  over  the  scriptural  prophecy  written  about 
himself,  in  a  book  delivered  to  him,  he  did  not  return  it  till 
he  had  first  closed  it  with  his  most  holy  hands;  by  which 
act  students  are  most  clearly  taught  that  they  ought  not,  in 
the  smallest  degree  whatever,  to  be  negligent  about  the  cus- 
tody of  books."  +  He  might  well  say  of  himself  —  "  ecstatic© 
quodam  librorum  amore  potenter  se  abreptum."§ 

•   Pp.  97,  98.  t  P.  100. 

\  P.  101.  Luke,  iv.  20.  "  And  he  closed  the  book,  and  he  gave  it  again  to 
the  minister,  and  sat  down." 

§  As  it  was  said  that  Garth  did  not  write  his  own  "  Dispensary,"  the 
Philohiblon  has  been  attributed  to  Holcot,  a  Dominican  friar,  who  was  the 
author's  amanuensis', — hut  without  any  reason,  for  it  bears  the  strongest 
internal  evidence  of  being  the  composition  of  the  Chancellor  De  Bury  himself; 


See  "  Bibliographical  and  Retrospective  Miscellany,"  Art.  De  Bury. 
Q  3 


230  KEIGN   OF   EDWARD   III. 

CHAP  From  his  book-buying  propensity,  then  much  more  costly 

^  than  in  our  time,  he  got  into  pecuniary  difficulties,  and  he  was 

obliged  to  pledge  to  Lord  Neville  of  Raby,  for  100/.,  a  set  of 
gorgeous  church  vestments,  of  red  velvet,  embroidered  with 
gold,  and  pearls,  and  imagery.  * 
Death  and        He  died  at  Bishops  Auckland  on  the  14th  of  April  1345, 
Richard  de  f^U  of  years  and  of  honours.     Fourteen  days  after  his  death 
^uty.         he  was  buried  "quodammodo  honorifice,   non   tamen   cum 
honore  satis  congruo,"    says   Chambre,    before  the  altar  of 
His  merit,    the  blcssed  Mary  Magdalene,  in  his  own  cathedral.     But 
the   exalted   situation  he  occupied  in  the  opinion   and   es- 
teem  of  Petrarch  and  other  eminent   literary  men  of  the 
fourteenth  century,  shed  brighter  lustre  on  his  memory  than 
it  could  have  derived  from  funeral  processions,  or  from  monu- 
ments  and   epitaphs.     "  What  can  be  more  delightful  to  a 
lover    of    his    country's    intellectual    reputation,    than    to 
find  such  a  character  as  De  Bury  in  such   an   age   of  war 
and  bloodshed,  uniting  the  calm  and  mild  conduct  of  a  le- 
gislator with  the  sagacity  of  a  philosopher  and  the  elegant 
mind  of  a  scholar  ?  "  f 
June  6.  On  De  Bury's  resignation  of  the  Great  Seal  in  1335,  it 

Arch-  ^^^  restored  to  Archbishop  Stratford,  whose  second  Chan- 

bishopjohn  ccllorship  extended  to  1337.  | 

Chancellor        From  the   groundless    claim   set   up    by   the   Plantage- 
the  second    nets  to  the  crown  of  France  against  the  house  of  Valois, 

time 

Claim  of  ^^^  began  the  bloody  wars  which  lasted  above  a  century, 
Edw.  III.  and  which  laid  the  foundation  of  that  jealousy  and  hostile 
crown  of  rivalry  between  the  two  nations,  which  unfortunately  has 
France.  never  since  entirely  subsided.  While  the  great  bulk  of  the 
people  of  England  eagerly  supported  the  warlike  measures  of 
the  King,  it  ought  to  be  recorded  to  the  immortal  honour  of 

It  was  attributed  to  him  by  his  contemporaries,  and  a  notice  on  an  early  copy 
of  it  says:  —  "  Quod  opus  (Philobiblon)  Auclandia  in  habitatione  sua  com- 
plevit  24  die  Januarii,  anno  a  communis  salutis  origine  1344,  aetatis  sua  58, 
et  1 1  sui  pontificatus." 

*  After  his  death,  Lord  Neville  being  informed  of  his  intention  to  leave  these 
vestments  to  his  successors,  generously  restored  them,  —  and  they  remained  the 
boast  of  the  see  of  Durham  till  the  Reformation. 

t  Dibdin,  Bibliomania,  p.  247.  —  I  am  rather  surprised  that  a  "  De  Bury 
Club  "  has  not  yet  been  established  by  Philobiblists,  as  he  was  undoubtedly  the 
founder  of  the  order  in  England. 

\   Rot.  CI.  9  Ed.  3.  m.  28. 


ROBEET   DE   STRATFORD,    CHANCELLOR.  231 

this  Chancellor,  that  he  dissuaded  the  enterprise  in  Its  com-     CHAP. 
mencement,  and  always  strove  for  the  restoration  of  peace  at 
the  hazard  of  offending  the  King,  and  with  the  certainty  of 
incurring  public  odium  by  combating  the  popular  delusion. 

It  must  be  confessed,  that  on  this  occasion  we  not  only 
were  the  aggressors,  but  that  there  was  not  even  any  plausible 
or  colourable  pretence  for  going  to  war.  No  national  griev- 
ance could  be  urged,  for  the  French  had  merely  assisted  the 
Scotch  in  fulfilment  of  ancient  treaties.  Then,  as  to  the 
family  dispute,  —  by  the  Salic  law  which  had  regulated 
the  descent  of  the  crown  of  France  from  the  foundation 
of  the  monarchy,  no  female  could  wear  the  crown,  so  that 
no  claim  to  the  crown  could  be  made  through  a  female,  and 
the  title  of  Philip  de  Yalois,  Avhich  Edward  himself  had, 
though  reluctantly,  recognised  by  doing  homage  to  him 
as  his  liege  Lord,  was  unquestionable,  both  by  hereditary 
right  and  the  general  consent  of  the  French  people.  But 
the  glaring  absurdity  in  the  claim  was,  that  If  the  Salic  law 
were  entirely  disregarded,  and  female  descent  were  admitted 
in  France  as  in  England,  there  were  females  in  existence, 
and  males  descended  through  females,  whose  title  was  clearly 
preferable  to  that  of  Edward.* 

Archbishop  Stratford  resigned  the  Great  Seal  the  second   Reslgna- 
tlme  lust  before  Edward  assumed  the  title  of  King  of  France  ^''u  °j 

♦^  _  "  _      John  de 

with  the  armorial  bearings  of  that  crown,  and  set  out  on  his   Stratford. 
first  expedition  to  support  his  title.     There  is  great  reason  to 
think  that  it  was  the  Chancellor's  pacific  policy  which  led  to 
his  retreat.     Still,  however,  he  was  on  good  terms  with  the 
King,  and  his  brother  was  appointed  to  succeed  him.  f 

Robert  de  Stratford  appears  to  have  been  almost  as  a.d.  1337. 
much  distinguished  for  ability,   and   to  have  had  a  career   stratford 
almost    as    brilliant   as  John,    and    they  exhibit  the  single    Chancellor, 
instance  of  two  brothers  holding  successively  the  office  of 
Lord  Chancellor.     He,  too,  had  studied  at  Oxford,  and  had 

*  This  was  the  sensible  view  of  the  question  taken  by  the  Chancellor,  who 
gave  very  different  advice  to  Edward  III.  from  that  which,  according  to 
Shakspeare,  was  given  by  Archbishop  Chicheley  to  Henry  V. 

K.  Hen.  —  "  May  1  with  right  and  conscience  make  this  claim?" 
Archb.  — "  The  sin  upon  my  head,  dread  Sovereign." 
i    Rot.  CI.  1]  Ed.  3.  ra.  29. 

<J  4 


232  REIGN   OF   EDWARD   III. 

CHAP,  gained  the  highest  honours  of  the  University.  When  the 
XIII.  Crreat  Seal  was  delivered  to  him  his  rank  in  the  Church  was 
only  that  of  Archdeacon  of  Canterbury,  but  he  was  soon 
after  raised  to  the  see  of  Chichester ;  and  he  was  elected 
Chancellor  of  the  University  of  Oxford,  probably  as  much 
from  hopes  excited  by  his  present  power  as  from  the  recol- 
lection of  his  academical  proficiency.  He  had  several  times 
previously  been  intrusted  with  the  custody  of  the  Great  Seal 
as  Vice-chancellor,  and  he  must  have  been  familiar  with  the 
duties  of  the  oflSce ;  but,  on  account  of  his  many  avocations* 
soon  after  his  elevation  he  delivered  the  Great  Seal  into  the 
keeping  of  St.  Paul,  the  Master  of  the  Rolls,  who  was  to  act 
as  his  deputy.  * 
ByNTE.  He  continued  Chancellor  till  the  6th  of  July,  1338,  when 

WORTH,        j^g  retired  for  a  time,  and  was  succeeded  by  Richard  de 

Chancellor.  '  •' 

Bynteworth,  or  Bentworth,  or  WentworthI,  Bishop 
elect  of  London.  What  was  the  reason  of  this  change  I 
have  not  been  able  to  discover.  The  Stratfords  do  not  seem 
then  to  have  lost  the  favour  of  the  King,  and  while  he  was 
engaged  in  preparing  to  prosecute  the  French  war,  they  still 
assisted  him  with  their  counsels,  however  much  they  might 
disapprove  of  his  measures. 
His  his-  I  find  little  respecting  the  history  of  the  new  Chancellor 

*°^y-  except  that  he  had   been  a  prebendary  of  St.  Paul's.     He 

enjoyed  for  a  very  short  time  his  new  dignities.  Having 
received  the  Great  Seal  and  been  sworn  in  as  Chancellor  at 
Walton,  he  immediately  returned  the  Seal  to  the  King, 
being  obliged  to  go  to  London  to  be  consecrated.  It  was 
then  given  in  charge  to  St.  Paul  and  Baumburgh,  to  keep 
until  the  Chancellor  should  be  returned  to  court.  The  King 
left  England  for  France  on  the  11th  of  July,  having  sent 
them  a  new  Great  Seal,  which  he  wished  to  be  used  in 
England  during  his  absence,  he  taking  abroad  with  him  the 
Great  Seal  before  in  use.    The  temporary  Seal  was  delivered 

*  Rot.  Cl.  11  Ed.  3. 

t  Rot.  Cl.  12  Ed.  3.  This  is  an  instance  of  B  and  W  being  interchangeable, 
of  which  we  have  another  in  the  Bicestre  at  Paris,  built  by  the  Bishop  of  Win- 
chester, Vincester—  Bincester,  Bicestre.  So  in  some  parts  of  England  walnuts 
are  called  halnuts  or  bonnets.  In  the  Spanish  language  every  v  is  convertible 
into  6.     Hence  the  felicitous  pun  :  — "  Beati  quibus  rivere  est  6ibere." 


JOHN   DE    STRATFORD,    CHANCELLOR.  233 

to  the  Chancellor  on  the  19th  of  July*,  and  continued  in  his  CHAP, 

.  •  XIII 

possession  till  the  7th  of  December  in  the  following  year, — 


when  he  suddenly  died.  j^  n  1339 

The  Seal  was  delivered  the  next  morning,  by  two  of  the  His  death, 
officers  of  the  deceased  Chancellor  to  the  Archbishop  of  Can- 
terbury, who  immediately  sent  it  to  the  Council  appointed 
by  the  King  to  administer  the  government  in  his  absence. 
They  handed  it  over  to  three  persons  to  be  used  for  sealing 
necessary  writs,  and  on  the  16th  of  February  following  it 
was  placed  in  the  sole  custody  of  the  Master  of  the  Rolls,  by 
virtue  of  a  letter  of  Prince  Edward,  Guardian  of  the  realm. 

The  King  having  returned  to  England  in  about  a  fortnight 
after,  he  delivered  to  the  Master  of  the  Rolls  a  new  Seal, 
which  he  had  brought  with  him  from  France,  with  the  fleur- 
de-lys  engraved  upon  it, — impressions  of  which  were  sent  into 
every  county  in  England  for  the  purpose  of  making  it  gene- 
rally known,  t 

On  the  28th   of  April,   1340,  John  de  Stratford,  Arch-  John  de 
bishop  of  Canterbury,  was  made  Lord  Chancellor  for  the   rh*'^°'j^' 
third  time.     The  King  was  again  to  pass  beyond  the  seas,   the  third 
and  he  placed  this    old   public  servant  at  the  head  of  the  *'™^* 
Council  to  govern  in  his  absence,  in  the  belief  that  he  was  the 
fittest  man  that  could   be  selected  to  obtain  supplies  from 
Parliament,  to  levy  the  subsidies  that  might  be  voted,  and  to 
raise  men  for  the  war  now  carrying  on  to  win  the  crown  of 
France. 

While  Edward  lay  at  the  siege  of  Tournay  a  parliament  a.  d.  1340. 
was  held  by  commission  at  Westminster,  and  the  Chancellor,    ^  P^rl'a- 

•'  '    merit. 

on  the  7th  of  July,  the  first  day  of  the  session,  declared  that 
it  had  been  summoned  "  to  consult  what  farther  course  was 
best  for  the  King  and  his  allies  to  take  against  France.  "| 
Liberal  supplies  in  money  and  provisions  were  voted,  and 
notwithstanding  the  charge  of  treachery  or  remissness  after- 
wards brought  against  the  Archbishop,  he  seems  to  have 
exerted  himself  to  the  utmost  to  render  them  available  to  the 
public  service. 

On  account  of  his  infirmity  of  body  he  again  resigned  the   Kesi-rna- 

tion  of 
•   Rot.  CI.  12  Ed.  3.  m.  22.  f   Rot.  CI.  14  Ed.  3.  m.  42. 

\  1   Pari.  Hist,  99. 


234 


REIGX   OF   EDWARD   III. 


CHAP. 
XIII. 

John  de 
Stratford, 
and  re- 
appoint- 
ment of 
Robert. 

Adminis- 
tration of 
the  Strat- 
fords. 

Their  fall. 
Embarrass- 
ments of 
the  King. 


His  sudden 
return. 


Imprison- 
ment of 
the  Lord 
Chancellor. 

Edward's 
rage 

against  the 
priesthood. 

Advan- 
tages and 
disadvan- 
tages of 
appointing 
ecclesiastics 
to  office  of 
Chancellor. 


office  of  Chancellor,  and  the  King  again  appointed  Robert 
Stratford,  Bishop  of  Chichester,  as  his  successor.* 

The  two  brothers  continued  jointly  to  manage  the  King's 
affairs  in  England  without  the  slightest  suspicion  of  any 
change  in  his  sentiments  towards  them  till  his  sudden  and 
wrathful  return,  when  they  were  dismissed  from  their  em- 
ployments, and,  but  for  their  sacred  character  as  ecclesiastics, 
would  have  been  in  great  danger  of  losing  their  heads. 

Edward  had  derived  no  fruits  from  the  great  naval  victory 
he  had  lately  gained  on  the  coast  of  Flanders,  and  though  he 
had  commanded  a  more  numerous  army  than  ever  before  or 
since  served  under  the  banner  of  an  English  sovereign,  he 
had  been  able  to  make  no  progress  in  his  romantic  enterprise. 
He  had  incurred  immense  debts  with  the  Flemings,  for  which 
he  had  even  pawned  his  own  person.  The  remittances  from 
England  came  in  much  slower  than  he  expected,  and  he  found 
it  convenient  to  throw  the  blame  on  those  he  had  left  in 
aifthority  at  home. 

He  escaped  from  his  creditors,  and  after  encountering  a 
violent  tempest,  arrived  at  the  Tower  of  London  in  the 
middle  of  the  night  of  the  30th  of  November.  He  began  by 
committing  to  prison  and  treating  with  unusual  rigour  the 
constable  and  others  who  had  charge  of  the  Tower,  on  pre- 
tence that  it  was  negligently  guarded.  His  vengeance  then 
fell  on  the  Lord  Chancellor,  whom  next  day  he  deprived  of 
his  office,  and  ventured  for  some  time  to  detain  in  prison. 

Nay  more,  he  inveighed  against  the  whole  order  of  the 
priesthood  as  unfit  for  any  secular  employment,  and  he  as- 
tonished the  kingdom  by  the  bold  innovation  of  appointing  a 
layman  as  Chancellor.  Considering  how  ecclesiastics  in 
those  ages  had  entrenched  themselves  in  privileges  and  im- 
munities, so  that  no  civil  penalty  could  regularly  be  inflicted 
upon  them  for  any  public  malversation,  and  that  they  were 
so  much  in  the  habit,  when  once  elevated  to  high  station  by 
royal  favour,  of  preferring  the  extension  of  priestly  domi- 

Ilot.  CI.  14  Ed. .'}.  m.  13.  Upon  this  occasion  the  Great  Seal  was  broken 
on  account  of  a  change  in  the  King's  armorial  bearings,  and  another  Seal,  with 
an  improved  emh\^zomnent  of  the  Jieur-de-lys,  was  delivered  by  the  King,  when 
embarking  for  France,  to  St.  Paul,  the  Master  of  the  Rolls,  to  be  carried  to  the 
new  Chancellor. 


ROBERT   DE   STRATFORD,    CHANCELLOR.  235 

nation  to  gratitude  or  respect  for  temporal  authority,  it  seems     CHAP. 

at  first  sight  wonderful  that  the  great  offices  of  state  were   |__ 

ever  bestowed  upon  them.  On  the  other  hand,  there  were 
peculiar  causes  which  favoured  their  promotion.  Being  the 
only  educated  class,  they  were  best  qualified  for  civil  em- 
ployments requiring  knowledge  and  address  ;  when  raised  to 
the  prelacy  they  enjoyed  equal  dignity  with  the  greatest 
barons,  and  gave  weight  by  their  personal  authority  to  the 
official  powers  intrusted  to  them,  while  at  the  same  time 
they  did  not  excite  the  envy,  jealousy,  and  factious  combi- 
nations which  always  arose  when  laymen  of  obscure  birth 
were  elevated  to  power.  They  did  not  endanger  the  Crown  by 
accumulating  wealth  or  influence  in  their  families,  and  they 
were  restrained  by  the  decency  of  their  character  from  that 
open  rapine  and  violence  so  often  practised  by  the  nobles.* 
These  motives  had  hitherto  induced  Edward  to  follow  the 
example  of  his  predecessors,  and  to  employ  ecclesiastics  as 
his  ministers,  at  the  risk  of  their  turning  against  him  and 
setting  him  at  defiance.  But,  finding  that  by  the  Clementine 
Constitutions  he  was  obliged  immediately  to  release  the  dis- 
missed Chancellor  from  prison,  and  that  the  Archbishop, 
whom  he  likewise  wished  to  call  to  account,  fulminated  an 
excommunication  against  him,  he  resolved  in  future  to  employ 
only  men  whom  he  could  control  and  punish. 

*   Hume's  Hist.  vol.  ii.  p.  409. 


23G 


REIGN   OF   EDWARD   III. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


CHANCEIXORS  AND  KEEPERS  OF  THE  GREAT  SEAL,  FROM  THE 
APPOINTMENT  OF  SIR  ROBERT  BOURCHIER  TlLl.  THE  APPOINT- 
MENT  OF   WILLIAM  DE   WICKHAM. 


CHAP. 
XIV. 

Dec.  14. 

1340. 

Sir  Robeet 

BouR- 

CHIER, 

Chancellor. 

His  birth 
and  mili- 
tary career. 


Retirement 
and  death 
of  Ex- 
chancellor 
Robert  de 
Stratford. 


The  first  lay  Lord  Chancellor  appointed  by  an  English  king 
was  Sir  Robert  Bourchier,  Knight  *,  —  a  distinguished 
soldier. 

He  was  the  eldest  son  of  Sir  John  Bourchier,  a  Judge  of 
the  Court  of  Common  Pleas, —  the  representative  of  a  family 
long  seated  at  Halstead,  in  Essex,  His  education  was  very 
slender,  being  engaged  in  military  adventures  from  early 
youth ;  but  he  showed  great  capacity  as  well  as  courage  in 
the  field,  and  was  a  particular  favourite  of  King  Edward  III., 
whom  he  accompanied  in  all  his  campaigns.  In  1337  he 
was  at  the  battle  of  Cadsant,  and  had  lately  before  Tournay 
witnessed  the  discomfiture  of  all  Edward's  mighty  prepar- 
ations for  the  conquest  of  France.  He  joined  in  the  loud 
complaints  against  the  ministers  who  had  been  appointed  to 
superintend  the  supplies  and  levies  at  home,  and  in  the  ad- 
vice that  the  Stratfords  should  be  punished  for  their  supposed 
misconduct. 

The  resolution  being  taken  to  put  down  the  ascendancy  of 
ecclesiastics,  —  from  the  shrewdness  and  energy  of  this  stout 
knight,  he  was  thought  a  fit  instrument  to  carry  it  into 
effect,  and  not  only  was  the  Great  Seal  delivered  to  him,  but 
he  was  regarded  as  the  King's  chief  councillor. 

After  Robert  de  Stratford,  the  late  Chancellor,  had  been 
released  from  prison,  he  made  submission,  and  it  was  agreed 
to  take  no  farther  steps  against  him.  He  appears  now  to 
have  retired  from  politics,  and  we  read  no  more  of  him  except 
that  he  acquired  great  applause  for  the  prudence  with  which 


•   Rot.  CI.  14  Ed.  3.  m.  10. 


SIR  ROBERT  BOURCHIER,  CHANCELLOR.  237 

he  suppressed  a  mighty  sedition  in  the  University  of  Oxford,  CHAP, 
arising  from  the  opposite  factions  of  the  northern  and  southern 
scholars,  —  the  former,  by  reason  of  the  many  grievances  they 
complained  of,  having  retired  for  a  time  to  Stamford  in 
Lincolnshire.  He  afterwards  resided  entirely  in  his  diocese. 
His  life  was  prolonged  to  the  9th  of  April,  1392. 

But  it  was  determined  to  take  ample  vengeance  on  Ex-   Prosecu- 
chancellor  John  de  Stratford,  to  whose  mismanagement  was  chancellor" 
imputed  the  bad  success  of  the  war,  and  who  continued  to  John  de 
defy  the  power  of  the  Crown. 

First  came  a  proclamation  under  the  Great  Seal,  framed 
by  Lord  Chancellor  Bourchier,  and  ordered  to  be  read  in  all 
churches  and  chapels,  —  charging  the  Ex-chancellor  with 
having  intercepted  the  supplies  granted  to  the  King,  and 
either  with  having  appropriated  them  to  himself,  or  having 
diverted  them  from  their  legitimate  objects.  To  this  Strat- 
ford opposed  a  pastoral  letter,  victoriously  refuting  the 
accusation. 

But  a  parliament  was  always  considered  the  ready  engine  A  parlla- 
of  vengeance  in  the  hands  of  the  dominant  party,  and  one  was  ™^"  * 
summoned  to  meet  at  Westminster,  in  April,  1341.     Still 
some  apprehensions  were  entertained  from  the  sacred  cha- 
racter of  the  party  to  be  accused,  and  from  his  eloquence 
and  influence  if  he  were  regularly  heard  in  his  own  defence. 
The  King  and  his  military  Chancellor  therefore  resorted  to  Writ  of 
the  unconstitutional  step  of  withholding  from  him  a  writ  of  refused  to 
summons,  thinking  that    he   might  thus  be  prevented  from  the  Arch- 
appearing  in  the  Upper  House.     The  Ex-chancellor,  nothing 
appalled,  sent  a  remonstrance  to  the  King,  stating  (among  Hisremon- 
other  things),  "  that  there  were  two  powers  by  which  the  ^*''^"'''^* 
world  was  governed,  the  holy,   pontifical,  apostolic  dignity, 
and  the  royal  subordinate  authority ;  that  of  these  two  powers 
the  clerical  was  evidently  the  supreme,  since  priests  were  to 
answer  at  the   tribunal  of    the    Divine   judgment    for    the 
conduct  of   Kings   themselves ;    that    the    clergy  were    the 
spiritual  fathers  of  all  the  faithful,  and  therefore  of  Kings  and 
Princes,  and  were  entitled  by  a  heavenly  charter  to  direct 
their  wills  and  actions,  and  to  censure  their  transgressions ; 
and  that  Prelates  had  heretofore  cited  Emperors  before  their 


238 


REIGN   OP   EDWARD  III. 


CHAP. 
XIV. 


His  ap- 
pearance 
in  Palace 
Yard. 


Informa- 
tion against 
liim  in  Ex- 
chequer. 


Triumphs 
over  the 
King. 


Spirited 
conduct  of 
House  of 
Peers. 


tribunal,  had  sat  in  judgment  on  their  life  and  behaviour,  and 
had  anathematised  them  for  their  obstinate  offences."  * 

On  the  day  when  parliament  met  the  Archbishop  showed 
himself  before  the  gates  of  Westminster  Hall,  —  arrayed  in 
his  pontifical  robes,  —  holding  the  crosier  in  his  hand,  and 
attended  by  a  pompous  train  of  priests.  This  ceremony 
being  finished,  he  was  proceeding  to  the  chamber  where 
the  Peers  were  assembled,  but  he  was  forbid  by  the  captain 
of  the  guard  to  enter.  While  demanding  admittance,  he 
was  seized  by  officers  and  carried  to  the  bar  of  the  Court  of 
Exchequer,  where  he  was  called  upon  to  plead  to  an  Inform- 
ation which  had  been  filed  against  him  by  the  Attorney- 
General,  and  which  treated  him  as  a  great  pecuniary 
defaulter  to  the  Crown.  He  then  stationed  himself  in  Palace 
Yard,  and  solemnly  protested  that  he  would  not  stir  Aom 
that  place  till  the  King  gave  him  leave  to  come  into  par- 
liament, or  a  sufficient  reason  why  he  should  not.  Standing 
there  in  this  manner,  with  the  emblems  of  his  holy  office, 
some  that  were  by  began  to  revile  him,  saying  to  him, 
"  Thou  art  a  traitor :  thou  hast  deceived  the  King  and  be- 
'trayed  the  realm."  He  answered  them,  "  The  curse  of  Al- 
mighty God  and  of  his  blessed  Mother,  and  of  St.  Thomas, 
and  mine  also,  be  upon  the  heads  of  them  that  inform  the 
King  so.     Amen,  amen." 

During  two  days  the  King  rejected  his  application;  but 
he  petitioned  the  Peers  against  the  injury  thus  offered  to  the 
first  Peer  in  the  realm,  and  the  House  took  it  up  as  a  matter 
of  privilege.  The  King  agreed  to  a  personal  conference  with 
him  in  the  Painted  Chamber,  and  after  some  discussion,  con- 
sented to  his  taking  his  seat  in  the  House,  but  his  Majesty 
then  abruptly  withdrew,  and  employed  Sir  John  Darcy  and 
Sir  William  Killesby  to  accuse  him  before  the  citizens  of 
London  and  the  House  of  Commons. 

The  Lords,  alarmed  for  the  rights  and  honour  of  their 
body,  prayed  the  King  to  acknowledge,  that  when  a  Peer  was 
impeached  by  the  Crown  for  high  crimes  and  misdemeanours, 
he  could  not  be  compelled  to  plead  before  any  other  tribunal 


*   1  St.  Tr.  57. 


SIR  ROBERT  BOURCHIER,  CHANCELLOR.  239 

than  the  House  of  Peers ;  and  when  Edward  obiected  that     CHAP. 

•  XIV 

such  an  acknowledgment  would  be  prejudicial  to  the  public 

interests,  and  derogatory  to  the  royal  prerogatives,  they  re-  134Q 

quested  his  permission  to  refer  the  matter  to  a  committee  of  i34i. 
four  prelates,  four  earls,  and  four  barons.  The  committee 
reported,  as  an  undeniable  principle,  "  that  no  Peer  could  be 
arraigned  or  brought  to  judgment,  except  in  parliament  and 
by  his  peers."  This  was  unanimously  approved  of  by  the 
House,  and  embodied  in  an  address  to  the  King.* 

The  apprehension  of  serious  consequences  from  this  rup-  King 
ture,  and  the  necessity  of  procuring  a  supply,  induced  submits. 
Edward  to  declare  that  he  was  willing  that  the  charge  should 
drop.  The  triumph  of  the  Primate  was  complete,  for  he  now 
desired  that,  "  whereas  he  had  been  publicly  defamed  through 
the  realm,  he  might  be  arraigned  in  open  parliament  before 
his  peers ; "  but  the  King  adjourned  the  matter  to  the  next 
parliament,  and  then  he  ordered  all  the  proceedings  against 
him  to  be  annulled  and  vacated.  In  truth,  the  Ex-chan- 
cellor's crime  consisted  in  expostulating  with  the  King  about 
his  profuseness,  and  in  persuading  him  to  make  peace  with 
France. 

He  lived  seven  years  afterwards,  universally  honoured  and  His  death 
beloved ;  and  at  his  death,  after  founding  and  endowing  a  ^"*^  '^^'^' 
college  at  his  native  place,  he  left  all  his  estate  to  his  ser- 
vants and  domestics.  He  is  said  to  have  been  "  a  man  of  a 
mild  and  gentle  nature,  more  inclinable  to  pardon  the  guilty 
than  to  punish  them  with  severity,  and  very  charitable  to 
the  poor."  f 

Bourchier,  during  his  short  Chancellorship,  was  entirely 

*  1  St.  Tr.  65.  They  further  insisted  that  no  Peer  who  had  been  employed 
in  the  great  offices  of  the  Crown  should,  in  respect  of  his  office,  be  called  before 
any  other  court  of  justice,  and  that  in  such  a  case  he  ought  not  to  be  arraigned 
at  the  prosecution  of  the  King,  nor  lose  his  temporalities,  lands,  tenements, 
goods,  or  chattels,  nor  be  arrested,  imprisoned,  or  outlawed,  nor  plead  nor  re- 
ceive judgment,  except  in  full  parliament  and  before  his  peers,  although  they 
admitted  that  a  peer  in  receipt  of  the  King's  monies  ought  to  account  in  the 
Exchequer,  and  also  that  a  Peer  if  he  pleased  might  plead  before  another  court, 
but  without  prejudice  to  the  rights  of  the  peerage,  as  far  as  regarded  others  or 
himself,  on  future  occasions.  This  early  case  of  privilege  by  no  means  settled 
the  law  on  the  subject,  for  it  is  only  in  cases  of  treason  and  felony  that  a  Peer  is 
entitled  to  be  tried  by  his  peers,  and  this  immunity  is  restricted  to  Peers  noble  by 
blood,  so  that  the  prelates  are  triable  in  all  cases  by  a  jury. — See  1  St.  Tr.  57, 

t  See  1  Pari.  Hist.  101. 


240  REIGN   OF   EDWARD   III. 

CHAP,     occupied  with  the  King's  political  business,  particularly  in  the 
^'^'       management  of  his  diplomacy,  —  the  duties  of  foreign  secre- 


Conduct  of  ^^U  ^^  state,  which  were  transacted  by  the  Chancellor,  being 
Lord  Chan-  at  tliis  time  very  onerous.     He  transferred  the  Great  Seal 
Bourchier.    almost  always  into  the  custody  of  the  Master  of  the  Rolls  or 
the  King's  Chamberlain,  who  sealed  writs,  and  ordinarily  sat 
in  the  Court  of  Chancery,  —  although,  on  great  occasions,  the 
Lord  Chancellor  himself,  notwithstanding  his  inexperience, 
attended  in  person,  and  decided  according  to  his  own  notions 
of  law  and  equity. 
King  him-        The  King  sometimes  took  the  Seal  into   his  own  keep- 
the  Seal      ^°o'  without  meaning  to  make  any  change  in  the  office  of 
Chancellor.     On  the  7th  of  August  in  this  year,  Bourchier 
having  experienced  no  loss  of  favour,  and  not  meaning  to 
resign  his  oflSce,  under  an  order  he  received  to  that  effect, 
sent  the  Seal  to   the   palace   by  Ralph  Lord  Stafford  and 
Philip  de  Weston.     The  King  kept  it  in  his  own  possession 
till  the  next  day,  and  having  sealed  some  grants  with  it,  he 
returned  it  to  the  Chancellor.* 
Complaints       If  there  had  been  complaints  of  ecclesiastical  Chancellors, 
Lord  tbis  experiment  of  conferring  the  office  on  an  illiterate  lay- 

Chancellor    man,  who   neglected  its  duties,    caused  unprecedented   dis- 

Bourchier.  .„.  -,  ...p  pit 

satisfaction ;  and  there  was  an  agitation  in  favour  of  the  plan 
for  restraining  the  prerogative  of  the  Crown  in  the  appoint- 
ment of  its  officers,  which  had  distracted  the  weak  reigns  of 
Henry  III.  and  Edward  II. 
Attempts  The  matter  was  taken  up  by  the  legislature,  and  the  Com- 

ment to  mons,  by  petition  to  the  King,  prayed  (tantamount  to  pass- 
regulate  ing  a  bill)  "  that  the  Chancellor,  together  with  the  other  great 
pointment  officcrs,  might  be  chosen  in  open  parliament,  and  that,  at  the 
cdior^""  ^^"^^  *"^^'  *^^^  should  be  openly  sworn  to  obey  the  laws  of 
the  land  and  Magna  Charta." 

The  ferment  in  the  public  mind  was  so  great,  and  such 
was  the  necessity  for  soothing  the  Commons  with  a  view  to 
a  supply,  that  the  King  did  not  venture  to  put  a  direct  veto 
upon  this  proposal,  and  he  yielded  thus  much,  "  that  if  any 
such  office,  by  the  death  or  other  failure  of  the  incumbent, 

•   Rot.  Cl.  15  Ed.  3.  m.  34. 


SIR  ROBERT  BOURCHIER,  CHANCELLOR.  241 

become  void,  the  choice  to  remain  solely  with  the  King,  he     CHAP.*" 
taking  therein  the  assent  of  his  Council,  but  that  every  such 


officer  shall  be  sworn  at  the  next  parliament,  according  to  the  ^^n.  1341^ 
petition ;  and  that  every  parliament  following,  the  King  shall 
resume  into  his  hands  all  such  offices,  so  as  the  said  officers 
shall  be  left  liable  to  answer  all  objections."* 

The  Commons   expressed   themselves   satisfied   with   this  statute  for 
concession,  and  the  Prelates  and  Barons  approving  of  the  P^'''*'aicai 

'  1  1  o  resumption 

arrangement  for  the  periodical  resumption  of  offices,  with  a  of  office  of 
view  to  facilitate  charges  against  those  who  had  filled  them,  ^^^^^  °*"' 
the  three  estates  made  a  request  to  the  King,  that  the  pe- 
tition and  answer  might  be  reduced  into  the  form  of  a 
statute.  This  being  done,  the  statute  was  read  aloud  in  the 
King's  presence,  and  he  publicly  assented  to  it,  having  se- 
cretly entered  a  protest  against  it. 

His  officers  who  were  present  were  then  called  upon  to  Oath  to 
swear  to  observe  the  statute ;  and  to  render  the  oath  more  observe  the 
binding,  it  was  required  to  be  taken  on  the  cross  of  Canter- 
bury, then  in  attendance  on  the  Archbishop.      Several  took 
the  oath  without  hesitation ;  but  when  it  came  to  the  turn  of 
Lord  Chancellor  Bourchier  he  refused  it,  as  contrary  to  his    ' 
former  oath  of  allegiance  and  to  the  laws  of  the  realm.    Never- 
theless, he  exemplified  the  statute  under  the  Great  Seal,  and 
delivered  it  to  the  Lords  and  Commons,  f     This  was  only  to   Edward's 
delude  them ;  for  no  sooner  was  parliament  dissolved  than,   peifidious 
by  his  advice,  the  King  attempted  to  revoke  the  concession  the  statute. 
by  a  proceeding  more  extraordinary  than  that  by  which  he 
had  submitted  to  it.     An  order  in  council  was  made  abro- 
gating the  obnoxious  statute,  —  on  the  ground  that  the  King 
by  force  had  suffiired  it  to  pass  into  law ;  and  special  writs 
were  directed  to  all  the  peers  and  to  all  sheriffs  of  England, 
declaring  it  to  be  null  and  void,  and  ordering  proclamation  to 
be  made   to  that  effect.     The  preamble  of  these  writs  (no 
doubt  the  composition  of  the  gallant  Lord  Chancellor)  must 
be  allowed  to  be  very  simple  and  plain-spoken :  "  Whereas    ~ 
some  time  since,  in  our  parliament  at  "Westminster,  there  was 
a  certain  petition  made  contrary  to  the  laws  and  customs  of 

«   Rot.  Pari.  15  Ed.  .3.      See  also  stat.  15  Ed.  3.      II.  1.  cc.  3  &  4, 
t   1  Pari.  Hist.  104. 

VOL.  I.  R 


242 


REIGN   OF   EDWARD   III. 


CHAP. 
XIV. 

A.I).  1341. 


Renewed 
controversy 
between 
the  King 
and  Ex- 
chancellor 
John  de 
Stratford. 


Eno-land,  and  not  only  very  prejudicial  but  reproachful  also 
to  our  royal  dignity,  which,  if  we  had  not  permitted  to  be 
drawn  into  a  statute,  the  said  parliament  had  been  without 
success,  and  dissolved  in  discord,  and  so  our  wars  with  France 
and  Scotland  had  very  likely  (which  God  forbid)  been  in 
ruin;  and  we,  to  avoid  such  dangers,  permitting  protest- 
ations of  revoking  those  things,  when  we  could  conveniently, 
that  had  been  so  extorted  from  us  against  our  will,  yet  per- 
mitted them  to  be  sealed  with  our  seal  at  that  time,  and 
afterwards,  by  the  advice  and  assent  of  certain  earls,  barons, 
and  other  wise  men  "  (meaning  the  privy  council),  "  for  lawful 
causes,  because  we  never  consented  to  the  making  of  the 
statute,  but  as  it  then  behoved  us,  we  dissembled  in  the 
premises,  we  have  declared  it  null,  and  that  it  ought  not  to 
have  the  name  and  force  of  a  statute,  we  willing,  &c." 

The  Ex-chancellor  John  Stratford  showed  great  zeal  on  the 
opposite  side,  and  considering  that  an  oath  had  been  taken  on 
his  cross  of  Canterbury  to  observe  the  statute,  he  summoned 
a  provincial  council  for  the  purpose  of  hurling  excommuni- 
cation against  all  who  should  dare  to  infringe  it. 

Lord  Chancellor  Bourchier  then  sent  him  a  writ  of  prohi- 
bition under  the  Great  Seal  in  the  King's  name,  in  these 
words :  — 

"  We  understand  you  have  summoned  a  provincial  council  to 
meet  at  London  on  the  morrow  of  St.  Luke  next  coming,  in  which 
you  intend  to  excite  the  bishops  of  your  province  against  us,  and 
to  ordain  and  declare  some  things  prejudicial  to  us  about  confirm- 
ing the  said  pretended  statute,  and  for  the  enervation,  depression, 
and  diminution  of  our  royal  jurisdiction,  rights,  and  prerogatives 
for  the  preservation  whereof  we  are  bound  by  oath ;  and  that  you 
intend  to  promulge  grievous  censures  concerning  these  things  ; 
we,  willing  to  prevent  so  great  mischief,  do  strictly  forbid  that  in 
that  council  you  dare  to  propound,  or  any  way  attempt,  or  cause  to 
be  attempted,  any  thing  in  derogation  or  diminution  of  our  royal 
dignity,  power,  or  rights,  or  of  the  laws  and  customs  of  our  king- 
dom, or  in  confirmation  of  the  pretended  statute,  or  otherwise  in 
contumely  of  our  name  and  honour,  or  to  the  grievance  or  disad- 
vantage of  our  counsellors  or  servants  :  and  know  ye,  that  if  ye  do 
these  things,  we  will  prosecute  you  as  our  enemy  and  violator  of 
our  rights  with  as  much  severity  as  lawfully  we  may." 


SIR   ROBERT   BOURCHIER,   CHANCELLOR.  243 

A  violent  crisis  seemed  now  at  hand,  and  men  speculated     CHAP. 

diflPerently  upon  the  probable  triumph  of  the  mitre  or  the  |__ 

crown  ;  but  Edward  dexterously  avoided  the  danger  by  sacri-  ^^ ,,.  1341. 

ficins:   the  Chancellor  whose   unpopularity  and  imprudence  ^}"S  re- 

.  .        .  .fY,\t  ■,  .      .  solves  to  sa- 

had  involved  him  in  such  difficulties,  and  by  appomtmg  a  crifice  the 

successor  who  must  unite  the  suffrages  of  the  whole  kingdom   c^ianceiior 

c"  °  to  public 

in  his  favour.  discontent. 

On  the  28th  of  October,  1341,  Bourchier  was  dismissed  Dismissal 
from  the  office  of  Chancellor,  and  on  the  following  day,  to  the  "j^jgr""'^" 
great  joy  of  the  people,  it  was  conferred  on  a  man  who  had 
been  regularly  bred  to  the  bar,  who  had  already  filled 
judicial  offices  with  great  credit,  and  who  enjoyed  the  highest 
reputation  for  integrity  as  well  as  for  learning  and  ability.* 
This  excellent  appointment  operated  instantly  to  allay  the 
storm,  t  All  discontents  were  appeased ;  the  Archbishop's 
power  was  gone,  and  the  obnoxious  statute  was  no  more 
thought  of  till  two  years  afterwards,  when  it  was  in  due 
form  repealed  by  the  parliament,  then  in  good  humour  from 
the  admirable  conduct  of  the  new  Chancellor.  J 

John  de  Stratford  died  soon  after.     He  must  have  had  Death  of 
extraordinary  talents  and  tact  to  raise  himself  from  low  de-  celloVjohn 
gree  first  to  be  the  favourite  and  friend,  and  then  the  rival  de  strat- 
for  sway,  of  his  heroic  sovereign. 

We   need   not  wonder   that   the   elevation  of  Bourchier  Dlsadvan- 
had  been  so  unfortunate,  notwithstanding  his  prior  reputa-   Lord 
tion.     Most  of  his  predecessors  had  been  regularly  trained  in   Chancellor 
the  civil  and  canon  law,  and  had  risen  in  the  gradual  pro- 
gress of  official  advancement,  while  he  was  taken  from  camps 
in  which  he  had  spent  his  life  to  be  placed  in  the  marble 
chair  in  Chancery,   and  on    the  woolsack  in  the  House  of 
Lords.     In  this  assembly  likewise  he  was  under  a  great  dis- 
advantage, as  he  sat  there  without  being,  like  the  Prelates 
who  had  preceded  him,  a  member  of  the  House,  — and  being 
merely  permitted  to  put  the  question  as  prolocutor,  —  so  that 

*   Rot.  Cl.  16  Ed.  3.  m.  19. 

f  "  Simul  alba  nautis 

Stella  refulsit, 
Defluit  saxis  agitatus  humor." 

I   Cott.  Abr.  38,  39. 

R  2 


244  REIGN   OF   EDWARD   III. 

CHAP,     the  office  Nvhich  he  filled  was  shorn  of  its  dignity  and  in- 
fluence. 


Boureiiier's  Being  restored  to  his  proper  sphere  he  soon  recovered  and 
subsequent  increased  his  reputation.  He  was  with  Edward  the  Black 
Prince  in  the  heat  of  the  battle  of  Cressy,  and  was  afterwards 
one  of  the  ambassadors  to  treat  with  France  for  a  peace.  As  a 
reward  for  his  services  he  was  summoned  as  a  Peer  to  parlia- 
ment, and  his  family  thus  ennobled  was  long  very  flourishing, 
and  became  allied  to  the  Crown.  He  died  of  the  plague  in 
the  year  1349,  leaving  as  his  heir  and  successor  in  the  peer- 
age, John  his  son,  by  his  wife  Margaret,  daughter  and  heir 
of  Sir  Thomas  de  Preyers. 

He  obtained  from  Edward  III.,  in  1330,  a  grant  of  free 
warren  in  his  twenty-one  lordships  in  Essex,  —  in  1336,  a 
licence  to  impark  his  woods  at  Halstead, — and  in  1341,  while 
he  was  Chancellor,  a  warrant  to  convert  his  house  there  into 
a  battlemented  castle. 
Oct.  29.  Sir  Robert  Parnynge,  who  now  held  the  Great  Seal,  was 

1341. 

Sir  Robert  the  first  regularly  bred  common  lawyer  who  was    ever  ap- 
Paknynge,  pointed  to  the  ofiice  of  Chancellor  in  England.      I  do  not 

Chancellor.    ^  i  i  • 

find  any  account  of  his  parentage  or  early  education.  He 
was  probably  of  obscure  origin,  owing  his  rise  to  his  talents 
and  his  industry.  Having  distinguished  himself  greatly  for 
his  proficiency  in  the  study  of  the  common  law  as  a  member 
of  the  inns  of  court,  and  as  an  utter  barrister,  he  took  the 
A.  p.  1335.     degree  of  the  coif  in  the  8th  of  Edward  III.,  and  was  soon 

His  legal  °  T^'       5     o 

studies.  made  a  Kings  Serjeant*  "For  his  profound  and  excellent 
knowledge  of  the  laws,"  he  was,  in  Trinity  term,  14  Ed.  3., 
created  Chief  Justice  of  England.  On  the  15th  of  De- 
cember following  he  was  made  Lord  Treasurer  of  England, 
and  he  remained  in  that  office  till  he  was  constituted  Lord 
^  «•  1341.    Chancellor.f 

Chan"ell  '^^^  equitable  jurisdiction  of  Chancery  had  been  greatly 

he  con.     '  extended,  and  to  the  duties  of  his  own  Court  the  new  Chan- 
sludy'the      ^^^^^^  sedulously  devoted  himself.     But  he  thought,  as  did. 
common       Lord  Eldon  and  tlie  most  celebrated  of  his  successors,  that  the 
best  qualification  for  an  Equity  Judge  is  not  the  mere  drudgery 

*   Orig.  Jur.  p.  43.  f  4  Inst.  79. 


SIR  ROBERT  PARNYNGE,  CHANCELLOR. 


245 


of  drawing  bills  and  answers,  but  a  scientific  knowledge  of  the 
common  law ;  and  he  further  thought  it  essential  that  his 
knowledge  of  the  common  law  should  be  steadily  kept  up  by 
him  Avhen  Chancellor.  "  This  man,"  says  Lord  Coke,  "  know- 
ing that  he  that  knew  not  the  common  law,  could  never  well 
judge  in  Equity  (which  is  a  just  correction  of  law  in  some 
cases),  did  usually  sit  in  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  (which 
court  is  the  lock  and  key  of  the  Common  Law),  and  heard 
matters  in  law  there  debated,  and  many  times  would  argue 
himself  as  in  the  Report,  17  Ed.  3.,  it  appears."* 

It  was  only  once,  and  for  a  very  short  time,  that  the 
Great  Seal  was  out  of  his  own  custody  while  he  was  Chan- 
cellor. On  the  16th  of  May,  1342,  it  was  delivered  to  two 
great  Barons,  Henry  de  Lancaster,  Earl  of  Derby,  and 
William  de  Bohun,  Earl  of  Northampton,  not,  as  may  well 
be  supposed,  for  any  judicial  purpose,  but  to  give  effect  to  a 
proceeding  whicli  the  Chancellor  probably  condemned  and 
resisted.  The  Close  Roll,  16  Ed.  3.,  states,  that  "imme- 
diately after  the  Earls  above  named  had  obtained  possession 
of  the  Seal,  they  caused  divers  letters  of  pardon,  *  sectce  pads 
regis,^  for  homicide  to  be  sealed,  and  ordered  the  same 
charters  to  be  inrolled  in  Chancery  without  the  payment  of 
any  fee,  and  afterwards  the  King  re-delivered  the  Seal  to  the 
Chancellor." 

On  the  4th  of  October,  1342,  when  the  King  was  on  board 
the  George,  at  Sandwich,  bound  for  Brittany,  Lord  Chan- 
cellor Parnynge  delivered  the  Great  Seal  into  his  Majesty's 
hands,  and  another  seal  was  delivered  to  him  to  be  used  in 
England  during  the  King's  absence,  f  On  the  4th  of  March 
following,  the  King  being  returned,  delivered  to  the  Chan- 
cellor the  Great  Seal  which  he  had  taken  with  him  into 
Brittany,  and  at  the  same  time  received  back  the  seal  which 
had  been  used  in  the  interval.  % 

There  was  only  one  parliament  held  while  Parnynge  was 
Chancellor,  in  which  he  presided  with  dignity,  although  the 
inconvenience  was  still  felt  of  the  Speaker  not  being  a  member 
of  the  House  of  Peers.     The  Commons,  not  from  any  dissa- 


CHAP. 

XIV. 


Use  of  the 
Great  Seal. 


King 
abroad. 


April  23. 

1343. 

Commons 

pray  that 

Chancellor 

may  be  a 

peer. 


*  4  Inst.  79. 


t  Rot.  CI.  16  Ed.  3.  m.  32. 
R  3 


t  Ibid. 


246 


REIGN   OF   EDWARD   III. 


CHAP. 
XIV. 

A.D.  1343, 


tisfaction  with  him,  but  rather,  I  presume,  with  a  view  that 
he  might  be  raised  to  the  peerage,  petitioned  the  King  "  that 
the  Chancellor  may  be  a  peer  of  the  realm,  and  that  no 
stranger  be  appointed  thereunto,  and  that  he  attend  not  to 
any  other  office."  Edward,  much  nettled,  chose  to  consider 
this  a  wanton  interference  with  his  prerogative,  and  returned 
for  answer  :  "  Le  Roi  poet  faire  ses  ministres  come  lui  plaira, 
et  come  lui  et  ses  ancestres  ont  fait  en  tut  temps  passez."* 

However,  with  the  exception  of  this  little  breeze,  there 
was  great  tranquillity  during  the  session,  and  the  Chancellor, 
by  order  of  the  House,  having  examined  before  them  some  of 
the  King's  officers  respecting  the  war  and  the  negotiation  with 
France,  the  three  estates  concurred  in  advising  the  King  to 
adhere  to  the  truce  which  had  been  concluded  with  Philip, 
and  to  try  to  convert  it  into  a  permanent  peace,  though,  if 
this  should  be  unattainable,  they  would  maintain  his  quarrel 
with  all  their  power,  f 

Parnynge's  last  appearance  in  public  was  in  the  august 
ceremony  of  the  King  creating  his  eldest  son  Prince  of  Wales 
in  full  parliament,  investing  him  with  a  coronet,  a  gold  ring, 
and  a  silver  rod. 

It  was  now  generally  expected  that  he  himself  would  be 
made  a  peer;  but  on  the  26th  of  August,  1343,  he  suddenly 
Chancellor    died  Avhilc  enjoying  the  full  favour  of  his  Prince  and  the 
entire  confidence  of  his  fellow-subjects. 

I  cannot  find  any  trace  of  his  decisions  while  Chancellor; 
but  we  know  that  he  is  to  be  honoured  as  the  first  person 
who  held  the  office  with  the  requisite  qualifications  for  the 
proper  discharge  of  its  important  duties,  and  he  must  have 
laid  the  foundation-stone  of  that  temple  to  justice,  afterwards 
reared  in  such  fair  proportions  by  an  Ellesmere,  a  Notting- 
ham, and  a  Hardwicke. 

The  Great  Seal  was  now  for  a  short  time  (according  to 
modern  phraseology)  ''in  commission,"  that  is  to  say,  —  with- 
out the  appointment  of  a  Chancellor,  it  was  intrusted  to  the 
Master  of  the  Rolls  and  two  others,  jointly,  for  the  despatch 


Sudden 
death  of 
Lord 


arnynge. 


*   1  Pari.  Hist.  105. 
t   1  Pari.  Hist.  106. 


Rol.  P.  vol.  ii.  140.'' 


EGBERT   DE    SADYNGTON,    CHANCELLOR.  247 

cf  all   business   connected  with  it*,  and   they   held  it   till     CHAP. 

•  XIV 

Michaelmas-day  following.  On  that  day  the  Earl  of  "Warwick, 

by  the  King's  command,  sealed  five  charters  of  pardon  with  ^^  1343 
it,  and  it  was  then  delivered  by  the  King  to  Egbert  de   Robert  de 
Sadyngtgn  as  Chancellor,  f  ton,  Chan- 

He  was  descended  from  a  family  of  great  eminence  in  the  f^^^^or. 
law,  the  members  of  which  had  been  successively  Justices  in  ^^.^j.^ 
Eyre  to  Henry  III.,  Edward  I.,  and  Edward  11.  I  do  not 
find  any  account  of  his  early  career,  except  that  he  studied  at 
the  inns  of  court,  and  was  regularly  bred  to  the  bar.  He 
was  appointed  Chief  Baron  of  the  Exchequer  20th  of  March, 
11  Edward  III.,  Vice-treasurer  of  England  25th  of  June, 
13  Edward  III.,  and  Lord  Treasurer  2d  of  May,  14  Ed- 
ward III. 

He  seems  to  have  turned  out  a  very  indifferent  equity  Bad  equity 
judge,  and  to  have  disappointed  public  expectation.  Lord  ■""  °^' 
Coke,  eager  to  praise  Chancellors  taken  from  the  common 
law,  while  he  celebrates  the  merits  of  Parnynge  and  Knyvet, 
the  contemporaries  of  Lord  Chancellor  Sadyngton,  has  not  a 
word  to  say  in  his  praise ;  and  he  performed  so  indifferently 
as  to  reconcile  the  nation  to  the  old  practice  of  making  eccle- 
siastical Chancellors. 

He  presided  at  a  parliament  which  met  on  the  7th  of  A  parlm- 
June,  1344,  and  in  the  presence  of  the  King  and  the  Prince  "™^"** 
of  Wales,  declared  the  cause  of  this  summons  to  be  "con- 
cerning the  late  truce  with  France,  and  the  breach  of  it  by 
the  French  King,  of  which  he  gave  seven  particular  in- 
stances ;  and  he  desired  the  three  estates  of  the  realm  to 
consider  of  those  things,  and  that  they  would  give  him  such 
advice  and  assistance  as  was  necessary  for  the  saving  of  his 
and  their  own  rights  and   honours.":}:     They  answered,  by 

*  The  entry  of  this  commission  on  the  Close  Roll  is  curious,  as  almost  the 
only  one  not  in  Latin.  "  Le  Roi  a  ses  chers  Clercs  Maistre  de  Tliorcsby,  Johan 
de  St.  Paul,  ct  Thomas  de  Brayton,  salutz.  Come  Mons.  Robert  Parnyng 
votre  Chanceller  soit  a  Dieu,  mandez  nous  assurantz  de  vos  sens  et  loialtez ; 
nous  mandons  que  vous  receivez  notre  Grant  Seal  en  la  presence  de  notre  con- 
seil  a  Londres,  et  facez  ceo  que  a  I'office  du  dit  Seal  appeint  come  gardeins 
dicel  tanquo  nous  eut  corns  autremont  ordeinez.  Done  kouz  notre  sccre  seal  a 
West,  le  xxvj.  jour  d'Augst,  I'an  de  notre  regue  d'Engleterre  disseptisme  et  de 
France  quartrieine." — 17  Ed.  3.  m.  24. 

t   Rot.  CI.  17  Ed.  3.  m.  20.  J   1  Pari.  Hist.  109. 

B  4 


248 


REIGN   OF   EDWARD   II f. 


CHAP. 
XIV. 


July  30. 
1344. 


Lord 

Chancellor 
Sadyngton 
dismissed. 


Return  to 
ecclesias- 
tical Chan- 
cellors. 


the  mouth  of  the  Chancellor,  that  they  "  prayed  him  to  make 
a  speedy  end  of  the  war,  either  by  battle  or  a  proper  peace,  if 
such  might  be  had ;  and  that  when  he  had  embarked  to  cross 
the  seas  he  should  not,  for  the  letters  or  command  of  the 
Pope,  or  any  other,  lay  aside  his  voyage  until  he  had  made 
an  end  one  way  or  another." 

While  Sadyngton  was  Chancellor,  the  King  several  times 
took  the  Great  Seal  from  him  for  the  purpose  of  sealing  a 
charter  of  pardon  (which  seems  to  have  been  considered  as 
the  direct  act  of  the  Sovereign),  and  then  restored  it  to  him. 

When  the  King  was  sailing  on  his  expedition  to  France, 
Sadyngton  delivered  the  Great  Seal  to  him  at  Sandwich,  and 
received  it  back  on  Edward's  return  to  England.  The  entry 
on  the  record  of  this  ceremony  is  curious,  as  showing  that 
the  Chancellor  now  regularly  sat  in  his  court  in  West- 
minster Hall,  surrounded  by  the  Masters  in  Chancery  as  his 
assessors.* 

Sadyngton  was  soon  after  obliged  to  give  up  the  Great 
Seal  altogether,  having  been  found  inefficient  both  in  parlia- 
ment and  in  the  court  of  chancery,  and  the  complaints  against 
him  becoming  so  loud  that  the  King  was  afraid  the  Commons 
might  renew  their  efforts  to  wrest  from  the  Crown  the  ap- 
pointment to  the  office  of  Chancellor.  But  a  job  was  done 
for  the  Ex-chancellor,  who  had  exerted  himself  to  please  his 
party.  Chief  Baron  Stenford  being  induced  to  resign,  Sa- 
dyngton was  reinstated  as  head  of  the  Court  of  Exchequer, 
where  he  continued  to  preside  till  his  death.f 

The  last  experiment  of  a  legal  Chancellor  had  succeeded 
so  indifferently  that  the  King  resolved,  for  his  next  choice,  to 
return  to  the  Church.  There  had  been  murmurs  from  the 
prelates,  who  considered  the  office  of  Chancellor  as  belonging 
to  their  order ;  and  it  was  perhaps  thought  that  the  causes 
of  summoning  a  parliament,  and  the  topics  for  a  liberal  supply 


*  "  Quod  quidem  sigillum  idem  Dominus  Rex  a  Roberto  de  Sadyngton 
Cancellario  suo  super  passagio  suo  versus  dictas  partes  Flandriaj  prius  recessit 
eidemque  Cancellario  in  quadam  bursa  inclusuin  in  Magna  Aula  Regis  apud 
Westuionasterium  in  loco  ubi  idem  Cancellarius  communiter  sedet  inter  Clericos 
Cancellaria>  pro  officio  suo  exercendo  in  prccsentia  eorundem  clericorum  libera- 
vit."— Hot.  CI.  19  Ed.  3.  p,  2. 

t  Or.  Jur.  47. 


JOHN   DE   OFFORD,    CHANCELLOR.  249 

would  come  with  more  effect  from  the  holy  lips  of  a  mitred     CHAP. 

XIV 
occupant   of  the   woolsack    than    from    a   profane   lawyer,  ' 


known  to  have  practised  as  a  retained  advocate  in  West-  ^d.  1345. 
minster  Hall. 

On  the  26th  of  October,  1345,  in  the  room  called  "the  John  de 
Cage  Chamber,"  in  the   palace  at  Westminster,   the    King   jj^^^  ^^ 
delivered   the  Great  Seal  to  John  de  Offord,  Dean   of  Lincoln, 
Lincoln,  to  be  held  by  him  as  Chancellor,  and,  having  taken 
the  oaths,  on  the  following  day  he  sealed  writs  and  letters 
patent  with  it  in  the  Court   of  Chancery  in  Westminster 
Hall.* 

He  was  of  noble  extraction,  being  a  younger  son  of  Robert 
Earl  of  Suffolk.  He  was  early  dedicated  to  the  church,  and, 
as  usual  with  those  who  hoped  to  rise  in  it,  applying  himself 
diligently  to  the  study  of  the  civil  and  canon  law,  he  took  the 
degree  of  Doctor  utroque  jure.  From  family  interest,  as  well 
as  personal  merit,  he  soon  got  preferment,  and  being  Dean  of 
Lincoln,  while  still  a  young  man  he  had  a  promise  of  the 
next  vacant  bishopric. 

He  held  the  office  of  Chancellor,  with  great  credit  for  five 
years,  and  would  probably  have  been  continued  in  it  much 
longer  but  for  his  untimely  death. 

At  the  parliament  held  in  the  beginning  of  the  year  1347   Battle  of 
he  had  the  satisfaction  of  announcing  the  victory  of  Cressy,    ^'"'^^^y- 
and  of  obtaining  supplies  larger  than  ever  before  voted,  to 
enable  the  King  to  push  on  the  siege  of  Calais.f 

The  Commons,  finding  no  fault  with  him   as  an  equity   Complaints 
judge,  made  an  effort  to  reduce  the  fees  payable  upon  writs  '"en^  "*' 
out  of  Chancer}^,  which  were  represented  to  be  contrary  to  against 
the  words  of  Magna  Charta,  "  Nulli  vendemus  justitiam  ; "  but   chancery. 
these  constituted  a  branch  of  the  royal  revenue,  which  the 
King  would  not  suffer  to  be  touched,  and  he  returned  for  . 
answer,  "  Unto  the  poor  it  shall  be  given /or  God's  sake,  and 
it  is  reasonable  that  those  who  can  afford  to  pay  should  pay, 
as  they  have  been  accustomed."  | 

Offord  remained  in  great  favour  with  the  King,  and  in 
September,  1348,  while  Chancellor,  he  was  pi'omoted  to  the 


*   Rot.  Cl.  m.  10.  t   1  J'arL  Hist.  111. 

X  Rot.  Pari.  21  Ed.  3. 


A.D.  1348. 


250  REIGN   OP   EDWARD   III. 

CHAP,  sec  of  Canterbury.  He  had  both  the  royal  commendation 
*  and  the  Papal  provision  for  his  elevation  ;  but  he  died  before 
his  consecration,  and  in  all  proceedings  during  the  latter  part 
of  his  time,  he  is  designated  "  Archbishop  of  Canterbury 
elect,  and  Chancellor."  * 

Lord  Chancellor  OfFord  seems  to  have  had  the  Great  Seal 
always  in  his  own  keeping,  unless  when  he  parted  with  it  for 
some  temporary  purpose.  On  the  28th  of  October,  1348,  he 
delivered  it  to  the  Master  of  the  Rolls  to  take  to  the  King 
at  Sandwich,  then  about  to  sail  for  the  Continent.  As  soon 
as  the  King  received  it,  he  ordered  certain  commissions  to  be 
sealed  with  it,  and  then  gave  it  to  Andrew  de  OfFord  to  carry 
to  his  brother  the  Chancellor  f,  who  did  not  afterwards  part 
with  it. 

He  had  got  possession  of  the  temporalities  of  his  see, 
and  was  making  great  preparations  for  his  inauguration,  when 

•  One  of  the  most  curious  of  these  is  a  writ  which  he  sent  in  the  King's 
name  to  the  sheriffs  of  London,  commanding  them  to  make  proclamation  to 
different  classes  of  suitors  how  respectively  they  were  to  obtain  justice,  and  is 
supposed  to  show  that  the  distinction  between  common  law  and  equity  was 
then  fully  established,  and  that  the  latter  was  not  exclusively  administered  by 
the  Chancellor,  but  by  him  or  the  Keeper  of  the  Privy  Seal,  subject  to  the 
control  of  the  King  in  Council.  "  Rex  Vicecomit.  London,  salutem.  Quia 
circa  diversa  negotia  nos  et  statum  regni  nostri  Angl.  concernantia  sumus  in- 
dies multipliciter  occupati,  volumus  quod  quaelibet  negotia  tarn  communem 
legem  regni  nostri  Angl.  quam  gratiam  nostram  specialem  concernantia  penes 
nosmetipsos  hab'  prosequend'  eadem  negotia,  videlicet  negotia  ad  commu- 
nem legem  penes  venerab'  virum  elect'  Cantuar'  confirmat'  Cancellarium  nos- 
trum per  ipsum  expediend.  et  alia  negotia  de  gratia  nostra  concedenda  penes 
eundem  Cancellarium  seu  dilectum  clericum  nostrum  Custodem  sigilli  nostri 
privati  prosequantur.  Ita  quod  ipsi  vel  unus  eorum  petitiones,  negotiorum 
quJE  per  eos  nobis  inconsultis  expediri  non  poterunt,  una  cum  advisamentis  suis 
inde  ad  nos  transmittant  vel  transmittal,  absque  alia  prosecutione  penes  nos 
inde  faciend'  ut  his  inspectis  ulterius  praefato  Cancellario,  seu  Custod  inde 
significamus  vtlle  nostrum,  et  quod  nullus  alius  hujusmodi  negotia  penes  nos- 
metipsos de  cffitero  prosequantur,  vobis  praecipimus  quod  statim  visis  prassentibus 
praemissa  omnia  et  singula  in  civitate  prasdlcta  in  locis  ubi  expediri  videritis 
publice  proclamari  faciatis  in  forma  prasdicta  et  hoc  nullatenus  omittatis. 
Teste  Rege  apud  Langley,  13  die  Januar.  Anno  regni  22  Ed.  3.  Claus. 
p.  2.  m.  2.  in  dorso  per  ipsum  Regem."  — Where  it  is  said  that  common  law 
business  was  to  be  prosecuted  before  the  Chancellor,  I  presume  this  can  only 
mean  that  application  should  be  made  for  original  writs  out  of  Chancery.  Or 
may  "matters  concerning  the  common  law"  mean  disputes  between  subject  and 
subject  to  be  decided  judicially  by  the  Chancellor,  and  "matters  concerning  our 
special  grace  cognisable  before  us  "  mean  grants  and  matters  of  favour  depending 
on  the  pleasure  of  tlie  Crown  ? 

t  Tlie  learned  and  accurate  Hardy  represents  Andrew  de  Offord  to  have 
been  a  Keeper  of  the  Great  Seal ;  but,  with  great  deference,  he  was  not  intrusted 
to  use  it,  and  was  merely  a  messenger  to  convey  it  to  London. — Hardy's  Clian- 
cdhrs,  78.      Rot.  CI.  22*  Ed.  3.  m.  8. 


JOHN  DE  THORESBY,  CHANCELLOR.  251 

he  was  suddenly  struck  with  a  disease  of  which  he  died  on     CHAP. 

XTV 

the  26th  of  August,  1348. 


He  was  more  a  statesman  than  a  lawyer  or  a  divine ;  but   Death  of 
he  left  behind  him  a  considerable  reputation  for  assiduity   Chancellor 
and  discretion  in  the  discharge  of  his  official  duties. 

On  his  death,  the  Great  Seal  remained  in  the  custody  of  John  de 
the  Master  of  the  Rolls  and  three  others  for  about  a  month,   chancellor, 
while  the  King   deliberated  about  a  successor,  and  things  June  is. 
having  gone  on  so  smoothly  under  a  clerical  Chancellor,  he 
at  last  appointed  to  the  office  John  de  Thoresby,  Bishop 
of  St.  David's*,  who  held  it  for  seven  years. 

This  man,  very  eminent  in  his  own  time,  had  studied  at 
Oxford,  where  he  not  only  became  a  deep  divine,  but  very 
knowing  in  the  civil  and  canon  law.  While  still  young,  he  His  writ- 
wrote  many  tracts  both  in  Latin  and  in  English,  now  be-  ^°^^' 
ginning  to  be  cultivated  by  men  of  learning.  His  most 
popular  work  was  "A  Commentary  on  the  Lord's  Prayer, 
the  Decalogue,  and  the  Creed ;  "  but  none  of  them  were  con- 
sidered to  be  of  sufficient  value  to  be  preserved  and  printed. 
He  early  took  orders,  and  was  made  a  master  in  Chancery. 
On  the  21st  of  February,  15  Ed.  IIL,  he  was  appointed  Master 
of  the  Rolls.  He  rose  into  high  favour  with  the  King,  and, 
showing  an  aptitude  for  state  affiiirs,  was  intrusted  with  the 
custody  of  the  Privy  Seal,  and  sworn  a  member  of  council. f 
He  was  elected  Bishop  of  St.  David's  in  September,  1347,  and 
was  translated  to  Worcester  in  November,  1349. 

Although  considered  the  most  learned  man  of  his  time,  he 
was  very  deficient  as  an  orator,  and  while  he  held  the  Great 
Seal,  as  often  as  parliament  met  the  causes  of  the  summons 
were  declared  by  the  Chief  Justice  of  the  King's  Bench,  sup- 
ported by  the  King's  Chamberlain  or  some  other  courtier. 

The  most  memorable  proceeding  in  parliament  while  he  statute  of 
presided  there,   was  the  passing    of  the  famous    Statute  of  1''*^^*""^ 
Treasons.  :|:     For  the  first  time  in  any  European  monarchy, 
the  law  gave  a  definition  of  the  acts  against  the  state  which 

*    Rot.  CI.  22  Ed.  3.  m.  8. 

f  In  the  Rolls,  in  which  he  is  mentioned  ahout  this  time,  he  is  sometimes 
styled  "  Magister,"  and  sometimes  "  Dominus,"  but  the  one  title  seems  to  have 
been  considered  quite  as  high  as  the  other. 

X  25  Ed.  3.  c.  2. 


252  REIGN   or   EDWARD   III. 

CHAP,  should  amount  to  lese-majesty  and  subject  the  offender  to 
^^^*  the  high  penalties  which  must  be  enacted  against  those  who 
aim  at  the  life  of  the  Sovereign,  or  who  attempt  by  violence 
to  bring  about  a  revolution  in  the  established  government  of 
the  country.  This  statute,  which  did  more  for  the  liberties 
of  England  than  Magna  Charta  itself,  continues  in  force  to 
the  present  day.  It  has  been  considerably  extended  by 
judicial  construction  beyond  its  original  terms.  Where  the 
King's  life  is  not  directly  aimed  at,  no  act  of  a  public  nature, 
short  of  levying  war  against  the  King  in  his  realm,  being 
expressly  declared  to  be  treason,  the  judges  have  been  driven 
to  decide  that  any  revolutionary  movement  or  plot  is  con- 
structively a  compassing  of  the  King's  death.  It  would 
have  been  better  if  the  deficiency  had  been  supplied  by  the 
legislature ;  but  it  would  be  too  late  now  to  resort  to  a  strict 
interpretation  of  the  statute,  although  the  judges  of  the  pre- 
sent day  would  hardly  hold  with  some  of  their  predecessors, 
that  an  insurrection  to  destroy  all  dissenting  meeting-houses, 
or  all  inclosures,  or  all  brothels,  would  be  a  compassing  of  the 
death  of  our  Lady  the  Queen. 

Lord  Chancellor  Thoresby,  if  he  did  not  bring  forward, 
must  have  acquiesced  in  the  passing  of  this  memorable  re- 
form of  the  law,  for  which  Ave  owe  some  respect  to  his 
memory  ;  for  he  has  had  successors  who  not  only  originated 
no  good  measure,  but  have  zealously  supported  every  legal 
abuse. 

While  Thoresby  was  Chancellor,  the  Commons  renewed 
their  attempt  to  reduce   the   fees   payable  on  writs  out  of 
Chancery,  —  the   King  returning  to  their  petition  this  soft 
and  evasive  answer :   "  It  pleases  the  King,  that  the  Chan- 
cellor shall  be  as  moderate  as  he  can  touching  fees  on  writs, 
having  regard  to  the  condition  of  the  persons  who  purchase 
them." 
Attack  in         The  Commons  then  made  an  attack  on  the  equitable  juris- 
on  equita-     dictiou  of  the  Council  and  the  Chancellor,  but  in  such  ge- 
bie  juris-      ncral  terms  that  their  petition  could  not  be  negatived.   Citing 

diction  of        AT  /-ii  1 

Chancellor.    Magna  Charta,   that  "  no  man    shall    be  prejudged    of  his 

A....  1351.     freehold  or  franchises  save  by  the  law  of  the  land,"  they 

prayed  that  no  one  might  be  put  to  answer  for  such  matters 


WILLIAM   DE   EDINGTON,    CHANCELLOR.  253 

but  by  due  process  at  the  common  law,  and  that  any  thing     chap. 
to  the  contrary  should  be  held  null  and  void.     The  answer 
was,  "it  pleases  our  Lord  the  King   that   the   petition  be  ^  j,  jg^j 
granted."  * 

He  appears  to  have  interfered  very  little  with  the  judicial 
duties  of  the  office,  for  during  almost  the  whole  of  his  time  the 
Great  Seal  was  in  the  hands  of  Keepers,  —  either  of  several 
jointly,  or  of  one  under  the  seals  of  two  others,  —  in  whose 
presence  alone  it  could  t)e  used.  The  necessity  for  the  Chan- 
cellor's attendance  in  his  diocese  is  several  times  the  reason 
assigned  in  the  Close  Roll  for  the  King  giving  him  leave  of 
absence  from  London  and  the  appointment  of  Keepers  till 
his  return. 

In  November,   1356,   Thoresby   being   promoted   to   the  Thoresby 
Archiepiscopal  see  of  York,  resigned  the  Great  Seal.    We  bemgmade 
have  many  instances  of  Archbishops  of  Canterbury  holding  bishop  of 
the  office  of  Chancellor,  as  they  had  only  to  cross  the  Thames  T""^^' "*- 

^  J  J  signs  the 

in  their  state  barge  from  Lambeth  to  Westminster  Hall ;  but  Great  Seal, 
the  duties  of  the  Northern  metropolitan  were  generally  con- 
sidered incompatible  with  a  continued  residence  in  London, 
although  Wolsey,  and  a  few  others,  unscrupulously  sacrificed 
them  to  gain  their  ambitious  ends. 

Thoresby  died  on  the  6th  of  November,  1373,  leaving  be-  His  death, 
hind  him  a  great  reputation  for  piety  and  charity  as  well  as 
learning.  While  he  M'-as  Archbishop  of  York,  the  precedency 
of  the  two  archbishops  which  hitherto  had  been  contested 
was  settled,  and  the  title  of  "  Primate  of  all  England,"  since 
borne  by  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  was  invented. 

On  Archbishop  Thoresby's  resignation,  the  Great  Seal  was  a.d.  is56. 
delivered  to  William  de  Edington,  Bishop  of  Winchester,   ^^^i;'-^**^ 
as  Chancellor,  and  he  held  it  above  six  years.  ton,  Ciian- 

This  individual,  highly  distinguished  in  his  own  time  though  ^^  '^^' 
so  little  known  in  ours,  took  his  name  from  the  place  of  his 
birth,  Edington,  in  Wiltshire,  where  he  afterwards  founded  the 
priory  of  "  Bons  Hommes."     He  studied  at  Oxford,  and  there 
acquired  great  reputation  for  his  skill  in  law  and  divinity. 

*  "  II  plest  a  nre.  Seigr  le  Roi,  q.  la  petition  soit  ottroie." — Rot.  Pari. 
Q5  Ed,  3.  "  Ottroyer"  or  "  Octroyer "  was  the  proper  French  word  to 
designate  a  royal  grant.  Hence  the  "  Octroi  "or  municipal  tax  granted  by 
the  King. 


254 


REIGN    OF    EDWAKD    III. 


CHAP. 
XIV. 


Peace  of 
Bretigni. 


May  8. 
1360. 


Statute  for 
use  of  En- 
glish lan- 
guage. 


He  was  warmly  patronised  by  Adam  de  Orleton,  Bishop 
of  Winchester,  who  presented  him  to  the  living  of  Cheriton, 
in  Hampshire,  and  introduced  him  at  Court.  Gaining  the 
goodwill  of  Edward  III.,  he  was  appointed  to  the  see  of 
Winchester  on  the  death  of  his  patron,  and  was  the  first  of 
four  prelates,  who,  being  all  Chancellors,  successively  held  it 
for  near  150  years.* 

While  Edington  remained  Chancellor,  he  himself  did  all 
the  duties  of  the  oflSce  without  the  assistance  of  any  Keeper 
or  Vice-chancellor.  According  to  the  accustomed  form,  it 
was  twice  surrendered  up  by  him  to  the  King  on  his  going 
beyond  seas,  and  on  his  Majesty's  return  exchanged  for  the 
seal  used  during  his  absence. 

In  his  time  England  was  at  the  height  of  military  glory, 
the  Black  Prince  having  gained  the  battle  of  Poictiers,  and 
John  King  of  France  and  David  King  of  Scots  being 
fellow  prisoners  in  London.  Nevertheless  he  had  to  set  the 
Great  Seal  to  the  treaty  of  Bretigni  in  1360,  by  which  Ed- 
ward, after  all  his  victories,  renounced  his  claim  to  the  Crown 
of  France,  in  consideration  of  being  allowed  to  hold  certain 
provinces  in  that  kingdom  in  full  sovereignty. 

There  was  now  an  interval  of  repose  for  domestic  improve- 
ment, and  in  1362  the  Chancellor  carried  through  parliament 
the  famous  statute,  whereby  it  was  enacted  that  all  pleadings 
and  judgments  in  the  Courts  of  Westminster  should  for  the 
future  be  in  English  f,  whereas  they  had  been  in  French 
ever  since  the  Conquest ;  —  and  that  all  schoolmasters  should 
teach  their  scholars  to  construe  in  English,  and  not  in  French 
as  they  had  hitherto  been  accustomed.  Although  the  French 
language  no  longer  enjoyed  any  legal  sanction,  it  had  such  a 
hold  of  legal  practitioners,  that  it  continued  to  be  voluntarily 
used  by  them  down  to  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century. 
Their  reports,  and  treatises,  and  abridgments  are  in  French, 
and  if  we  would  find  any  thing  in  Chief  Baron  Comyn's 
Digest  composed  in  the  reign  of  George  II.  about  "  High- 


*   Edington,  Wm.  of  Wickham,  Cardinal  Beaufort,  and  Waynflete. 
t  36  Ed.  3.  c.  15. 


WILLIAM   DE   EDINaTON,    CHANCELLOR.  255 

ways,"  "  Tithes,"  or  "  Husband  and  Wife,"  we  must  look  to     CHAR 
the  titles  «  Chemin,"  «  Dismes,"  and  "  Baron  &  Feme."  *  ^^^- 

Edington  might  have  been  raised  to  the  primacy  if  he  had   ^^(^^ses  the 
pleased,  —  but  he  refused  the  preferment,  saying,  "  That  in-  primacy. 
deed  the  rack  of  Canterbury  was  higher,  hut  the  manger  of 
Winchester  was  larger.''^ 

When  Lord  Treasurer,  in  1350,  he  had  incurred  great 
odium  by  debasing  the  coin;  but  he  seems  to  have  passed 
through  the  office  of  Chancellor  without  reproach.  He  con- 
cuiTed  in  passing  several  very  salutary  statutes  for  correcting 
the  oppressive  abuses  of  purveyance,  whereby  it  was  enacted, 
that  "  if  any  man  that  feeleth  himself  aggrieved  contrary  to 
any  thing  contained  in  these  statutes  will  come  into  the 
Chancery,  and  thereof  make  his  complaint,  he  shall  there 
have  remedy."  The  process,  no  doubt,  was  by  petition,  on 
which  the  Chancellor,  in  a  summary  manner,  inquired  and 
gave  judgment. 

He  resigned  the  Great  Seal  in  February  1363,  and  died  at  Resigna- 
Winchester  on  the  8th  of  October,  1366.     He  acquired  great  Lo"/^ 


•  The  law,  having  spoken  French  in  her  infancy,  had  great  difficulty  in 
changing  her  dialect.  It  is  curious  that  acts  of  parliament  long  continued  to 
be  framed  in  French,  and  that  French  is  still  employed  by  the  different  branches 
of  the  legislature  in  their  intercourse  with  each  other.  Not  only  is  the  royal 
assent  given  to  bills  by  the  words  "  La  Reigne  le  voet,"  but  when  either  House 
passes  a  bill  there  is  an  indorsement  written  upon  it,  "  Soit  baile  aux  Seigneurs," 
or  "  aux  Communes  ; "  and  at  the  beginning  of  every  parliament  the  Lords  make 
an  entry  in  their  Journals,  in  French,  of  the  appointment  of  the  Receivers  and 
Triers  of  petitions,  not  only  for  England,  but  for  Gascony.  E.  g. :  Extract  from 
Lords'  Journal,  24th  August,  1841  : — 

"  Les  Recevours  des  Petitions  de  Gascoigne  et  des  autres  terres  et  pays  de 
par  la  mer  et  des  isles. 

"  Le  Baron  Abinger,  Chief  Baron  de  I'Exchequer  de  la  Reyne. 
"  Messire  James  Parke,  Chevalier. 
"  Messire  John  Edmund  Dowdeswell,  Ecuyer. 
"  Et  ceux   qui  veulent  delivre  leur  Petitions  les  baillent  dedans  six  jours 
prochelnment  ensuivant. 

"  Les  Triours  des  Petitions  de  Gascoigne  et  des  autres  terres  et  pays  de  par 
la  mer  et  des  isles. 

"  Le  Due  de  Somerset. 
"  Le  Marquis  d' Anglesey. 
"  Le  Count  de  Tankerville. 
"  Le  Viscount  Torrington. 
"  Le  Baron  Campbell. 
"  Tout  eux  ensemble,  ou  quatre  des  seigneurs  avant-ditz,  appellant  aut  eux 
les  Serjeants  de  la  Reyne,  quant  sera  besoigne,  tiendront  leur  place  en  la  chambre 
du  Chambellan. 

'•  Recevours  et  Triours  des  Petitions  de  la  Grande  Bretagne  et  d'Ireland," 
were  appointed  the  same  day. 


Chancellor 
Edington, 


256  EEIGN   OF   EDWARD   III. 

CHAP,  reputation  for  piety  by  the  monastic  institution  which  he 
^^^-  founded  in  his  native  place;  but  perhaps  his  best  claim  to 
the  gratitude  of  posterity  Avas^  his  patronage  of  William  of 
Wickham,  —  the  architect  of  Windsor  Gastle,  —  his  successor 
in  the  see  of  Winchester,  —  twice  Lord  Chancellor,  —  and 
founder  of  Winchester  School  and  New  College,  Oxford. 
Feb.  19.  The  next  Chancellor  was  Simon  de  Langham,  Bishop  of 

1363.  Ely.*      I  cannot  find  out  the  origin  of  this  aspiring  and 

Langham,  uuamiable  man.  He  first  appears  as  a  monk  in  the  Abbey  of 
from  being  Westminster;  but  under  his  cowl  he  concealed  unbounded 
a  monk.  ambition  and  very  considerable  talents.  He  is  one  of  the 
few  instances  of  the  regular  clergy  attaining  to  great  eminence 
in  England.  He  was  always  rising  in  the  world.  From  a 
great  reputation  for  piety  he  was  eagerly  resorted  to  as  a  Con- 
fessor, and  he  acquired  much  influence  over  his  penitents, 
which  he  turned  skilfully  to  his  own  account.  He  could 
adapt  his  manners  to  all  classes  and  characters^  and  the  monk 
His  rise.  who  recommended  himself  to  some  by  fasting  and  penance 
gained  the  favour  of  Edward  III.  by  his  courtly  manners, 
and  the  aptitude  he  displayed  for  civil  business.  Though 
generally  somewhat  stern,  and  rather  unpopular  with  those 
who  depended  upon  him,  he  courted  his  superiors  so  assidu- 
ously and  so  successfully,  that  he  was  successively  Treasurer 
of  Wells,  Archdeacon  of  Taunton,  Prior  and  Abbot  of  West- 
minster, Bishop  of  Ely,  and  Treasurer  of  England.  He  had 
been  elected  Bishop  of  London  ;  but  Ely  falling  vacant  before 
his  consecration,  he  preferred  it  as  being  richer,  though  in- 
ferior in  rank. 
Translated  Being  now  Chancellor  he  was,  in  1366,  translated  to  the 
bury?"'^*^"  see  of  Canterbury,  uniting  in  his  own  person  the  two  offices 
of  highest  civil  and  ecclesiastical  dignity.  But  if  we  may 
credit  a  waggish  distich  which  was  then  penned  upon  him, 
this  translation  caused  equal  joy  in  one  quarter  and  con- 
sternation in  another :  — 

"  Laetantur  coeli, — quia  Simon  transit  ab  Ely, 
Cujus  in  adventum — flent  in  Kent  millia  centum." 

Among  those  with  whom  he  quarrelled  at  Canterbury  was 

•    Rot.  CI,  37  Ed.  3.  m.  39. 


SIMON  DE   LANGHAM,   CHANCELLOR.  257 

the  famous  John  Wickliffe,  then  a  student  at  the  College  there     chap. 

•  X  TV 

erected  by  Islip  his  predecessor.     This  ardent  youth  being 
unjustly  expelled,  and  finding  no  redress  for  the  wrong  he  ^  „  jggg 
suffered,  turned  his  mind  to  clerical  usurpation  and  oppression.   Quarrels 
and  prepared  the  way  for  that  reformation  in  religion  which  lifl-g. 
blessed  an  after  age. 

Langham  was  installed  in  his  office  of  Chancellor  with 
extraordinary  pomp  and  magnificence.  Being  appointed  on 
Sunday,  1 9th  February,  the  record  says  that  on  Tuesday  next 
following,  taking  the  Great  Seal  with  him  to  Westminster, 
"  et  in  sede  marmorea,  ubi  Cancellarii  sedere  sunt  assueti, 
sedens,  &c.,  literas  patentes,  &c.,  consignari  fecit."  * 

All  the  parliaments  called  in  his  time  were  opened  by  an   Custom  of 
oration  from  him.     We  may  give  as  a  specimen  his  perform-  ^ '^e^";^^^'"' 
ance  on  the  4th  of  December,  1364.     He  set  the  example,  parliament 
long  followed  on  such  occasions  by  ecclesiastical  Chancellors  f,  ^ursefrom 
of  beginning  with  a  text  from  the  Holy  Scriptures  as  a  theme,   text  in 
He  now  self  ctea  the  saying  of  the  Eoyal  Prophet  —  "  Faith-  ^"'P'"""^- 
ful  judgment  doth  adorn  the  King's  seat;  " —  whence  he  took 
occasion  to  extol  the  great  valour  of  the  King,  his  master, 
and  the  many  victories  which,  by  God's  assistance,  he  had 
gained  in  his  youth ;  not  forgetting  the  constant  and  dutiful 
goodwill  and  ready  concurrence  of  the  King's  loyal  subjects 
towards  the  furtherance  of  those  his  important  undertakings : 
"  For  all  which,  as  the  King  did  now  by  him  return  them 
his  hearty  thanks,  so  he  let  them  know  that  for  his  part  he 
was  resolved  to  seek  the  common  peace  and  tranquillity  of  all 
his  people,  especially  by  enforcing  a  due  observance  of  all 
good  and  wholesome  laws,  and   amending  such  of  them  as 
should  be  thought  defective ;  as  also  by  establishing  new  ones 
as  necessity  should  require." 

Notwithstanding  these  smooth  words,  there  were  heavy 
complaints  against  the  Chancellor  for  increasing  the  fines  in 


•  Rot.  CI.  ;37  Ed.  3.  m.  39.  See  Dugd.  Or.  Jur.  37.  He  adds  that  the 
marble  chair  remained  to  his  day,  being  fixed  in  the  wall  over  against  the 
middle  of  the  marble  table. 

f  "  VVlien  a  bishop  was  Lord  Chancellor  he  took  a  text  of  Scripture,  which 
he  repeated  in  Latin,  and  discoursed  upon  the  same.  But  when  a  judge  was 
Lord  Chancellor,  he  took  no  text,  but  in  manner  of  an  oration  sliowed  summa- 
rily the  causes  of  tiie  parliament."  —  4  Inst.  8. 

VOL.  L  S 


258 


REIGN   OF   EDWARD   III. 


CHAP. 

xrv. 


A.D.  1367. 
He  retires 
to  Avi- 
gnon,  and 
aspires  to 
the  Pope- 
dom. 


His  death. 


Chancery  payable  to  the  King,  and  the  Commons  prayed  that 
these  fines  should  not  be  higher  than  they  were  in  the  time  of 
the  King's  father,  or  at  the  King's  first  coronation.  It  would 
appear  that  the  new  practice  was  agreeable  as  well  as  profit- 
able to  the  King,  who  was  determined  to  continue  it  by 
returning  this  answer :  —  "  The  King  wills  that  fines  be 
reasonable  to  the  ease  and  quiet  of  his  people." 

In  the  beginning  of  1367  Langham's  ambition  was  further 
gratified,  as  he  was  made  a  Cardinal  by  Pope  Urban  V. ;  and 
there  being  nothing  further  in  England  which  he  could  covet, 
he  aspired  to  the  triple  crown  itself.  It  was  probably  with 
this  view,  that  he  soon  after  resigned  the  office  of  Chancellor, 
and  went  to  Avignon  to  intrigue  among  the  Cardinals.  There 
he  lived  eight  years  in  great  credit  and  splendour.  In  1371 
he  came  to  London  as  a  legate  from  the  Pope  to  negotiate  a 
peace  between  France  and  England.  But  while  speculating 
at  Avignon  about  a  vacancy  in  the  papacy,  all  his  ambitious 
schemes  were  for  ever  terminated  by  an  attack  of  palsy,  of 
which  he  immediately  died.  He  is  celebrated  more  for  his 
liberality  to  the  abbey  and  monks  of  Westminster,  than  for 
his  just  administration  of  the  law,  or  any  improvements  in 
legislation. 


WILLIAM   OF    WICKHAM,    CHANCELLOR. 


259 


CHAPTEK  XV. 

CHANCELLORS  AND  KEEPERS  OF  THE  GREAT  SEAL  FROM  THE 
APPOINTMENT  OF  WILLIAM  OF  WICKHAM  TILL  THE  DEATH  OF 
EDWARD   HI. 

The  successor  of  Langham  was  a  man  whose  memory  is  still 
regarded  with  high  respect  by  the  English  nation,  the  famous 
William  of  Wickham. 

This  distinguished  man,  who  was  twice  Lord  Chancellor, 


CHAP. 
XV. 


Sept.  17. 
1367. 


was  born  in  the  year  1324,  at  the  village  in  Hampshire  from   William 
which  he  took  his  name,  —  of  poor  but  honest  parents,  being   °^jj  ^^ 
the  son  of  John  Long  and  Sibyl  his  wife.*     He  probably   His  ori-rln. 
never  would  have  been  known  to  the  world  had  he  not,  when 
almost  quite  a  child,  attracted  the  notice  of  Nicholas  Uvedale, 
Lord  of  the  Manor  of  Wickham,  and  governor  of  Winchester, 
who  put  him  to  school  in  that  city.     He  is  Mkewise  said  to   Education, 
have  been  sent  to  study  at  Oxford ;  but  there  is  great  reason 
to  doubt  whether  he  ever  was   at    any  university,  and  his 
splendid  foundations  for    the  education    of   youth  probably 
proceeded  less  from  gratitude,   than  from  a  desire  to  rescue 
others  from  the  disadvantages  under  which  he  had  himself 
laboured,  for  he  never  possessed  scholastic  learning,  and  he 


*  It  has  been  lately  asserted  that  Wickham,  or  Wykeham,  was  his  family 
name,  because  it  is  said  to  have  belonged  to  several  relations  born  elsewhere ; 
but  all  the  earliest  accounts  of  him  concur  in  the  statement  I  have  adopted. 
For  example : — 

"  Qua  capit  australes  comitatu  Hamptona  Britannos, 
Wichamia  est  vicus,  nee  nisi  parvus  ager. 
Vixit  Johannes  illic  cognomine  Longus, 

Cui  fuit  in  casti  parte  Sibylla  thori. 
Hanc  habuit  patriam  Gulielmus  et  hosce  parentes 

Wichamus.  augurio  nee  tamen  absque  bono ; 
Namque  loci  ut  iiomen,  sic  vim  matrisque  patrisque 

Haud  dubie  in  vitam  transtulit  ille  suam, 

Longus  cnim  ut  lonyo  duraret  tempore,  caute 

Et  hene  prospiceret  cuncta,  Sthylla  dedit." 

Ortus  et  Vita  Gul.  de  Wicham. 
8  2 


260  REIGN   OF   EDWARD   III. 

CHAP,  owed  his  advancement  to  the  native  fervour  of  his  genius  and 
^^''  the  energy  which  enabled  him  to  surmount  all  diflSculties. 
While  still  a  youth,  he  became  private  secretary  to  his 
patron,  and  was  lodged  in  a  high  turret  in  Winchester 
Castle,  of  which  Uvedale  was  Constable.  Here  he  imbibed 
that  enthusiastic  admiration  of  Gothic  architecture  which  was 
the  foundation  of  his  fortune.  Ere  long  there  was  no  ca- 
thedral, ancient  church,  baronial  hall,  or  Norman  castle  many 
miles  round  that  he  had  not  visited  and  studied ;  and  he  set  to 
work  to  consider  scientifically  how  such  stately  structures 
were  erected,  and  to  figure  in  his  imagination  others  grander 
and  of  finer  proportions.  He  was  first  noticed  by  Edington, 
the  Bishop  of  Winchester,  then  Lord  Chancellor,  —  little 
thinking  that  he  was  himself  to  be  Bishop  of  AVlnchester  and 
Lord  Chancellor.  But  from  him  he  had  only  fair  words  and 
good  cheer. 
Introduced  tlvcdalc  afterwards  happened  to  mention  to  the  King  the 
to  Ed.  III.  remarkable  young  man  he  had  for  his  secretary,  and  Edward, 
ever  ready  to  avail  himself  of  efficient  service  and  to  en- 
courage merit  in  every  department,  desired  that  he  might  be 
presented  to  him.  He  was  accordingly  brought  to  Court, 
and  instantly  made  a  most  favourable  impression  by  his 
modest  and  insinuating  manners,  and  his  great  knowledge  of 
the  subject  to  which  he  had  devoted  himself.  First  he  was 
made  "  Clerk  of  all  the  King's  works  in  his  manors  of 
Henle  and  Yelhampsted*,"  and  then  "  Surveyor  of  the 
King's  works  in  the  castle  and  park  of  Windsor."! 
Builds  Edward,    after   his    great   victories,    now   meditated   the 

Cj^Uc.*"^  erection  of  a  palace  where,  according  to  the  taste  of  the  age,  . 
he  might  entertain  the  flower  of  European  chivalry  of  which 
he  was  the  acknowledged  head,  —  affording  his  brother  knights 
a  full  opportunity  to  display  their  prowess  in  the  tournament, 
and  to  lead  the  dance  with  their  lady-loves  in  the  brilliant 
hall  at  night.  Windsor,  the  destined  site,  had  been  occa- 
sionally the  residence  of  our  sovereigns  since  the  Conquest ; 
but  what  was  then  called  "the  Castle,"  consisted  of  a  few 

*   Patent,  dated  10th  May,  1356.  f  Patent,  30th  Oct.  1.356. 


WILLIAM   OF   WICKHAM,    CHANCELLOR.  261 

irregular  buildings,    with   pepper-boxes   at   the   corners  of     CHAP. 
them. 


Wickham  furnished  the  designs  for  the  new  Castle  such 
nearly  as  we  now  behold  it — suitable  to  its  noble  position, 
and  for  simplicity  and  grandeur  superior  to  any  royal  re- 
sidence in  the  world.  He  showed  corresponding  vigour  in 
carrying  the  plan  into  execution.  By  a  stretch  of  pre- 
rogative every  county  in  England  was  obliged  to  send  a  con- 
tingent of  masons  and  other  workmen,  and  in  a  surprisingly 
short  period  the  structure  was  completed. 

The  King,  to  celebrate  the  event,  founded  the  illustrious  ^.d.  1349. 
order  of  the  Garter,  which  now  adds  to  the  patronage  of  the  the  Garter. 
Prime  Minister,  and  furnishes  the  object  of  highest  ambition 
to  our  greatest  nobles. 

It  is  said  that  the  architect  gave  deep  offence  to  his  royal  Inscription 
master  by  placing  on  one  of  the  gates  the  inscription,  "  This 
made  JVichem,"  which  was  construed  into  an  arrogant  appro- 
priation to  himself  of  all  the  glory  of  the  edifice.  But  he 
insisted  that  the  words  were  to  be  read  as  a  translation  of 
"Wichamum  fecit  hoc*" — not  of  "Hoc  fecit  Wichamus," 
—  that  according  to  the  usual  idiom  of  the  English  language, 
"Wichem"  was  here  the  accusative  case,  instead  of  the 
nominative  —  and  that  he  only  wished  posterity  to  know  that 
his  superintendence  of  the  work  had  gained  him  the  royal 
favour,  and  thus  had  raised  him  from  low  degree  to  exalted 
fortune.  Edward  was  appeased,  and  ever  afterwards  delighted 
to  honour  him. 

Except  the  common  law,  the  only  road  to  wealth  and  Wickham 
power  open  to  a  non-combatant  in  those  days  —  was  the  church,  o^jg^s  °  ^ 
It  was  now  too  late  for  William  to  begin  the  study  of 
Bracton,  Fleta,  and  the  Year  Books,  and  to  try  to  obtain 
practice  in  Westminster  Hall ;  but  he  was  prevailed  upon  to 
take  orders,  and  ecclesiastical  preferments  were  showered 
upon  him.  It  has  been  supposed  that  he  had  early  taken 
deacon's  orders,  because  in  1352  he  was  styled  "  clericus"  or 
clerk,  but  this  designation  was  given  to  men  in  civil  employ- 

•  This  use  of  "  facere,"  to  make  a  man,  rather  strengthens  the  presumption 
tliat  he  did  not  study  at  Oxford. 

S  3 


262  REIGN   OF   EDWARD   III. 

CHAP,  mcnts*,  although  not  in  the  church  ;  and  hitherto  he  had  no 
^^*  ecclesiastical  function  or  benefice.  On  the  5th  of  December, 
1361,  he  was  admitted  to  the  order  of  "acolyte;'''' — he  was 
ordained  subdeacon  on  the  12th  of  March,  1362,  and  priest 
on  the  12th  of  June  following.  He  was  now  inducted  into 
tlie  rectory  of  Palham  in  Norfolk,  —  he  was  presented  to  a 
prebend  in  the  cathedral  at  Lichfield,  and  he  received  the 
King's  grant  of  the  deanery  of  the  royal  free  chapel  or  col- 
legiate church  of  St.  Martin's-le- Grand,  London, — with  other 

His  prefer-  pluralities.  His  secular  preferment  likewise  still  proceeded, 
as  he  was  appointed  "chief  warden  and  surveyor  of  the 
King's  castles  of  Old  and  New  Windsor,  and  sundry  others, 
with  the  parks  belonging  to  them,"  for  which  he  had,  besides 
many  fees  and  perquisites,  an  assignment  of  205.  a  day  out  of 
the  Exchequer. 

Engages  jje  now  likewise  entered  the  field  of  politics;  on  the  11th 

of  May,  1364,  he  was  made  Keeper  of  the  Privy  Seal,  and 
soon  after  he  is  styled  "  secretary  to  the  King,"  performing 
the  functions  of  the  officer  afterwards  designated  "  Principal 
Secretary  of  State."  In  May,  1365,  he  was  commissioned 
along  with  others  to  treat  of  the  ransom  of  David  II.  King 
of  Scotland,  taken  prisoner  at  Neville's  Cross,  and  the  pro- 
longing of  the  truce  with  the  Scots. 

His  in-  Under  the  bull  of  Pope  Urban  V.  against  pluralities,  he 

was  reluctantly  compelled  to  make  a  return  of  his  ecclesias- 
tical benefices,  in  which  he  calls  himself  "  Sir  William  of 
Wykeham,  clerk.  Archdeacon  of  Lincoln,  and  secretary  of 
our  lord  the  illustrious  King  of  England,  and  keeper  of  his 
Privy  Seal,"  —  and  in  which  he  reduces  the  total  produce  to 
873/.  6s.  8d 

He  did  not  attend  much  to  his  spiritual  duties,  but  he 
showed  great  dexterity  in  civil  business,  and  a  natural  apti- 
tude for  every  situation  in  which  he  was  placed,  ^ — so  that  he 

*  Thus  in  the  contemporary  poem  of  the  "  Wife  of  Bath's  Prologue "  by 
Chaucer, 

"  My  fifthe  husbande,  God  his  soule  blesse 
Which  that  I  toke  for  love  and  no  richesse, 
He  sometime  was  a  Clkuk  of  Oxenforde, 
And  had  left  scole  and  went  at  home  at  borde." 

Of  course  the  clerk  had  not  taken  orders,  or  he  could  not  have  entered  into  this 
matrimonial  alliance. 


come. 


WILLIAM   OF   WICKHAM,    CHANCELLOR.  263 

escaped  the  envy  that  might  have  been  expected  to  attend  his     CHAP. 
elevation,  and  was  a  general  favourite.     Conscious  how  much 


he  owed  to  his  delicate  attention  to  the  feelings  of  others, 
when  he  had  from  the  Heralds  a  grant  of  arms,  he  took  for 
his  motto,  "Manners  makyth  man."* 

At  last,  on  the  death  of  Ex-chancellor  Edington,  Bishop  Made 
of  Winchester,  in  1366,  at  the  earnest  recommendation  of  the  ^vln^hes- 
King,   he  was  elected  by  the  prior  and  convent  to  succeed  ter. 
him  in  that  see.     This  promotion  in  his  native  county  must 
have  been  particularly  gratifying  to  him,  and  as  he  was  only 
in  his  forty-second  year,  we  may  hope  that  his  parents  were 
still  alive,  and  walked  from  the  village  of  Wickham  to  Win- 
chester to  see  him  enthroned. 

The  resignation  of  the  Great  Seal  by  Archbishop  Langham  Sept.  1367. 
in  pursuit  of  the  triple  crown,  threw  the  King  into  consider-  thrCreat 
able  perplexity,  there  being  neither  lawyer  nor  churchman  Seal. 
whom  he  considered  perfectly  well  qualified  for  the  office  of 
Chancellor.     He  yielded  to  personal  inclination  and  appointed 
to  it  his  favourite,  William  of  Wickham,  whose  installation 
he  graced  by  delivering  to  him  a  new  Great  Seal,  with  the 
lilies  engraved  upon  it,  in  consequence  of  a  resolution  of 
parliament   that   he   should   resume   the   title   of   King   of 
France,  t 

This  appointment,  in  spite  of  William's  abilities  and  popu-  Impro- 
larity,  must  have  been  generally  condemned,  and  shows  that  th^*^*^. 
while   the  King  was  all-powerful  from   the  success    of  his  pointment. 
arms  abroad,  he  disregarded  public  opinion  in  the  acts  of  his 
domestic   government.      The  jurisdiction    of  the    Court   of 
Chancery  had  been  greatly  extended  during  the  last  forty 
years,  and  Parnynge  while  presiding  there  must  have  given 
something   like    system   to    its    practice.      The   result    soon 
showed  that  no  one  who  was  an   entire  stranger  to  leo;al 
pursuits  and  habits,  could  decently  discharge  the  duties  even 

*  We  must  not  infer  defective  education  from  the  seeming  ungrammatical 
structure  of  this  motto,  for  our  ancestors,  like  the  Greeks,  put  a  singular  verb  to 
a  plural  neuter  substantive,  as  Purchass  — 

"  Little  corn,  bui  cragges  and  stones 
Maheth  pilgrims  weary  bones." 

t   Rot.  CI.  43  Ed.  .'3.  m.  18. 

8  4 


264  REIGN   OF   EDWARD   III. 

CHAP      of  an  equity  judge,  discretionary  as  they  were  then  deemed 
^^'-       lobe.* 
jjjg^         The  Chancellor  no  doubt  invited  those  who  practised  in 
Wickham     his  court  to  sumptuous  banquets  at  his  palace  in  Southwark ; 
p"tg"  t°'"'     —  made  himself  very  agreeable  in  society  ;  —  availed  himself 
judge.  discreetly  of  the  talents  and  experience  of  those  around  him  ; 

—  and,  that  he  might  not  give  unnecessary  trouble  to  himself 
nor  offence  to  others,  affirmed  in  all  cases  brought  before  him 
on  appeal; — but  the  suitors  complained  bitterly  of  his  delays 
and  inefficiency,  and,  as  their  wrongs  gradually  excited  the 
Complaints  Sympathy  of  the  public,  at  last  parliament  interfered.     In 
?r'ar1ia-'"   ^^^1'  ''^^^^^  William  had  been   Chancellor  four  years,  the 
ment.  «  Earls,    Barons,    and    Commons    of  England,"  (the  Lords 

spiritual,  as  might  have  been   expected,   not  joining  in  the 
vote,)  petitioned  the  King,  "  that  thenceforth  none  but  lay- 
men should  be  appointed  Chancellor  or   other  great  officer 
or  governor  of  the  realm,  for  the  state  had  been  too  long 
governed  by   churchmen  queux  ne  sont   mye  justiciahles  en 
touz  cas^  f 
A.D.  1371,         The  altered  posture  of  the  King's  affairs  rendered  it  im- 
moved  "      possible  for  him  to  stand  out  against  the  wishes  of  parlia- 
from  office,  ment  and  the  people.     All  the  efforts  of  his  younger  son  to 
gain   the    crown  of   Castile  had  failed;    and   the   treaty  of 
Bretigni  being  broken,  new  expeditions  against  France  were 
to  be  undertaken,  and  fresh  supplies  were  indispensable.    Ac- 
cordingly, on  the  24th  of  March,  the  Great  Seal  was  taken 
from  William  of  Wickham,  and  two  days  after,  it  was  delivered 
to  the  man  universally  considered  the  best  qualified  to  perform 
Sir  Robert  the  duties  belonging  to  it,  —  Sir  Robert  Thorpe,  who  had 
Chancellor.  ^®®^  regularly  bred  to  the  bar,  and  for  some  time  had,  with 

*  His  promotion  to  be  a  judge  was  ascribed  to  his  skill  as  an  architect. 
"  Windesora  fuit  pagus  celeberrimus,  illic 
Rex  statuit  castri  moenia  magna  sui, 
Wicamus  huic  operi  praeponitur :   inde  probatum  est 

Ingenio  quantum  polluit,  arte,  fide. 
Ergo  fit  Edwardo  charus  Custosque  Sigilli 

Non  ita  post  multos  incipit  esse  dies." — Ort.  et  Fit.  Gul.  de  IVick. 
The  analogous  case  would  be,  if  Mr.  Barry,  as  a  recompence  for  his  excellent 
plan  for  the  new  houses  of  parliament,  were  now  to  be  made  Lord  Chancellor. 
Wickhtfe,  in  revenge  for  being  questioned  by  Wickham  as  a  heretic,  complained 
that  promotion  fell  "  only  on  kitchen  clerks  and  men  wise  in  huiUUnq  castles." 
t    Rot.  Pari.  45  Ed.  3. 


SIR  ROBERT  THORPE,  CHANCELLOR.  265 

great  applause,  filled  the  office  of  Chief  Justice  of  the  Com-     CHAP, 
mon  Pleas. 


He  was  of  obscure  origin,  and  took  his  name  from  Thorpe,   His  birth 
in  Norfolk,  the  place  of  his  birth.     He  was  bred  at  Pem-  and  educa- 
broke  Hall,  Cambridge,  then   lately    founded,  of  which  he 
became  the  second  master.     He  laid  the  foundation  of  the 
divinity  schools  at  Cambridge,  with  the  chapel  over  them, 
which  were  afterwards  completed  by  his  brother  Sir  William. 

Instead  of  going  into  orders,  he  transferred  himself  to  the 
inns  of  court,  and  became  a  very  diligent  student  of  the  com- 
mon law.  We  do  not  exactly  know  when  he  began  to  prac- 
tise at  the  bar,  but  as  early  as  1330  we  find  him  employed  as 
a  Justice  Itinerant.*  In  1344  he  was  appointed  a  King's  His  pro- 
Serjeant,  and  he  was  summoned  with  the  judges  to  attend  in  J""*^)^^^  *" 
the  House  of  Lords.  For  ten  years  he  continued  at  the 
head  of  the  bar  in  Westminster  Hall,  taking  precedence  of 
the  Attorney  and  Solicitor  General,  and  having  the  chief 
practice  in  all  the  courts.  On  the  27th  of  June,  30  Ed.  III., 
he  was  raised  to  the  office  of  Chief  Justice  of  the  Common 
Pleas,  which  he  held  with  the  highest  character  for  learning, 
industry,  and  integrity,  till,  to  gratify  the  Commons  Avho  had 
petitioned  tliat  none  but  a  layman  should  be  Chancellor,  and 
to  soothe  the  growing  discontents  of  the  people,  the  Great  a.d.  1371. 
Seal  was  delivered  to  him. 

His  elevation  was  universally  hailed  Avith  joy,  and  even   Popularity 
William  of  Wickham,  his  predecessor,  gracefully  assisted  not  cei|^^'^"" 
only  at  the  ceremony  of  his  being  sworn  in  before  the  King, 
but  at  his  public  installation  in  Westminster  Hall.f     Thorpe, 
as  Chancellor,  fully  equalled  public  expectation,  and  intro- 
duced some  very  useful  reforms  into  the  Court  of  Chancery ; 
but,  unfortunately,  when  he  had  held  the  office  little  more 
than  a  year,  he  fell  into  a  mortal  distemper,  and  he  died  on   His  death, 
the  29th  of  June,  1372. 

•   Rot.  CI.  4  Ed.  3.  m.  ?,2. 

f  "  In  Magna  Aula  Westmonasterii  ubi  Piacea  Cancellaria;  liabetur  prajsen- 
tibiis  prajfato  Episcopo  Wyntoniensi  Clericos  Cancellari.p  dictam  bursam  ape- 
rire,"  &;c.  —  Rot.  CI.  45  Ed.  3.  m.  35.  There  is  a  curious  entry  on  tlie  28th 
of  March,  intimating  that  on  that  day  the  late  Chancellor,  in  the  presence  of 
Chancellor  Tlior|)e,  surrendered  up  to  the  King  two  other  Great  Seals  and  two 
Privy  .Soals  lately  in  use,  which  the  King  had  placed  in  the  IJishop's  custody, 
and  which  were  then  delivered  to  the  Lord  Treasurer Ibid. 


266 


EEIGN   OF   EDWARD   III. 


CHAP. 
XV. 

A.D.  1372. 
His  learn- 
ing and  _ 
abilitv. 


Sir  John 
Knyvkt, 
Chancellor. 
Julv  5. 
1372. 


There  Is  not  preserved  any  report  of  his  equitable  de- 
cisions, and  no  parliament  met  during  the  short  time  he  held 
the  office  of  Chancellor ;  but  from  his  addresses  to  the  Lords 
and  Commons,  while  Chief  Justice  during  the  Chancellorship 
of  Bishop  Thoresby,  he  seems  to  have  been  eloquent,  and 
Lord  Coke  pronounces  him  "  a  man  of  singular  judgment  in 
the  laws  of  this  realm,"  and  dwells  with  great  complacency 
on  his  elevation  to  the  woolsack,  evidently  much  sympathising 
with  "  the  complaint  of  the  Lords  and  Commons,  that  the 
realme  had  bin  of  long  time  governed  by  men  of  the  Church 
in  disherison  of  the  Crown."  *  It  is  to  be  deeply  deplored 
that  of  a  virtuous  magistrate,  like  Thorpe,  such  slender 
memorials  remain,  as  it  is  so  much  more  agreeable  to  relate 
what  is  honourable  than  what  is  disgraceful  to  human  nature 
—  to  praise  rather  than  to  condemn;  but  I  find  from  my 
laborious  researches,  that  while  a  Chancellor  is  going  on  in 
the  equal  and  satisfactory  discharge  of  his  duty,  little  notice 
is  taken  of  him,  and  that  he  is  only  made  prominent  by 
biographers  and  historians  when  he  takes  bribes,  perverts  the 
law,  violates  the  constitution,  oppresses  the  innocent,  and 
brings  ruin  on  his  country :  — 

"  The  evil  that  men  do  lives  after  them  ; 
The  good  is  oft  interr'd  with  their  bones." 

Thorpe,  approaching  his  end,  while  he  lay  in  the  palace  of 
the  Bishop  of  Sarum,  in  Fleet  Street,  "  languens  in  extremis, 
videns  se  circa  ea  qua?  ad  officium  Cancellarii  pertinent, 
ulterius  laborare  non  posse  prout  moris  est,"  says  the  Close 
Roll,  —  enclosed  the  Great  Seal  in  a  bag  under  his  own 
private  seal  and  that  of  Chief  Justice  Knyvet.  There  it  was 
found  when  he  expired,  and  the  following  day  it  was  delivered 
by  his  servants  to  Sir  William  Latymer  the  Chamberlain,  Sir 
Richard  le  Scrope  the  Treasurer,  and  Sir  Nicholas  de  Carew, 
Keeper  of  the  Privy  Purse,  who  carried  it  to  the  King  at 
Westminster,  and  on  the  5th  of  July  following  he  sent  it  by 
his  son,  John  of  Gaunt,  then  styled  "  King  of  Castile  and 
Leon,  and  Duke  of  Lancaster,"  to  Chief  Justice  Knyvet, 
as  Chancellor,  with  power  to  administer  the  oaths  to  him  — 
a  ceremony  which  was  performed  with  great  solemnity  in  the 
King's  Chapehf 


4  Inst,  "  Chancery." 


t   Hot.  CI.  46  Ed.  3.  m.  20. 


SIR   JOHN   KNYVET,    CHANCELLOE.  267 

Sir  John  Knyvet  seems  to  have  been  the  first  important     CHAP, 
member  of  his  family.     Camden,  speaking  of  it  in  a  sub- 


sequent generation,  calls  it  "an  ancient  house  ever  since  ad.  1372, 
Sir  John  Knyvet  was  Lord  Chancellor  under  Edward  III."  His  origin. 
In  1357  he  was  called  to  the  degree  of  Serjeant-at-law;  he 
was  soon  after  appointed  a  Justice  of  the  Common  Pleas, 
and  he  so  continued  till  1357,  when  he  was  advanced  to  the 
Chief  Justiceship  of  the  King's  Bench,  which  he  held  with 
high  credit. 

Lord  Coke  calls  him  "  a  man  famous  in  his  profession,"  An  excel- 
and  during  four  years  and  a  half  he  presided  in  the  Court  of  ^"*  •■"  ^^" 
Chancery  to  the  general  contentment  of  the  people.  Lord 
Coke,  speaking  of  him  and  his  predecessor,  says  with  honest 
pride  :  —  "In  perusing  the  rolls  of  parliament  in  the  times  of 
these  Lord  Chancellors,  we  find  no  complaint  at  all  of  any 
proceeding  before  them.  But  soon  after,  when  a  Chancellor 
was  no  professor  of  the  law,  we  find  a  grievous  complaint  by 
the  whole  body  of  the  realm,  and  a  petition  that  the  most 
wise  and  able  men  within  the  realm  might  be  chosen  Chan- 
cellors, and  that  the  King  seek  to  redress  the  enormities  of 
the  Chancery."* 

In  November,  after  Knyvet's  appointment,  a  parliament  A  parlia- 
was  held  at  Westminster,  but  for  some  reason  not  explained  ™^°*' 
to  us  the  Chancellor  did  not  preside  at  the  opening  of  it,  and 
by  the  King's  command  the  causes  of  the  summons  were 
declared  by  Sir^  Henry  Bryan,  one  of  the  King's  council.f 
No  business  of  importance  was  transacted  except  the  grant 
of  a  supply,  and  this  being  done,  the  Lords  and  Commons 
met  the  King  in  the  White  Chamber,  when  the  Chancellor 
declared  to  the  King,  —  "  how  kind  the  parliament  had  been 
to  him  in  granting  him  such  a  supply,"  and  "  the  King  very 
humbly  thanked  them  for  their  great  aid."  The  petitions  of 
the  Commons  were  then  read  and  answered  according  to 
custom.  A  proceeding  then  occurred,  which  shows  that  the 
House  of  Commons  had  not  yet  with  any  certainty  taken  its 
place  in  the  constitution  with  defined  powers  and  privileges. 
The  Knights  of  shires  had  leave  to  depart,  and  writs  for  their 

•  4  Inst.  78.  t  1   Pari.  Hist.  136. 


A.D,  1373. 


268  llEIGN    OF   EDWARD   III. 

CHAP,  "w.oges  and  expenses  were  made  out  for  them  by  the  Chan- 
'^^^^  ccUor's  order ;  but  he  commanded  the  citizens  and  burgesses 
to  stay,  and  they,  being  again  assembled  before  the  Prince, 
Prelates,  and  Lords,  granted  for  the  safe  conveying  of  their 
ships  and  goods,  2s.  on  every  tun  of  wine  imported  or  exported 
out  of  the  kingdom,  and  6d.  in  the  pound  on  all  their  goods 
and  merchandise  for  one  year.* 

Another  parliament  was  summoned  to  meet  at  West- 
minster in  November,  1373.  It  is  amusing  to  observe  the 
required  qualifications  of  the  members  to  be  returned  to  the 
House  of  Commons  by  the  new-fangled  writs  which  the 
Chancellor  framed.  The  sheriff  of  every  county  was  ordered 
**  to  cause  to  be  chosen  two  dubbed  knights,  or  the  most 
honest,  worthy,  and  discreet  esquires  of  that  county,  the  most 
expert  in  feats  of  arms,  and  no  others,  and  of  every  city  two 
citizens,  and  of  every  borough  two  burgesses,  discreet  and 
sufficient,  and  such  as  had  the  greatest  skill  in  shipping  and 
merchandising."  f  There  was  no  express  exclusion  of  lawyers 
any  more  than  of  non-combatant  country  gentlemen,  but  no 
individual  of  either  class  could  well  be  brought  within  either 
category  in  the  writ. 
Chancel-  The  Lords  and  Commons  being  assembled  in  the  Painted 

orsspeec  .  Qi^^n^i^ei.^  Lord  Chancellor  Knyvet,  in  the  presence  of  the 
King,  declared  the  causes  of  the  summons.  Being  a  layman, 
he  did  not  take  a  text  of  Scripture  as  the  theme  of  his  dis- 
course, but  he  spoke  with  great  eloquence  of  the  negotiations 
with  France,  —  of  the  military  exploits  of  the  King's  son, 
"  King  of  Castile  and  Leon,"  —  and  of  the  duty  of  refresh- 
ing and  comforting  with  force  and  aid  the  lords  and  others 
who  had  ventured  their  lives  and  fortunes  to  defend  the 
nation  from  their  enemies.  "  Wherefore  the  Kingr  charged 
and  besought  them,  considering  the  dangers  that  might 
happen  to  the  kingdom  for  these  causes,  that  they  would 
speedily  consult  on  the  matter,  and  give  the  King  such  advice 
as  might  be  for  the  safety  of  him,  the  nation,  and  them- 
selves." :}: 


•  Rot.  Pari.  46  Ed.  3.  f    l   Pari.  Hist.  137. 

t   1  Pari.  Hist.  138. 


SIB   JOHN   KNYVET,    CHANCELLOE.  269 

The  required  supply  was  granted,  a  favourable  answer  was     CHAP, 
returned  to  the  petitions  of  the  Commons,  and  all  separated 


in  good  humour. 

But  a  very  different  scene  was  presented  at  the  next  parlia-  ^  „.  1376. 
ment,  which  met  in  April,  1376,  and  was  long  known  among  The''Good 
the  people  by  the  name  of  "  the  Good  Parliament."  m.-nt." 

The  King's  fair  fortune  had  begun  to  fail,  and,  no  longer 
surrounded  by  the  splendour  of  victory,  those  who  had  for- 
merly cheerfully  yielded  to  his  wishes  and  liberally  supplied 
his  wants,  now  sharply  criticised  the  measures  of  his  govern- 
ment, blamed  his  ministers,  and  for  every  grant  of  money 
wrung  from  him  some  new  concession.  Much  scandal  had  Alice 
likewise  been  excited  by  the  ascendancy  of  Alice  Pierce,  the  ^^^^  ' 
King's  mistress,  who,  though  said  to  be  of  great  wit  as  well 
as  beauty,  had  been  so  indiscreet  as  openly  to  interfere  in  the 
disposal  of  all  offices  civil  and  ecclesiastical,  and  even  to 
appear  and  sit  in  the  courts  of  justice,  and  publicly  to  favour 
those  suitors  who  had  bribed  her  for  her  support.  On  one 
occasion,  at  a  tournament  in  Cheapside,  to  the  great  con- 
sternation of  the  citizens  of  London,  she  came  among  them 
on  a  white  palfrey,  in  splendid  attire,  as  "  lady  of  the  sun,  and 
sovereign  of  the  day." 

The  Chancellor  escaping  personally  any  suspicion  of  being  Chancel- 
influenced  by  her,  was  well  aware  of  the  deep  discontent  which  Jo'^the^^r^ 
now  universally  prevailed.  J»[evertheless,  he  opened  the  ses-  liament. 
sion  in  a  speech  framed  as  if  nothing  were  to  be  expected 
but  submission  and  gratitude.  In  declaring  the  causes  of 
the  summons,  he  said,  "  the  first  and  principal  was  to  advise 
about  the  good  government  and  peace  of  the  realm  ;  — for  the 
defence  and  safety  of  the  King,  as  well  by  sea  as  land ;  —  to 
take  order  for  the  maintenance  of  the  war  with  France  and 
elsewhere ;  —  and  how  and  in  what  manner  it  might  be  done 
for  the  best  profit,  quickest  despatch,  and  greatest  honour  of 
the  King  and  kingdom."  He  then  expressly  told  them,  that 
Avhat  the  King  had  hitherto  done  was  always  with  their 
advice  and  assistance,  for  which  his  Majesty  entirely  thanked 
them,  and  desired  that  they  would  diligently  consult  about 
these  matters,  —  the  Prelates  and  Lords  by  themselves,  and 


270  REIGN   OP   EDWARD   III. 

CHAP,     the  Commons  by  themselves,  —  and  give  in  their  answers  as 


XV 


soon  as  they  conveniently  could. 


Vote  of  The  Commons,  in  answer  to  the  Chancellor's   harangue, 

"  want  of  after  they  had  voted  a  supply,  not  contented,  in  the  modern 
donee."  courtly  stylc,  to  praise  all  the  ministerial  measures  of  the 
session,  enumerated  the  plentiful  aids  which  the  King  had 
obtained  from  his  people,  and  asserted  their  firm  conviction, 
that  if  the  royal  revenue  had  been  faithfully  administered, 
there  could  have  been  no  necessity  for  laying  additional 
burdens  on  the  nation.  They  intimated  a  want  of  con- 
fidence in  the  King's  present  ministers ;  they  impeached 
several  of  his  favourites  of  extortion,  of  selling  illegal  grants, 
and  raising  loans  for  their  own  profit ;  and  they  requested 
that  ten  or  twelve  new  members  might  be  added  to  the 
council.* 
Prosecu-  It  was  admitted  that  the  conduct  of  the  Chancellor  was 

"VViiliam  of  wlthout  rcproach  ;  but  a  charge  was  brought  against  an  Ex- 
Wickham.  chancellor,  William  of  Wickham,  who,  labouring  under  a 
strong  suspicion  of  being  protected  by  Alice  Pierce,  was 
accused  of  several  misdemeanours  in  his  office  of  Chancellor. 
Contrary  to  the  claim  of  privilege  so  lately  asserted,  he 
was  handed  over  to  common-law  process,  and,  without  being 
heard,  was  condemned  to  forfeit  his  temporalities,  and  to 
keep  himself  at  the  distance  of  twenty  miles  from  the  King's 
person. 

Knyvet,  the  Chancellor,  attempted  in  vain  to  allay  the 
storm.  Lord  Neville,  Lord  Latimer,  and  several  other  of  his 
colleagues  were  dismissed,  and  the  Commons  insisted  on  an 
ordinance,  or  act,  being  passed  "  forbidding  women  to  pursue 
causes  and  actions  in  the  King's  Courts,  by  way  of  main- 
tenance, for  hire  and  reward,  and  particularly  Alice  Pierce, 
under  the  penalty  of  forfeiting  all  that  she  can  forfeit,  and  of 
being  banished  out  of  the  realm."  This  ordinance,  to  which 
the  Chancellor  Intimated  the  royal  assent,  runs  in  the  King's 
name,  and,  considering  the  relation  which  subsisted  between 
him  and  the  object  of  it,  must  be  considered  a  very  curious 
specimen  of  the  legislation  of  the  age. 

*    1  Pari.  Hist.  140. 


ADAM  DE  HOUGHTON,  CHANCELLOR. 


271 


During  all  these  storms,  Knyvet  continued  in  his  high  office, 
but  his  health  was  so  severely  injured  by  his  application  to 
business  that  he  was  obliged  to  retire,  carrying  with  him  the 
respect  of  all  classes  of  the  community.  He  resigned  the 
Great  Seal  into  the  King's  hands  on  the  11th  of  January, 
1377,  and  died  soon  after.* 

As  he  and  his  predecessor,  taken  from  the  common-law 
courts,  had  given  such  satisfaction,  we  may  wonder  that  the 
Great  Seal  should  ever  have  been  delivered  to  men  of  any 
other  class;  yet  the  next  regularly  bred  lawyer  appointed 
Chancellor  was  Sir  Thomas  More,  in  the  middle  of  the  reign 
of  Henry  YIII.,  an  interval  of  above  150  years. 

England  had  been  advancing  with  unexampled  celerity  in 
wealth  and  refinement,  but  a  long  period  of  adversity  was  at 
hand.  All  the  glories  of  the  third  Edward's  long  reign  had 
passed  away,  and  it  was  concluding  in  misfortune  and  sorrow. 
"  The  sable  warrior  was  fled ; "  the  foreign  conquests  which 
had  so  much  gratified  the  national  pride  were  lost ;  and  deep 
discontents  and  misery  prevailed  at  home.  Alice  Pierce,  the 
King's  mistress,  as  soon  as  "  the  Good  Parliament "  was  dis- 
solved, again  had  the  chief  disposal  of  places  and  preferment, 
and  through  her  interest  a  clerical  Chancellor  was  now  an- 
nounced, to  the  great  disgust  of  the  public.  This  was  Adam 
DE  Houghton,  Bishop  of  St.  David's. f 

One  feels  little  disappointment  in  not  being  able  to  trace 
the  origin  or  education  of  this  individual,  although  he  acci- 
dentally filled  the  office  of  Chancellor  during  two  reigns,  for 
he  was  neither  eminent  for  his  virtues  nor  his  vices,  and  he 
must  have  been  promoted  for  his  mediocrity,  to  exclude 
abler  men  whose  superiority  might  have  created  jealousy 
and  alarm. 

He  was  educated  at  Oxford,  where  he  took  the  degree  of 
doctor  of  laws.  By  Papal  mandate  he  Avas  placed  in  the 
see  of  St.  David  in  1361,  and  the  purchased  patronage  of 
Alice  Pierce  is  the  only  solution  of  the  mystery,  that  he  who 
for  sixteen  years  had  been  a  Welsh  bishop  suddenly  became 
Lord  Chancellor  of  England. 


CHAP. 
XV. 


A.D.  1377. 
Resigna- 
tion and 
death  of 
Lord 

Chancellor 
Knyvet. 


Adam  ue 
houghtox, 
Chancellor, 
Jan.  11. 
1377. 


*   Rot.  CI.  50  Ed.  3.  m.  7. 


t  Rot.  CI.  51  Ed.  3.  m.  7. 


272 


REIGN   OF   EDWARD   III. 


CHAP. 
XV. 


A.D.  1377. 
A  parlia- 
ment 


Death  of 
Edw.  III. 


His  do- 
mestic 
govern- 
ment. 


A  parliament  was  held  at  Westminster  on  the  27  th  of 
January,  1377,  which  was  opened  by  Lord  Chancellor  Hough- 
ton with  a  speech  from  this  text,  "  Ye  suffer  fools  gladly, 
seeing  that  you  yourselves  are  wise."  The  application  of  his 
subject  was,  "  that  they,  being  wise,  desired  to  hear  him  who 
was  the  contrairy."  From  thence  he  took  occasion  to  argue,  that 
God  loved  the  King  and  the  realm ;  — the  King  because  "quos 
diligit  castigat ; "  — ''  Uxor  tua  sicut  vitis  abundans  in  late- 
ribus"  "  ut  videas  Jilios  Jiliorum,^^  —  which  the  King  now  had 
the  pleasure  to  see.  That  God  loved  the  realm,  he  proved 
from  the  recovery  of  so  renowned  a  prince,  the  said  recovery 
happening  in  the  fiftieth  year  of  his  reign.* 

The  Commons  now  made  another  attempt  to  abolish  fines 
to  the  King  on  writs  out  of  Chancery,  as  a  sale  of  justice 
contrary  to  Magna  Charta ;  but  the  answer  was,  "  Let  it  be 
in  this  case  in  the  discretion  of  the  Chancellor  for  the  time 
being,  as  it  has  been  hitherto  used."t 

The  Chancellor  soon  after  went  abroad  on  an  embassy  to 
France,  and  Burstall,  the  Master  of  the  Rolls,  and  two  others, 
were  constituted  Keepers  of  the  Great  Seal  till  his  return..]: 
While  the  Chancellor  was  still  abroad,  Edward  expired  on 
the  21st  of  June,  1377,  in  the  sixty-fifth  year  of  his  age,  and 
the  fifty-first  of  his  reign. 

Hume  observes,  that  "  the  domestic  government  of  this 
prince  is  really  more  admirable  than  his  foreign  victories," 
and  he  certainly  deserves  to  be  celebrated  for  his  vigorous 
and  impartial  administration  of  justice.  While  he  wisely 
adhered  to  the  laws  and  system  of  tribunals  framed  by  his 
grandfather,  he  conferred  an  unspeakable  benefit  on  the 
suitors  by  making  the  Chancery  and  the  King's  Bench  sta- 
tionary at  Westminster,  instead  of  following  the  person  of 
the  Sovereign  "  wheresoever  in  England,"  as  they  had  before 
practically  done§,  and  are  still  by  fiction  of  law  supposed  to 


*  1  Pari.  Hist.  142.  f   Rot.  Par.  51  Ed.  3. 

X   Rot.  CI.  51  Ed.  3.  m.  7. 

§  The  officers  of  the  Chancery  lived  or  lodged  together  in  an  inn  or  hospitium, 
wliich,  when  the  King  resided  at  Westminster  was  near  the  palace,  and  from 
very  early  times  the  marble  table  at  the  upper  end  of  the  great  hall  of  the  palace 
■was  appropriated  for  the  sealing  of  writs  and  letters  patent.  When  the  King 
travelled,  he  was  followed  by  the  Chancellor,  masters,  clerks,  and  records.  On 
these  occasions  it  was  usual  to  require  a  strong  horse,  able  to  carry  the  rolls, 


STATE   OF   THE   LAW. 


273 


do, — and  his  appointment  of  Chancellors,  upon  the  whole,     CHAP. 

did  great  credit  to  his  good  intentions  and  his  discernment.  '__ 

The  jurisdiction  of  the  Court  of  Chancery  was  now  es-  jurisdic- 

lablished  in  all  matters  where    its   own  officers  were  con-  l!,°"  °^  „ 

/..,  1  ..  .i  Court  of 

cerned*,  on  petitions  of  right,  where  an  injury  was  alleged    Chancery, 
to   be  done  to  a  subject  by  the  King   or   his  officers  f,  in 
relieving  against  judgments  of  the  courts  of  lawf,  and  gene- 
rally in  cases  of  fraud,  accident,  and  trust. 

from  some  religious  house  bound  to  furnish  the  animal,  and  at  the  towns  where 
the  King  stopped  during  his  progress  an  hospitium  was  assigned  to  the  Chan- 
cery. In  the  20  Ed.  1.  the  Abbot  of  Kingswood  paid  forty  shillings  to  buy  a 
liorse  to  carry  the  rolls  of  Chancery,  but  the  money,  by  order  of  the  Chancellor, 
was  paid  over  to  William  le  Marchant,  of  Dover,  in  part  discharge  of  certain 
debts  due  to  him  from  the  King.'  In  3  Ed.  2.  the  Abbot  of  Beaulieu  was 
commanded  to  provide  a  strong  pack  horse,  to  carry  the  rolls  of  Chancery  to 
Stamford,  where  the  parliament  was  about  to  assemble,  the  King  stating  in  the 
mandate  that  he  was  in  great  need  of  such  an  animal.  ^ 

•  18  Ed.  3.  ii.  154.  The  Clerks  in  Chancery  petition  the  King  and  Council, 
that  whereas  the  Chancellor  and  Keepers  of  the  Great  Seal  for  the  time  being 
ought  to  have  the  cognisance  of  all  pleas  of  trespass  done  by  the  said  Clerks  or 
their  servants,  in  cities,  towns,  or  elsewhere  where  the  Chancery  is ;  yet  not- 
withstanding the  sheriffs  of  London  had  attached  Gilbert  de  Chishiill,  one  of 
the  clerks  of  the  said  Chancery,  at  the  suit  of  Thomas  de  Theslingbury,  a  draper, 
upon  a  bill  of  trespass,  whereupon  Gilbert  brought  a  supersedeas  of  privilege  to 
tht  sheriffs,  but  which  they  would  not  allow,  and  drove  him  to  find  sureties. 
The  clerks  therefore  pray  remedy  and  maintenance  of  their  liberties. 

This  petition  was  answered  with  the  assent  of  the  parliament.  The  claim  was 
allowed,  and  writs  were  ordered  to  be  sent  to  the  mayor  of  London  to  attach  the 
sheriffs  and  others,  who  were  parties  and  maintainers  of  the  quarrel,  to  appear 
before  the  King  in  Chancery  at  a  day  certain,  to  answer  as  well  to  the  contempt 
of  the  process  as  to  the  breach  of  the  liberty  and  damage  of  the  party. 

t  'I'homas  de  Berkelei  petitions  the  King  that  he  may  have  a  writ  to  the 
Abbey  of  St.  Austin,  Bristol,  to  have  deliverance  of  his  monuments,  &c.,  which 
were  arrested  by  Richard  Lovel  and  others  of  the  King's  officers. 

Let  a  writ  be  issued  out  of  Chancery  to  those  who  have  arrested  the  things 
mentioned  in  the  petition,  and  let  them  certify  in  Chancery  the  cause  of  the 
arrest,  and  upon  their  certificate  let  right  be  done. — Temp.  Ed.  3.  ii.  385. 

|:  Margaret  de  Jonehill  complains  of  a  judgment  in  the  Court  of  Common 
Pleas. 

Let  this  petition  be  referred  to  the  Chancery,  and  let  the  Chancellor 
cause  to  be  summoned  before  him  the  counsel  of  Madame  to  appear  in  Chan- 
cery on  a  certain  day,  and  also  the  king's  Serjeants  and  some  of  the  justices,  and 
if  nothing  be  shown  or  said  which  may  reasonably  disturb  the  judgment,  or  if 
the  counsel  of  Madame  do  not  choose  to  appear,  then  let  a  writ  issue  to  the 
justices  where  the  plea  was  depending  before  judgment,  to  proceed  according  to 
the  law  and  usages  of  the  land. — 21  &  22  Ed.  3.  ii.  206. 


'  "  Memorandum  quod  decimo  octavo  die  mensis  Januarii,  quadraginta 
solidi,  quos  Abbas  de  Kingcswode  liberavit  in  Cancellaria  in  subvencionem 
cujusdam  equi  emendi  ad  portandum  rotulos  Cancellaria*,  liberati  fuerunt  per 
pncceptum  Cancellaril,  per  manus  Domini  Johannis  de  Langeton,  Willielmo  le 
Marcliaunt  de  Dovorr',  in  partem  solucionis  debitorum  in  quibus  Rex  ei  tene- 
tur." — Rot.  Claus.  21  Ed.  1.  m.  11.  a. 

"  Par.  Writs,  1 1,  part  i.  p.  20.  No.  2,  3. 

VOL.  T.  T 


274 


REIGN   OF   EDWARD   III. 


CHAP. 
XV. 

Character 
of  the 
Chancel- 
lors of 
Edw.  III. 


Origin  of 
parlia- 
mentary 
impeach- 
ments. 


Justices  of 
Peace. 


The  qualifications  of  the  Chancellor  now  became  of  great 
importance  to  the  due  administration  of  justice,  not  only 
from  the  increase  of  his  separate  jurisdiction,  but  from  the 
practice  for  the  common-law  judges,  when  any  question  of 
difficulty  arose  before  them  in  their  several  courts,  to  take 
the  advice  of  Parliament  upon  it  before  giving  judgment. 
In  a  case  which  occurred  in  the  King's  Bench,  in  the  39th  of 
Edward  III.,  Thorpe,  the  Chief  Justice,  says,  "  Go  to  the 
Parliament,  and  as  they  will  have  us  do  we  will,  and  other- 
wise not."  The  following  year  Thorpe  himself,  accompanied 
by  Sir  Hugh  Green,  a  brother  judge,  went  to  the  House  of 
Lords,  where  there  were  assembled  twenty-four  bishops,  earls, 
and  barons,  and  asked  them,  as  they  had  lately  passed  a  statute 
of  jeofails,  what  they  intended  thereby.  Such  questions,  which 
were  frequent  in  this  reign,  must  have  been  answered  by  the 
Chancellor.* 

In  the  forty-second  year  of  this  reign,  while  William  of 
Wickham  was  Chancellor,  occurred  the  first  instance  of  a 
parliamentary  impeachment.  Criminal  jurisdiction  had  been 
before  exercised  by  the  Lords,  but  not  on  the  prosecution  of 
the  Commons.  Sir  John  Lee  was  now  impeached  by  the 
Lower  House  for  malpractices  while  steward  of  the  household, 
and  the  punishment  not  extending  to  life  or  member,  the 
Chancellor,  though  a  priest,  was  not  disqualified  from  pre- 
siding. Before  the  close  of  the  reign  the  Commons  preferred 
impeachments  against  many  delinquents  for  political  and 
other  offences,  and  the  practice  of  impeachment,  according  to 
the  present  forms  of  proceeding,  was  fully  established. 

In  this  reign  the  Chancellor  acquired  that  most  important 
and  delicate  function  of  appointing  Justices  of  the  Peace, — 
a  magistracy  peculiar  to  the  British  Isles,  the  judges  having 
a  most  extensive  criminal  jurisdiction,  being  generally  with- 


Geoffrey  de  Lacer  complains  of  a  judgment  at  law. 

Let  the  petition  be  referred  to  the  Chancery,  and  there  let  the  evidence 
which  the  said  Geoffrey  says  he  hath  to  manifest  the  loss  of  the  aforesaid  com- 
modities be  received,  and  that  justice  was  not  done  him  in  his  suit  for  recovery 
of  losses  in  these  parts,  and  therefore  let  speedy  remedy  be  ordained  him  accord- 
ing to  the  law  used  in  such  cases. — Temp.  Ed.  3.  ii.  437. 

•  Y.  B.  39  Ed.  3.  Y.  B.  40  Ed.  3.  If  the  Lords  were  still  liable  to  be  so 
interrogated,  they  would  not  unfrequently  be  puzzled, —  and  the  revival  of  the 
practice  might  be  a  check  to  hasty  legislation. 


STATE    OF    THE   LAW.  275 

out  legal  education,  and  serving  without  any  remuneration     chap. 
except  the  power  and  consequence  which  they  derive  from  ' 

their  office. 

The  Chancellors  in  the  latter  part  of  this  reign,  following 
the  example  of  the  distinguished  philobiblist  De  Bury,  prided 
themselves  on  their  attainments  in  literature,  and  their  pro- 
tection of  literary  men,  and  they  must  have  had  a  powerful 
influence  in  directing  the  pursuits  and  developing  the  genius 
of  Chaucer  and  Gower.  They  encouraged  the  use  of  the 
English  language,  not  only  by  the  statute  against  the  use  of 
French  in  the  courts  of  law,  but  by  their  own  example  on 
the  most  public  occasions.  In  the  36  Edward  III.  we  find 
the  earliest  record  of  the  use  of  English  in  any  parliamentary 
proceeding.  The  roll  of  that  year  is  found  in  French,  as 
usual,  but  it  expressly  states  that  the  causes  of  summoning 
parliament  were  declared  "  en  Englois.''^*  The  precedent 
then  set  by  Lord  Chancellor  Edington  was  followed  in  the 
two  succeeding  years  by  Lord  Chancellor  Langhamf,  and 
from  this  time  viva  voce  proceedings  in  parliament  were  ge- 
nerally in  English,  with  the  exception  of  giving  the  royal 
assent  to  bills,  although  the  entry  of  some  of  these  pro- 
ceedings in  the  reign  of  Queen  Victoria  is  still  in  Norman 
French.  % 

*   Rot.  Pari.  36  Ed.  3. 

t  Rot.  Pari.  37  Ed.  3.     38  Ed.  3.  f  Ante,  p.  255. 


T  2 


276  KEIGN   OF   RICHARD   II. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

CHANCELLORS  AND  KEEPERS  OF  THE  GREAT  SEAL  FROM  THE 
COMMENCEMENT  OF  THE  REIGN  OP  RICHARD  II.  TILL  THE  SECOND 
CHANCELLORSHIP   OF   WILLIAM   OF   WICKHAM. 

CHAP.     Richard  was  a  boy,  only  eleven  years  old,  when,  on  the 
death  of  his  grandfather,  he  was  proclaimed  King.     The 
June  22.      Keepers  of  the  Great  Seal,  who  had  been  appointed  during 
i'^'''^-  the  absence  of  the  Chancellor  abroad,  nevertheless  surren- 

dered it  into  the  royal  stripling's  own  hand  when  he  was 
seated  on  the  throne,  and  surrounded   by  his  nobility  and 
♦  great  officers  of  state.     The  Duke  of  Lancaster,  acting  as 

Regent,  although  formally  no  Regent  or  Protector  had  been 
appointed,  then  took  it  from  him,  and  handed  it  to  Nicholas 
Bonde,  a  knight  of  the  King's  chamber,  for  safe  custody. 
De  De  Houghton,  the  Bishop  of  St.  David's,  returned  to  England 

cont^nueT  ^^  ^  ^^^  ^^7^  after,  and  on  his  arrival  at  Westminster  the 
Chancellor.  King,  by  his  uncle's  direction,  delivered  the  Great  Seal  to 
him,  and  he  again  took  the  oath  of  office  as  Chancellor.* 
There  was  no  intention  of  continuing  him  in  the  office  beyofid 
the  time  when  a  satisfactory  arrangement  could  be  made  for 
the  appointment  of  a  successor. 
Ills  speech  Richard  being  crowned  on  the  4th  of  August,  writs  were 
issued  for  the  calling  of  a  parliament  to  meet  fifteen  days 
after  the  feast  of  St.  Michael.  On  the  appointed  day,  the 
cause  of  summons  was  declared  by  the  Chancellor  in  a  speech 
founded  on  the  text,  "  Rex  tuus  venit  tibV^  The  language 
introduced  at  the  Conquest  was  still  used  on  most  public  oc- 
casions, and  he  thus  began :  "  Seigneurs  et  Sires,  ces  paroles 
que  j'ay  dit,  sont  tant  a  dire  en  Franceys,  Vostre  Roy  vient  a 
toj/"f  He  then  divided  the  subject  into  three  parts,  showing 
the  causes  of  joy  for  the  King's  accession,  with  his  usual 
quaintness.      But  he  raised  a  great  laugh   by  an  unlucky 

*    Rot.  Cl.  1  Ric.  2.  m.  46.  f   l^o^s  of  Pari.  iii.  3. 


to  parlia- 
ment. 


ADAM   DE   HOUGHTON,    CHANCELLOR.  277 

quotation  from  scripture  —  observing  that   "  a  wzaw's  heart     CHAP, 
leaps  for  joy  when  he  hears  good   tidings,   like  Elizabeth, 
the  mother  of  John  the  Baptist :  —  Et  exultavit  infans  in 
utero  ejus.^^* 

This  harangue  does  not  seem  to  have  given  perfect  satis- 
faction ;  for  the  next  day  Sir  Richard  Scrope,  steward  of  the 
King's  household,  who  was  rapidly  rising  into  favour,  made 
another  speech  on  behalf  of  the  king,  asking  the  Commons 
"  to  advise  him  which  way  his  and  the  kingdom's  enemies 
might  be  resisted,  and  how  the  expences  of  such  resistance 
were  to  be  borne  with  the  greatest  ease  to  the  people,  and 
profit  and  honour  to  the  kingdom  ?" 

The  Commons  having,  for  the  first  time,  chosen  a  Speaker,  Procced- 
set  about  reforming  the  abuses  of  the  state  in  good  earnest.  Commons. 
and  tried  to  provide  for  the  proper  conduct  of  the  govern- 
ment during  the  King's  minority.  They  obtained  the  banish- 
ment of  Alice  Pierce,  and  the  removal  of  the  late  King's 
evil  councillors.  They  then  proposed,  "  that,  till  the  King 
was  of  age,  the  Chancellor,  High  Treasurer,  Chief  Jus- 
tice of  one  bench,  and  the  other  the  Chief  Baron  of  the 
Exchequer,  and  other  officers,  might  be  made  by  parliament." 
This  the  Lords  modified  to  their  own  aggrandisement  by  an 
amendment,  "  that  while  the  King  was  under  age,  the 
Cpuncillors,  Chancellor,  Steward  of  the  Household,  and 
Chamberlain,  should  be  chosen  by  the  Upper  House,  and 
that  the  King  should  make  the  other  officers  with  the  assent 
of  his  Council."  The  Commons  acquiesced  in  this  arrange- 
ment, f 

At  the  parliament  which  met  in  the  Abbey  of  Gloucester  Parlia- 
on  the  20th  of  October,  1378,  the  young  King  being  seated 
on  the  throne,  attended  by  his  three  uncles,  Lancastei',  Cam- 
bridge, and  Buckingham,  —  the  Lord  Chancellor  de  Hough- 
ton, in  a  long  speech,  explained  to  the  Lords  and  Commons 
the  causes  of  their  being  summoned,  entering  with  some  pro- 
lixity into  the  subsisting  relations  of  England  with  France 
and  Scotland.  But  he  gave  no  satisfaction  ;  and  Sir  Bichard 
le  Scrope  the  next  morning  again  addressed  the  two  Houses 

*   1  Pari.  Hist.  158.  f   Ibid.  162. 

T  3 


mcnt  at 
Gloucester. 


278 


EEIGN   OP   KICHARD   II. 


CHAP. 
XVI. 

A.D.  1378. 


Sir  Rich- 
ard LE 

ScROPE, 

Chancellor. 

Death  of 
Houghton. 


Rise  of 
Richard  le 
Scrope. 


on  the  same  topics,  and  by  way  of  urging  a  supply,  pointed 
out  the  enormous  expence  which  the  crown  incurred  in  keep- 
ing up  garrisons  in  Brest,  Cherbourg,  Calais,  Bourdeaux, 
and  Bayonne.  While  the  parliament  sat,  which  was  only  a 
few  days,  Sir  Richard  le  Scrope  seems  to  have  taken  the 
entire  lead,  and  by  his  good  management  the  desired  subsidy 
was  voted.* 

On  the  28th  of  October,  as  a  reward  for  his  services,  he 
was  actually  made  Lord  Chancellor  on  the  resignation  of  the 
Bishop  of  St.  David's,  who  seems  to  have  been  much  hurt  at 
the  disrespectful  treatment  he  had  experienced,  f  The  Ex- 
chancellor  retired  to  his  see,  and  there  peaceably  ended  his 
days  at  a  distance  from  the  strife  which  marked  this  unhappy 
reign.     He  survived  till  April  1389. 

Richard  le  Scrope,  the  new  Chancellor,  was  the  third 
son  of  Sir  Henry  le  Scrope,  Chief  Justice  of  the  King's  Bench, 
and  Chief  Baron  of  the  Exchequer  in  the  reign  of  Edward  II. 
and  Edward  III.,  and  was  born  in  the  year  1328.  Instead 
of  being  trained  in  the  university,  the  inns  of  court,  and 
Westminster  Hall,  he  was  a  soldier  from  his  early  youth, 
and  served  during  the  whole  course  of  the  late  wars  in 
France.  He  was  at  the  battle  of  Cressy  in  1346,  and  serving 
under  Lord  Percy,  he  was  knighted  on  the  field  for  his  gal- 
lantry in  the  battle  of  Durham,  fought  the  same  year,  where 
the  Scots  were  signally  defeated.  In  the  following  year  he 
served  at  the  siege  of  Calais,  where  he  was  obliged  to  main- 
tain his  right  to  his  crest — a  crab  issuing  from  a  ducal  coronet. 
He  was  in  the  memorable  sea-fight  off  Winchelsea  in  August, 
1350,  when  Edward  III.  and  the  Black  Prince  defeated  a 
greatly  superior  fleet  under  Don  Carlos  de  la  Cerda.  He 
was  with  Edward  III.  at  the  rescue  of  Berwick  in  1356.  In 
October,  1359,  he  served  under  John  of  Gaunt  in  the  army 
which  invaded  France,  and  in  the  April  following  approached 
close  to  the  walls  of  Paris,  where  he  was  engaged  against  the 
family  of  Grosvenor  in  another  heraldic  dispute  about  his 
right  to  certain  bearings  in  his  shield.     In  the  parliament 


•   The  Close  Roll  contains  a  very  minute  account  of  this  transfer  of  the  Great 
Seal  in  the  house  of  the  Abbot  of  Gloucester.  —  2  R.  2.  m.  25. 
t   1  Pari.  Hist.  163. 


EICHARD   LE    SCEOPE,   CHANCELLOR.  279 

which  met  in  1364,  he  was  elected   representative  for  the     CHAP. 

county  of  York.     In    1366,  he  accompanied  the  Duke  of 

Lancaster  into  Spain,  and  the  following  year  was  in  the 
decisive  battle  of  Najarre  in  that  country,  where  the  Black 
Prince  commanded  in  person. 

On  the  renewal  of  the  war  with  France,  in  1369,  he  again 
went  to  France  with  the  Duke  of  Lancaster,  and  continued 
in  that  country  till  near  the  conclusion  of  the  reign  of  Ed- 
ward IIL  In  1371  he  was  appointed  Treasurer  of  the 
King's  Exchequer.  On  the  accession  of  Richard  II.  he  was 
promoted  to  be  Steward  of  the  King's  household,  and  it  was 
in  this  capacity  that  he  was  employed  to  address  the  two 
Houses,  and  that  he  so  much  distinguished  himself  in  the  last 
two  parliaments.  Although  with  little  book-learning,  he  had 
so  much  natural  talent,  and  had  seen  so  much  of  the  world, 
and  had  such  a  quick  insight  into  character,  that  he  was 
reckoned  a  consummate  practical  statesman,  as  well  as  a  dis- 
tinguished military  commander ;  and  his  appointment  to  the 
office  of  Chancellor,  if  it  astonished,  did  not  much  offend, 
the  public. 

The  Close  Roll  tells  us  that  the  following  day  he  held  a  Seal  Made  a 
in  the  church  of  St.  Mary  le  Crypt  at  Gloucester,  and  I  read  ^^'^' 
no  more  of  his  judicial  exploits.*  That  he  might  more 
effectually  assist  the  government  in  the  House  of  Lords,  he 
was  raised  to  the  peerage  by  the  title  of  Baron  Scrope  of 
Bolton,  in  the  county  of  York.  Here  he  had  a  large  do- 
main, and,  under  a  licence  from  the  Crown,  he  erected  a 
strong  castle,  which  stood  several  sieges,  and  was  afterwards 
more  illustrated  by  being  one  of  the  prisons  of  Mary  Queen 
of  Scots. 

In  the  parliament  which  met  at  Westminster  on  the  14th  a  parlia- 
of  January,  1379,  he  very  ably  expounded  the  causes  of  the  ™^"*- 
summons,  was  much  applauded  for  his  eloquence,  and  ob- 
tained a  large  supply  for  the  King.  The  Commons  prayed 
that  there  might  not  be  another  parliament  till  a  year  after 
that  time,  and  that  the  Chancellor,  the  Ti'easurer,  Keeper  of 
the  Privy    Seal,   Chief  Chamberlain,   and   Steward   of  the 

•    Rot.  Cl.  2  Ric.  2.  m.  25. 
T  4 


280  BEIGN   OF   KICIIAKD   II. 

CHAP,     household  might   not  be  changed  in  the  meanwhile.*     At 
the  same  time  they  made  a  complaint  of  the  interference  of 


the  Court  of  Chancery  and  of  the  Council  with  the  course  of 
the  common  law.  The  answer  was,  "  that  parties  should  be 
sent  to  the  proper  court  to  answer  according  to  due  course  of 
law  ;  provided  always,  that  where  the  King  and  his  Council 
should  be  credibly  informed  that  by  maintenance,  oppression, 
and  other  outrages,  the  common  law  could  not  have  due 
course,  the  Council  in  such  case  might  send  for  the  party 
against  whom  the  complaint  is  made,  and  put  him  to  answer 
for  the  misprison,  f 
Removal  Wc  are  not  informed  of  the  particulars  of  the  intrigue 

Scro^'e'^and  which,  on  the  2d  of  July,  1379,  put  an  end  to  the  first  Chan- 
appoint-  cellorship  of  Lord  Scrope ;  and  we  only  know,  from  the 
'smos'pE  Close  Roll,  that  on  that  day  he  surrendered  the  Great  Seal, 
SuPBURY  and  that  on  the  4th  of  July  the  King  delivered  it  to  Simon  de 
ceiior,  '  Sudbury,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury, — who,  having  taken 
A.D.  1379.     the  oaths,  was  the  day  following  installed  as  Chancellor  in 

Westminster  Hall.  | 

His  origin         Simon  dc  Sudbury  assumed  that  name  from  the  town  in 

tbn.^*^"'^'    Suffolk  where  he  happened  to  be  born.     Yet  was  he  of  noble 

extraction,  being  the  son  of  Nigel  Theobald,  of  a  baronial 

family  whose  founder  had  come  over  with  the  Conqueror. 

Having   been  carefully  educated  in  England,    he  was   sent 

by  his  father  beyond  sea  to  study  the  civil  law,  of  which  he 

became  a  Doctor   after    disputations  in  several  Continental 

universities.      Such  was  his  fame  as  a  wrangler,  that  he  was 

admitted  of  the  Council  to  Innocent  VI.  and  Auditor  of  the 

Made  Rota  in  the  court  of  Rome.     On  the  recommendation  of  the 

^/canTe'r"''  Pop^j  lie  had  great  promotion  when  he  returned  home  to  his 

bury,  own  country,  being  made  Chancellor  of  Sarum,  then  Bishop 

of  London,  and,  in  1375,  translated  to  the  see  of  Canterbury. 

Lord  He  called  forth  some  censure  by  accepting  the  Great  Seal ; 

Ciiancellor.  f^^.^  though  there  were  many  precedents    of  a   Chancellor 

becoming  Archbishop   of   Canterbury,   it  was   not   thought 

consistent  with  the  dignity  of  the  church  that  an  Archbishop 

of  Canterbury  should  become  Chancellor.    It  would  have  been 

*   1  Pari.  Hist    169,  170.  f   Rot.  Pari.  2  Ric.  2. 

X   Rot.  CI.  3  Ric,  2.  m.  22. 


SIMON   DE   SUDBURY,    CHANCELLOR.  281 

well  if  he  had  confined  himself  to  the  discharge  of  his  eccle-     CHAP, 
siastical  duties,  as,  by  engaging  in  politics,  he  was  brought  to 


an  untimely  and  violent  end. 

He  opened  the  parliament,  which  met  at  Northampton,  at   He  pro- 
the  feast  of  All  Saints,  1380,  and,  after  much  difficulty  and  ^lll\^^^ 
management,  prevailed  upon  the  Commons  to  grant  the  fatal  a.d.  isso. 
"capitation  tax,"  which  was  to  be  "three  groats  of  every 
person  of  the  kingdom,  male  or  female,  of  the  age  of  fifteen, 
of  what  state   or   condition  soever."     This  was    denounced 
as  "a  new  and  strange  subsidy,"  and  Hollingshead  writes, 
that  "  great  grudging  and  many  a  bitter  curse  followed  on 
the  levying  of  this  money,  and  that  much  mischief  rose  thereof, 
as  after  did  appear."     If  the  insult  had  not  been  offered  by 
the  tax-gatherer  to  the  daughter  of  Wat  Tyler,  some  other 
accidental    spark  would   probably    have   thrown   the  whole 
country  into  a  flame. 

The  Chancellor,  being  the  author  of  the  abhorred  tax,  in 
the  rebellion  which  it  excited,  he  was  the  first  victim.  John 
Ball,  the  famous  seditious  preacher,  inveighed  bitterly  against 
him  by  name ;  and,  in  reference  to  his  aristocratic  birth,  the 
often-quoted  lines  were  made  which,  Hume  says,  "in  spite 
of  prejudice,  we  cannot  but  regard  with  some  degree  of  ap- 
probation." 

"  When  Adam  delv'd  and  Eve  span, 
Where  was  then  the  gentleman?" 

The  army,  or  rather  mob,  100,000  strong,    under  Tyler   Wat  Ty- 
and  Straw,  having  taken  post  at  Blackheath,  and  threatening  If'^  ^^^^^^' 
general   destruction  —  more  especially  to    lawyers*,  and  all 

*   Walsingham,  in  his  interesting  relation  of  Wat  Tyler's  rebellion,  savs : 

"  Voluit  namque  ad  alia  commissionem  pro  se  et  suis  obtinuisse,  ad  decollanduin 
omnes  juridicos  et  universos  qui  vel  in  lege  docti  fuere  vel  cum  jure  ratione 
officii  communicavere.  Mente  nempe  conceperat,  doctis  in  lege  necatis,  universa 
juxta  communis  plebis  scitum  de  cajtero  ordinari,  et  nullam  omnino  legem  fore 
futuram  vel  si  futura  foret,  esse  pro  suorum  arbitrio  statuenda." — Walsiyighnm, 
p.  361.     So  in  Cade's  rebellion.  Temp.  Hen.  6. ; — 

"  Dick.    The  first  thing  we  do,  let's  kill  all  the  lawyers. 

Cade.    Nay,  that  I  mean  to  do."     (And  proceeds  to  give  his  reasons.) 

— Shuk.  Second  Part  Tien.  VI,  a.  iv.  s.  2. 
In  the  riots  of  1780,  a  similar  spirit  was  displayed,  and  siege  was  laid  to  the 
inns  of  court,  with  the  intention  of  exterminating  the  whole  race  of  lawyers,  that 
"  the  skin  of  an  innocent  lamb  might  no  longer  be  converted  into  an  indictment." 
I  have  heard  Judge  liurrough  relate  that  siege  being  laid  to  the  Temple, 
he  and  many  other  lawyers  armed  themselves,  and  lieaded  by  a  sergeant  of  the 
Guards  took  post  in  Inner  Temple  Lane;  there  they  stood  valiantly  till  a  pannel 


282  REIGN   OF   RICHARD   II. 

CHAP,     who  were  supposed  to  have  been  instrumental  in  imposing 
^^^'       the  tax,  or  who  resisted  the  demands  for  its  repeal,    the 
Chancellor    Chancellor  took  refuge   in   the  Tower   of  London.      They 
seized  in       pursued   him   thither,   attacked   this  fortress,  and  it   being 
feebly   defended,   they   soon    stormed   it.      They   instantly 
seized  him,  and  dragged  him  to  Tower  Hill,  with  the  de- 
clared inteption  of  executing  him  there  as  a  traitor. 
Beheaded,        In   this   extremity  he  displayed  great  courage  and  con- 
issl^""^'    stancy,  and  addressing  the  multitude,  reminded  them  of  his 
sacred  character,  and  tried  to  rouse  them  to  some  sense  of 
justice  and  humanity.*     All  these  appeals  were  ineffectual ; 
after  many  blows  his  head  was  struck  off,  and  his  dead  body 
was  treated  with  barbarous  indignity. 
Miracles  But  it  was  believed  that  miracles  were  worked  to  punish 

by  the  de-    j^j    murderers,  and  to  show  that   he   had   been  received  in 

ceased  ' 

Chancellor,  heaven  as  a  Saint.  It  is  gravely  related,  that  the  executioner 
who  had  committed  the  horrid  sacrilege  went  mad,  and  was 
struck  with  blindness ;  that  a  man,  blind  for  many  years,  on 
praying  to  be  cured  for  his  sake,  was  immediately  restored  to 
sight ;  and  (as  we  may  well  believe)  that  a  woman  who  had 
been  long  in  difficult  labour,  having  prayed  for  his  interces- 
sion, was  the  same  day  delivered  of  three  fine  boys,  —  all 
received  into  the  church  by  baptism,  f  The  same  historian, 
who  was  his  contemporary,  and  speaks  from  personal  know- 
ledge, gives  him  the  character  of  being  "  very  eloquent, 
and  incomparably  wise  above  all  the  great  men  of  the 
kingdom." 
William  The  rebellion  having  been  quelled  by  the  gallantry  of  Sir 

NAY,"chaa-  William  AValworth  and  the  presence  of  mind  and  address  of 
ceiior,  the  youthful  King,  which  raised  a  disappointed  expectation 

A.  D.   1381* 

of  the  gate  was  forced  in  from  Fleet  Street ;  they  then  became  rather  nervous, 
but  the  sergeant  having  hallooed  out,  "  Take  care  no  gentleman  fires  from  be- 
hind !"  they  all  burst  into  a  loud  laugh  ;  whereupon  the  mob,  fearing  there  was  a 
stratagem,  suddenly  made  off,  and  the  Temple  was  saved. 

*  "  Quid  est  charissimi  filii,  quid  est  quod  proponitis  facere?  Quod  est  pec- 
catum  meum  quod  in  vos  commisi,  propter  quod  me  vultis  occidere?  Caven- 
dum  est  ne  me  interfecto,  qui  pastor,  praelatus  et  archiepiscopus  vester  sum, 
vetiiat  super  vos  indignatio  justi  vindicis,  vel  certe  pro  tali  facto,  tota  supponatur 
Anglia  interdicto." — Wals.  262. 

t  "  Mulier  qusedam  quae  impregnata  fuerat  et  parere  nullo  mode  poterat, 
postulato  ejus  auxilio,  eodem  die  delibcrata  est  de  tribus  puerulis,  qui  omnes 
baptizati  sunt." — p.  263, 


WILLIAM  COURTENAY,  CHANCELLOR. 


283 


of  his  qualifications  for  government, — the  Great  Seal  was 
given  into  the  temporary  custody,  first,  of  Richard  Earl  of 
Arundel,  and  then  of  Hugh  de  Segrave  "  till  the  King  could 
conveniently  provide  a  Chancellor."*  On  the  10th  of  Au- 
gust, Segrave  restored  the  Seal  to  the  King,  who  imme- 
diately delivered  it  with  the  title  of  Chancellor  to  William 
CouRTENAY,  Bishop  of  London. 

The  office  of  Chancellor  appears,  in  this  age,  to  have  been 
an  object  of  ambition  to  men  of  the  most  illustrious  descent. 
William  was  a  younger  son  of  Hugh  Courtenay,  Earl  of 
Devon,  having  in  his  veins  the  blood  of  French  kings  and  of 
Emperors  of  the  East,  as  well  as  of  the  Plantagenets.  f 
While  yet  a  youth,  he  had  made  great  proficiency  In  the 
civil  and  canon  law,  and  taking  orders,  he  rose  rapidly  in  the 
church  from  personal  merit  and  family  Interest. 

After  holding  almost  innumerable  prebends  and  livings,  he 
was  made  Bishop  of  Hereford,  and  then  translated  to  London. 
He  was  very  popular  with  the  Londoners,  who  stood  by  him 
in  a  dispute  with  John  of  Gaunt,  and  could  hardly  be  re- 
strained by  him  from  pulling  down  the  Duke's  house.  He 
was  made  a  Cardinal,  and  he  succeeded  De  Sudbury  as 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury  as  well  as  Lord  Chancellor. 

He  sat  in  Chancery  himself,  without  the  assistance  of  the 
Master  of  the  Rolls,  or  any  other  Keeper ;  but  he  appears  to 
have  excited  great  dissatisfaction  as  a  judge,  and  the  cry 
against  delays  and  corruption  in  his  court  soon  became  very 
loud  and  general. 

A  parliament  met  in  September,  and  it  was  opened  by  the 
Chancellor  in  a  speech  from  this  text,  "  Rex  convenire  fecit 
concilium."!  He  declared  the  chief  cause  of  the  summons  to 
be  to  punish  the  authors  of  the  late  horrible  tumults,  and  to 
do  away  with  the  charters  of  liberty  and  manumission  which 
the  King  had  been  forced  to  grant  to  bond-tenants  and  vil- 


CHAP. 
XVI. 


A.D.  1381. 


His  illus- 
trious de- 
scent. 


Disputes 
with  John 
of  Gaunt. 


His  beha- 
viour as 
judge. 


Removal 
on  address 
of  Com- 


*    Rot.  CI.  5  Ric.  2.  m.  25. 

t    His  mother,  Margaret  de  Bohun,  was  a  grand-daughter  of  Edward  I. 

I  In  the  Parliament  Roll  the  Chancellor  is  said  to  have  made  un  bone  collacion 
en  Enyleys.  —  Rot.  Pari.  5  Ric.  2.  Although  the  formal  written  proceedings 
in  parliament  were,  and  are  still,  in  Frencli,  I  conceive  that  from  the  time  when 
representatives  from  cities  and  boroughs  were  admitted,  a  liberty  must  have 
been  allowed  to  speak  in  English,  and  the  use  of  the  French  in  debate  must 
have  been  gradually  laid  aside. 


284 


REIGN    OF   RICHARD    II. 


CHAP. 
XVI. 

A.v.  1381. 

Lord  le 
Scrope 
again 
Chancellor. 


Death  of 
Ex-chan- 
cellor 
Courtenay. 


King 
quarrels 
with  Lord 
le  Scrope, 
who  is  dis- 
missed. 


lalns  under  the  Great  Seal  of  England.*  But  the  parliament 
immediately  proceeded  to  inquire  into  the  abuses  in  the 
government  of  the  country,  and  the  Commons  petitioned 
for  the  appointment  of  a  new  Chancellor  and  other  judges. 
In  consequence  of  these  proceedings,  Archbishop  Courtenay 
was  removed  from  the  office  of  Chancellor,  and  Lord  le  Scrope, 
who  had  been  leader  of  the  opposition,  was  placed  in  it  the 
second  time.  The  Ex-chancellor  devoted  the  rest  of  his  days 
to  his  ecclesiastical  duties.  He  held  a  celebrated  synod  at 
London,  in  which  the  doctrines  of  Wickliffe  were  solemnly 
condemned.  A  little  before  his  death  he  obtained  a  grant  by 
a  papal  bull  of  the  sixtieth  part  of  the  income  of  all  the  clergy 
within  his  province ;  but  the  Bishop  of  Lincoln  refusing  to 
pay,  and  appealing  to  the  Pope,  the  Archbishop  died  while 
the  matter  was  depending,  July  31.  1396. 

Durino;  this  last  transfer  of  the  Great  Seal  the  King  had 
it  a  short  time  in  his  own  possession,  and  himself  sealed 
a  commission  by  which  he  appointed  John  de  Holland,  his 
brother  by  the  mother's  side,  John  de  Montague,  Steward 
of  his  household,  and  Simon  de  Burle,  his  Chamberlain,  to 
proceed  to  Germany,  there  to  receive  the  Lady  Ann,  the  sister 
of  the  Emperor,  as  his  future  Queen,  and  to  conduct  her  to 
his  presence.  This  might  be  excusable,  as  matter  personally 
relating  to  himself,  but  he  at  the  same  time  sealed  several  other 
commissions  and  important  charters  with  his  own  hand,  which 
gave  him  a  taste  for  acting  without  any  responsible  adviser, 
and  contrary  to  the  opinion  expressed  by  his  ministers. 

The  Commons  now  made  another  effort  to  abolish  all  fines 
on  writs  out  of  Chancery,  as  contrary  to  the  Great  Charter ; 
but  the  King  answered,  "  that  such  fines  had  always  been 
received  in  Chancery  as  well  since  as  before  the  Great  Charter, 
by  all  his  noble  progenitors.  Kings  of  England."  f 

As  soon  as  parliament  was  dissolved,  the  King  quarrelled 
with  Lord  le  Scrope,  the  new  Chancellor,  who  resisted  the 
gross  job  of  conferring  upon  some  worthless  favourites  the 
lands  which,  on  the  death  of  the  Earl  of  March,  had  fallen  to 

*  It  appears  by  the  Close  Roll  that  the  Great  Seal  had  been  a  short  time  in 
the  King's  own  keeping,  and  I  presume  these  charters  were  then  sealed  with  his 
own  hand. 

t   Rot.  Par.  5  Ric.  2. 


ROBERT  DE  BRAYBROKE,  CHANCELLOR.  285 

the  Crown.  Richard  became  incensed  at  his  behaviour,  and  chap. 
at  the  instigation  of  the  disappointed  parties,  sent  messenger 
after  messenger  to  demand  the  Great  Seal  from  him  ;  but  he 
refused  to  deliver  it  except  to  the  King  himself.  At  length 
the  King  got  possession  of  it  on  the  11th  of  July,  and  gave  a.d.  isss. 
it  into  the  keeping  of  Hugh  de  Segrave  and  others,  to  be 
used  by  them  for  the  sealing  of  writs  and  charters  till  a  new 
Chancellor  should  be  found.* 

On  the  20th  of  September,  Robert  de  Braybroke  was  Robert  de 
made  Chancellor.     He  was  of  a  noble  family,  the  Braybrokes,  ^"^r- 
of  Braybroke  Castle,  in  the  county  of  Northampton.    Having   Chancellor 
studied  at  Cambridge,  and  becoming  a  licentiate  in  laws,  he 
entered  the  church,  was  made  canon   of  Lichfield,  and  in 
1381  was  consecrated  Bishop  of  London.     At  this  time  he 
was  high  in  favour  with  John  of  Gaunt,  who  was  the  means 
of  his  being  made  Chancellor  from  the  capacity  for  political 
intrigue  which  he  was  supposed  to  have  displayed.     He  was 
not  created  in  the  usual  manner  by  the  King  delivering  the 
Seal  to  him,  but  by  writ,  addressed  to  those  who  had  it  in 
their  keeping,  f 

During  his  short  tenure  of  office,   two  parliaments  were   Parlia- 
called  and  opened  by  speeches  from  the  Chancellor ;  but  they  "^"*' 
were  chiefly  occupied  with  measures  to  put  down  the  heresy 
of  WicklifFe,  and  no  civil  business  of  any  importance  was  Wickiiffe. 
transacted  at  them. :[: 

This   Chancellor  is  celebrated  for  having  resorted   to   a  The  Chan- 
pious  fraud  for  what  he  considered  the  good  of  the  church.  *'?l'^'^'!. 

^  ®  pious  fraud 

In  the  parliament  held  in  the  5  Richard  IL,  he  introduced  toputdown 
a  bill  authorising  the  Lord  Chancellor  to  issue  commissions    ^^""^^y* 
to  sheriifs  to  arrest  and  imprison  such  as  should  be  certified 
into  Chancery  to  be  heretics.     This  was  approved  of  by  the 


*   Rot.  Cl.  6  Ric.  2.  m.  24. 

f  "  De  par  le  Roy. 

"  Treschers  et  foialx,  nous  avons  ordinez  et  volons  que  le  Reverent  Pere  en 
Dieu,  et  notre  trescher  Cosin,  levesque  de  Londres,  serra  notre  Chanceller 
Denglitere,  pur  le  grand  affiance  que  nous  avons  en  luy.  Si  vous  mandons  et 
cliargeons  que  veues  cestcs,  vouz  facez  delivrer  a  luy  notre  Grand  Seal  esteant 
ore  en  votre  garde,  over  le  trouble  de  son  cherge  et  toutes  autres  a  ly  appurtie- 
nantz  come  a  notre  Chanceller.  Et  cette  lettre  vous  ent  serra  garrant.  Donnez, 
&c."— Rot.  Cl.  6  R.  2. 

I   1  Pari.  Hist.  176. 


286  REIGN   OF   RICHARD   II. 

CHAP.     Lords,  but  thrown  out  by  the  Commons.     Nevertheless  the 
XVI  .... 
*       Chancellor  at  the  end  of  the  session  caused  it  to  be  inscribed 

on  the  parliament  roll,  and  it  was  vigorously  acted  upon  —  to 

the  great  vexation  of  the  subject.     When  parliament  again 

met,  the  Commons  in  a  fury  passed  a  bill  to  which  the  Lords 

agreed,  declaring  the  former  act  to  be  null.     "  But  in  the 

parliamentary   proclamation   of  the   acts    passed  in  anno  6 

Richard  II.,  the  said  act  of  6  Richard  IL,  whereby  the  said 

supposed  act  of  5  Richard  II.  was  declared  to  be  null,  is 

omitted,  and  afterwards  the  said  supposed  act  of  5  Richard  II. 

was  continually  printed,  and  the  said  act  of  6  Richard  II. 

hath,  by  the  craft  of  the  prelates,  been  ever  from  time  to  time 

kept  from  the  print."  * 

Robert  de  Vere,  Earl  of  Oxford,  the  favourite  of  Richard 

IL,  being  raised  to  the  title  of  Duke  of  Ireland,  was  now 

engrossing  all  power  into  his  own  hands,  and  he  resolved  to 

intrust  the  Great  Seal  to  a  layman  who,  if  from  his  education 

unfit  for  its  judicial  duties,  was  eminent  for  talents,  address, 

and  suppleness  —  qualities  sometimes  as  much  considered  in 

filling  up  the  oflSce  of  Chancellor. 

Michael  On  the  13th  of  March,  1383,  the  Great  Seal  was  taken  from 

p^^^'^  Robert  de  Braybroke,  and  given  to  Michael  de  la  Pole. 

Chancellor,  The  Close  Roll  says,  that  the  Bishop  earnestly  desired  to  be 

A.n.  1383,     relieved  from  the  office  of  Chancellor  f ;  but  there  can  be  no 

doubt  that  he  parted  with  it  very  unwillingly,  and  thought 

himself  very  ill  used  in  being  deprived  of  it.     He  lived  more 

than  twenty  years  afterwards,  but  never  had  more  than  this 

taste  of  political  power.     He  died  in  1404,  having  seen  the 

family  of  Lancaster  seated  on  the  throne. 

Michael  de  la  Pole  was  the  son  of  Sir  William  de  la  Pole, 

a  merchant,  and  Mayor  of  Kingston-upon-HuU.  :j:     He  had 

•  Lord  Coke's  Reports,  part  xii.  58.  4  Inst.  51.  The  sham  act  is  still  to  be 
found  in  the  Statute  Book  as  5  Ilic.  2.  stat.  2.  c.  5.  Lord  Coke  adds,  that  by 
colour  of  the  supposed  act  certain  persons  that  held  that  images  were  not  to  be 
worshipped  were  holden  in  strong  prison  until  they,  to  redeem  their  vexation, 
miserably  yielded  to  take  an  oath,  and  did  swear  to  worship  images,  which  was 
against  the  moral  and  eternal  law  of  Almighty  God." 

t  "  Desiderans  cum  magna  instantia  de  officio  Cancellarii  exonerari. "  —  Rot. 
CI.  6  Ric.  2. 

\  Tlie  founder  of  this  illustrious  family  was  the  Chancellor's  father,  who, 
when  Edward  III.  was  lying  at  Antwerp  very  destitute  of  money,  lent  him 
lOOO/.  in  gold,  in  recompense  whereof  (26th  Sept.  13  Ed.  3.)  he  was  constituted 


ment. 


MICHAEL   DE   LA   POLE,    CHANCELLOR.  287 

served  Edward  III.  both  as  a  civilian  and  a  soldier,  and  had  chap. 
acquired  the  friendship  of  that  monarch.  In  the  growing 
troubles  of  the  present  reign  his  support  was  coveted  by  both  ^^  jggg 
parties,  and  he  was  esteemed  the  person  of  greatest  experience 
and  capacity  among  those  who  were  attached  to  the  Duke  of 
Ireland.  He  was  sworn  in  Chancellor  on  the  13th  of  March, 
1383.* 

He  did  not  at  first  resort  to  the  expedient  of  handing  over  His  con- 
the  Seal  to  a  legal  Keeper  to  act  as  his  judicial  deputy ;  and  ^^^l^ 
as  he  is  said  to  have  performed  well  in  the  Court  of  Chancery,  i 

he  must  have  been  like  some  of  the  military  Chancellors  in 
our  AVest  India  Islands,  who,  by  discretion,  natural  good 
sense,  taking  hints  from  the  clerks  in  court,  and  giving' no 
reasons  for  their  decrees  f,  have  very  creditably  performed  the 
duties  of  their  office. 

On  the  1st  of  November  in  the  same  year,  he  made  his  in  pariia- 
first  appearance  on  the  woolsack,  when  he  had  to  open  par- 
liament by  an  oration  in  the  presence  of  the  King  and  both 
Houses.  I  He  began  with  great  modesty,  excusing  his  own 
unfitness  for  the  place  he  held,  and  declaring  that  he  was 
forced  to  accept  it,  though  he  had  pleaded  his  incapacity.  He 
then  presented  a  very  able  exposition  of  the  King's  wars  with 
Scotland  and  with  France,  and  pressed  for  a  subsidy,  Avhich 
was  readily  granted.  § 

second  Baron  of  the  Excliequer,  and  advanced  to  the  degree  of  a  banneret,  with 
an  allowance,  for  the  better  support  of  that  dignity,  payable  out  of  the  customs 
at  Hull.  He  died,  40  Ed.  3.,  seised  of  large  estates,  which  descended  to  the 
Chancellor.  — Dugdale. 

*   Rot.  CI.  6  Ric,  2.  m.  12. 

f  According  to  the  advice  of  Lord  Mansfield  to  a  military  man  going  to  sit 
as  Chancellor  of  Jamaica:  "  Your  decision  may  be  right,  but  your  reasons 
must  be  wrong." 

I   1  Pari.  Hist.  176. 

§  I  give  a  specimen  from  the  rolls  of  parliament  of  this  modest  oration:  — 
"  Mons.  Michel  de  la  Pole,  Chivaler,  Chanceller  d'Engleterre,  par  commande- 
ment  nre.  Sr.  le  Roi  avoit  les  paroles  de  la  pronunciation  des  causes  de  la 
somonce  de  cest  present  parlimint,  y  dist.  Vous  Mess.  Prelatz  et  Seignrs. 
Temporalx,  et  vous  mes  compaignons  les  chivalers  et  autres  de  la  nol)le  Coe. 
d'Engleterre  cy  presentz,  deinez  entendre,  Q,e  combn.  q.  je  ne  sole  digne,  mes 
insufficient  de  sen  do  tout  autre  Cre.,  toutes  voies  pleust  a  nre.  Sr.  le  Roi  nal- 
gairs  de  moy  creer  son  Chanceller,  et  sur  ce  ore  moy  ad  commandcz,  q'orc  en 
vos  honorables  presences  je  vous  soie  de  par  luy  exposer  les  causes  de  la  somonce 
de  son  present  Parlement.  Et  partant  purra  clerement  apparoir  q.  si  haute 
busoigne  come  ce  est  de  pier  si  chargeante  matire  devant  tantes  et  tielles  si 
nobles  et  sages  persones  q.  vous  estez,  je  ue  ferroie  mye  par  presumption  ou  sur 
guiderie  de  moy  mesmes,  einz  soulement  par  deux  enchesons  resonable.      L'une 


288 


REIGN    OF   RICHARD   II. 


CHAP. 
XVI. 


A.D.  1384. 


Chancellor 
made  an 
Earl, 
A.D.  1386. 


Altercation 
in  the 
House  of 
Lords  be- 
tween the 
Chancellor 
and  the 
Bishop  of 
Ely. 


While  this  parliament  sat,  an  unjust  charge  was  brought 
against  him  of  taking  a  bribe.  He  was  acquitted,  and  John 
Cavendish,  his  accuser,  was  fined  1000  marks  for  defamation. 

At  the  parliament  held  in  November  in  the  following  year, 
he  was  considerably  bolder,  and  he  ventured  to  give  good  advice 
to  the  two  chambers,  telling  them,  "  there  were  four  ways 
or  means  which  would  greatly  speed  their  consultations. 
First,  to  be  early  in  the  house ;  next,  to  repel  all  melancholy 
passions;  the  third,  to  begin  always  on  the  most  needful 
inquiries,  and  to  proceed  without  mixture  of  any  orders  ;  and, 
lastly,  to  avoid  all  maintaining  and  partaking."  * 

The  Commons  made  a  complaint  to  the  King  for  commis- 
sions issued  by  the  Chancellor,  but  they  could  not  obtain  a 
more  favourable  answer  than  that  "  those  who  felt  themselves 
aggrieved  should  show  their  special  grievance  to  the  Chan- 
cellor who  would  provide  a  remedy."  f 

On  the  6th  of  August,  1386,  he  was  created  Earl  of  Suf- 
folk, the  first  instance  of  a  Lord  Chancellor,  while  in  office, 
being  raised  to  this  rank  in  the  peerage.  He  had,  at  the  same 
time,  a  grant  of  1000  marks  a  year  from  the  public  revenue 
to  support  his  new  dignity. 

A  parliament  M^as  held  soon  after.  We  have  an  account 
from  Speed,  of  a  debate  which  took  place  in  the  House  of 
Lords  at  the  opening  of  the  session,  —  the  earliest  which 
I  find  reported,  and  giving  us  a  lively  picture  of  the  elo- 
quence and  manners  of  the  age.  The  Bishop  of  Norwich, 
the  famous  "  Fighting  Prelate,"  had  led  an  army  into  Flan- 
ders :  being  obliged  to  return  with  discomfiture,  he  had  been 


est  q.  longemeiit  et  eoement.  ad  este  accustumee  deinz  mesme  le  Roialrae  q. 
les  Chancellers  d'Angleterre  devant  moy  si  ont  fait  chescun  en  son  temps  pro- 
nunciation de  par  le  Roy  de  semblables  parlimentz  devaunt  ore  tenuz;  et  ne 
vorroie,  si  pleust  a  Dieu  q.  en  mon  temps  defaute  de  mon  dit  office,  si  avaunt 
come  je  le  purroie  meintenlr  en  tout  bien  et  honour.  La  seconde  cause  est 
purquoy  je  assume  de  present  si  grant  charge  sur  moy  devant  touz  les  autres 
sages  cy  presentez ;  gar  le  Roy  nre.  Sr.  lige  ycy  present  m"  ad  commandez  de 
1  faire,  a  qi  me  faut  a  fyn  force  en  ce  et  en  touz  autres  ses  commandementz  q. 
purroient  tournir  au  pfit.  de  lui  et  de  son  roialme  obeire.  Et  issint  ne  ferroie 
c^te  chargeante  busoigne  en  aucun  manere,  sinon  constreint  par  reson  de  mon 
office,  et  commandement  de  mon  Sr,  lige  come  dist  est."— Roll  Pari.  7  Ric  2. 
vol.  ill.  149. 

*    1  Pari.    Hist.    180.      "  Mahiienance   and  champerty,"  —  the   corruption  of 
those  days,  when  "  rail-road  shares  "  were  unknown, 
t  1  Pari.  Hist.  185. 


MICHAEL    DE   LA   POLE,    CHANCELLOE.  289 

charged  with  breach  of  the  conditions  on  which  a  sum  of  money  CHAP, 
was  granted  to  him,  and  the  temporalities  of  his  see  were  se- 
questered. A  motion  was  now  made  by  Thomas  de  Arun- 
del, Bishop  of  Ely,  then  rising  into  notice,  and  afterwards 
five  times  Lord  Chancellor,  that  the  temporalities  should  be 
restored  to  him,  which  he  said  —  "  would  be  a  small  matter  for 
the  King."  This  was  warmly  opposed  by  the  new  Earl  of 
Suffolk,  Lord  Chancellor,  who  rose  up,  and  thus  addressed 
the  Bishop  of  Ely,  "  What  is  that,  my  Lord,  w^hich  you 
ask  of  the  King  ?  Seems  it  to  you  a  small  matter  for  him  to 
part  with  that  Bishop's  temporalities,  when  they  yield  to  his 
coffers  above  1000/.  a  year  ?  Little  need  hath  the  King  of  such 
councillors,  or  such  friends  as  advise  him  to  acts  so  greatly 
to  his  disadvantage."  To  which  the  Bishop  of  Ely  replied, 
"  What  says  your  lordship,  my  Loi'd  Michael  ?  Know  that 
I  ask  not  from  the  King  what  is  his  own,  but  that  which  he, 
drawn  thereunto  by  you,  or  such  as  you  are,  withholds  from 
other  men,  upon  none  of  the  justest  titles,  —  which,  as  I 
think,  will  never  do  him  any  good.  As  for  yourself,  if  the 
King's  advantage  be  the  thing  you  drive  at,  why  did  you 
so  greedily  accept  of  1000  marks  a  year  at  the  time  he 
created  you  Earl  of  Suffolk?"  "  The  Chancellor,"  adds  our 
authority,  "  was  hit  so  home  by  this  round  retort,  that  he 
offered  no  farther  to  cross  the  restitution  of  the  Bishop's 
temporalities."* 

This  year  the  Earl  of  Suffolk  went  abroad  upon  an  em-  a.d.  isse. 
bassy,  and  the  Great  Seal  was  given  into  the  custody  of 
John  de  Waltham,  Master  of  the  Rolls  f,  celebrated  for  his 
invention  of  the  writ  of  subpoena,  on  which  the  equitable 
jurisdiction  of  the  Court  of  Chancery  has  been  supposed  to 
be  founded.  The  faction  of  the  favourite,  De  Vere,  had  now 
become  very  odious,  and  there  were  loud  complaints  among 
the  people  against  misgovernment.  What  was  more  formid- 
able, there  was  a  strong  combination  among  the  Barons,  who 
were  resolved  upon  a  change.  The  King's  necessities,  how-  a  parlia- 
ever,  required  the  summoning  of  a  new  parliament.     The  two  "'^"** 

*   Speed  in  Ann.  1386.  t   Ro*-  CI.  9  Ric.  2.  m.  12. 

VOL.  I.  U 


290  REIGN    OF   RICHARD   II. 

CHAP.     Houses  met  on  the  first  of  October,  1386.*     The  session  was 
opened  as  usual  by  a  speech  from  the  Lord  Chancellor,  in 
A.D.  1386.    which  he  said  that  the  principal  cause  of  calling  them  together 
at  that  time  was  "  to  acquaint  them  that  it  had  been  deter- 
mined the  King  should  cross  the  seas  in  person  with  an  army 
royal,  and  that  they  were  to  debate  in  what  manner  and  how 
Proceed-      it  was  to  be  done."     But  the  Commons,  instead  of  intimating 
the^Chrn-     ^^7  intention  of  granting  a  supply,  expressed  in  the  royal 
cellor.  presence  their  resolution  to  impeach  the  Lord  Chancellor  for 

divers  crimes  and  misdemeanours.  We  are  informed  that 
the  Bang  thereupon  retired,  lest  he  might  seem  to  coun- 
tenance their  proceedings.  He  went  to  his  palace  at  Eltham, 
where  he  spent  his  time  in  vain  amusements,  while  transac- 
tions were  going  on  which  before  long  led  to  his  dethronement. 
Both  Houses,  with  joint  consent,  thought  proper  to  send 
this  message  to  him :  "  That  the  Chancellor  and  Treasurer 
ought  to  be  removed  from  their  offices,  because  those  men 
were  not  for  the  advantage  of  himself  and  kingdom."  Adding, 
"  that  they  had  matters  to  treat  of  relating  to  the  Lord 
Michael  de  la  Pole,  which  could  not  be  safely  done  while  he 
remained  in  the  office  of  Chancellor."  The  King  admonished 
them  to  proceed  forthwith  to  the  business  for  which  they 
were  summoned,  and  told  them  "  that  he  would  not  for  them, 
or  at  their  instance,  remove  the  meanest  scullion  in  his  kitchen." 
The  Lords  and  Commons  were  not  to  be  so  daunted,  and 
they  returned  their  joint  answer  to  the  King,  "  That  they 
neither  could,  nor  by  any  means  would,  proceed  in  any  busi- 
ness of  parliament,  or  despatch  so  much  as  the  least  article  of 
it,  till  the  King  should  come  and  show  himself  among  them, 
and  remove  the  said  Michael  de  la  Pole  from  his  office." 
Remonstrances  and  refusals  of  redress  being  some  time  con- 
tinued, the  King  threatened  to  call  in  the  advice  of  the  King 
of  France,  to  whom  he  would  sooner  submit  than  truckle  to 
his  own  subjects.  In  their  address  in  answer,  the  two  Houses 
said,  "  We  have  an  ancient  constitution,  and  it  was  not  many 
ages  experimented  f  (it  grieves  us  that  we  must  mention  it), 
that  if  the  King,  through  any  evil  counsel,  or  weak  obstinacy, 

*    1  Pari.  Hist.  185. 

f   Referring  to  the  deposition  of  Edward  II. 


THOMAS  ARUNDEL,  CHANCELLOR.  291 

or  contempt  of  his  people,  or  out  of  a  perverse  and  froward     CHAP. 
wilfulness,  or  by  any  other  irregular  courses,  shall  alienate  ' 


himself  from  his  people,  and  refuse  to  govern  by  the  laws  ^.d.  1386. 
and  statutes  of  the  realm,  but  will  throw  himself  headlong 
into  wild  designs,  and  stubbornly  exercise  his  own  singular 
arbitrary  will,  —  from  that  time  it  shall  be  lawful  for  his 
people,  by  their  full  and  free  assent  and  consent,  to  depose 
that  King  from  his  throne,  and  in  his  stead  to  establish  some 
other  of  the  royal  race  upon  the  same."* 

Richard  was  obliged  to  yield  ;  and  laying  aside  his  passion.   The  Earl 
he  promised  that  after  three  days  he  would  come  to  the  par-  "^jj^^^g^ 
liament,  and  with  mature  advice  willingly  acquiesce  in  their  from  the 
petitions.     Accordingly  he  came  at  the  time  appointed,  and  chancellor 
consented  to  an  entire  change  of  ministers.      The  Earl  of  Oct.  24. 

I  386 

Suffolk  was  removed,  and  his  enemy  Thomas  de  Arundel,  ^jj^jj^g 
Bishop  of  Ely,  made  Chancellor  in  his  stead.  Arundel 

Not  contented  with  his  dismissal,  the  Commons  prayed  ^pp°^"  ^ 
that  all  manner  of  charters  and  letters  made  in  the  time  of 
the  late  Chancellor,  contrary  to  law,  be  annulled  and  repealed 
in  the  present  parliament,  to  which  the  answer  was,  "  Le 
Roi  le  voet  par  advys  de  son  conseil."t 

They  then  proceeded  to  impeach  him  ;  but  his  official  in-  Impeach- 
tegrit}'-  was  established  by  the  frivolous  nature  of  the  offences  Ex.chan- 
which  his  enemies,  in  the  present  plenitude  of  their  power,  ceiior. 
thought  proper  to  object  against  him.  J 

This  is  the  first  instance  of  the  impeachment  of  a 
Chancellor,  and  it  created  great  interest  from  the  elevated 
rank  and  distinguished  personal  character  of  the  accused. 
The  bill  of  impeachment  was  divided  into  seven  heads, 
charging  the  Earl,  while  Chancellor,  with  having  enriched 
himself  by  defrauding  the  Crown,  and  with  having  put  the 
Great  Seal  to  illegal  charters  and  pardons.  He  had  intrusted 
his  defence  to  his  brother-in-law.  Lord  le  Scrope,  likewise  an 
Ex-chancellor :  but  the  Lords  observed  that  it  would  be  more 
to  his  honour  if  he  should  conduct  it  himself.  He  thereupon  His  de- 
went  through  the  different  charges  in  order,  contending  that    '^"*'^' 


•   1   Pari.  Hist.  186.  f  Rot.  Par.  10  Ric.  2. 

t   1  Pari.  Hist.  189. 

V  2 


292  REIGN   OF   RICHARD   II. 

CHAP,  those  which  were  fit  ground  of  impeachment  were  unfounded 
'  in  fact,  and  that  the  others  did  not  amount  to  any  legal 
offence.  "  As  to  his  deserts  he  would  be  silent,  but  hoped  that 
what  he  had  suffered  for  the  King  would  not  be  forgotten." 
Here  Scrope  was  allowed  to  interpose.  "  The  individual 
now  accused  of  misconduct  as  Chancellor,"  he  remarked, 
"  had  served  in  war  thirty  years  as  a  knight  banneret  with- 
out disgrace  or  reproof,  had  thrice  been  a  captive  in  the  hands 
of  the  enemy,  and  had  been  Governor  of  Calais,  Admiral  of 
the  fleet,  and  oftentimes  Ambassador  from  the  King  to  foreign 
states,  —  in  all  which  capacities  he  had  conducted  himself 
with  the  purest  honour  as  well  as  with  the  highest  ability." 

The  managers  for  the  Commons  were  heard  in  reply,  and 
chiefly  dwelt  upon  the  charge,  that,  being  Chancellor,  and 
obliged  by  his  oath  to  consult  the  King's  profit,  he  had  pur- 
chased lands  from  the  King  below  their  true  value.  He 
proved  that  he  had  made  no  purchase  from  the  Crown  while 
he  was  Chancellor,  and  that  all  the  bargains  referred  to  had 
been  concluded  before  he  was  raised  to  that  office.  Never- 
theless he  was  found  guilty  of  having  defrauded  the  Crown, 
and  adjudged  to  forfeit  several  large  sums  of  money,  and  to 
be  imprisoned  during  the  King's  pleasure.  He  was  accord- 
ingly committed  to  the  custody  of  the  Lord  High  Constable, 
and  sent  close  prisoner  to  Windsor  Castle,  where  he  remained 
till  this  parliament  was  dissolved,  —  when  he  was  taken  into 
favour,  and  was  able  ao-ain  to  make  head  against  his  enemies. 
This  prosecution  is  memorable  as  it  confirmed  to  the 
Commons  their  new  claim  of  impeaching  the  ministers  of  the 
Crown,  and  showed  how  the  power  might  be  abused  to  the 
purposes  of  faction. 
Death  of  De  la  Pole,  the  Ex-chancellor,  was  actively  engaged  in  the 

o/suffolk.  struggle  which  soon  arose  from  the  attempt  to  subject  Richard, 
like  Henry  III,  and  Edward  II.,  to  a  council  of  Barons, 
armed  with  the  powers  of  royalty.  Upon  the  defeat  of  the 
party  who  resisted  these  proceedings  he  was  obliged  to  go 
into  exile.  He  was  kindly  received  by  the  King  of  France, 
A.D.  1388.  but  died  soon  after  of  a  broken  heart,  said  to  have  been  pro- 
duced less  by  his  private  misfortunes  than  by  the  calamities 
he  saw  impending  over  his  country.     That  he  was  fit  for  the 


THOMAS  ARUNDEL,  CHANCELLOK.  293 

office  of  Chancellor,  which  had  been  held  by  Parnynge  and     CHAP. 
Knyvet,  it  is  impossible  to  assert ;  but  he  seems  to  have  filled 


it  with  unspotted  integrity,  and  he  certainly  displayed  high  j^j^  j.,,g_ 
qualities  as  a  statesman  as  well  as  a  soldier.     His  descendants  racter. 
were    nearly  allied  to  the  throne,  and  several  of  them  are 
among  the  most  distinguished  chai'acters  in  English  history. 

The  new  Chancellor,  Thomas  Arundel,  was  of  illustrious  Thomas 
descent,  being  the  son  of  Robert  Earl  of  Arundel  and  Warren.    chaiTcellor. 
He  very  early  displayed  great  talents,  and  he  had  a  respect-  His  family, 
able  share  of  the  learning  of  the  times.     Taking  orders,  he  Education, 
was  made  Archdeacon  of  Taunton  when  scarce  twenty -two 
years  of  age,  and  it  was  not  long  before  he  entered  parliament 
as  a  prelate,  where  we  have  seen  he  was  the   antagonist  of 
De  la  Pole  the  Chancellor,  with  whom  he  had  a  long-con- 
tinued rivalry.      Supported  by  Gloucester,  the  King's  uncle, 
he  was  now  completely  in  the  ascendant ;  for  the  two  houses 
were  willingly  ruled  by  him,  and  the  King  could  make  no 
resistance.     He  used  his  power  with  no  moderation  ;  for,  not 
contented  with  crushing  his  predecessor,  he  attempted  per- 
manently to  make  himself  master  of  the  King  and  the  kingdom. 
An  Act  was  passed,  to  which  the  royal  assent  Avas  nominally 
given,  appointing  a  council  of  fourteen  persons,  to  whom  the 
sovereign  power  Avas  transferred  for  a  twelvemonth,  —  and 
the  King  was  in  reality  dethroned.     The  Chancellor  was  the 
first  named  in  this  commission. 

But  althouo;h  Richard  had  taken  an  oath  never  to  infrlnece  Miscon- 
it,  at  the  end  of  the  session  he  publicly  entered  a  protest  that  Richard  1 1, 
the  prerogatives  of  the  Crown,  notwithstanding  his  late  con- 
cession, should  still  be  deemed  entire  and  unimpaired.  The 
Commissioners,  disregarding  this  declaration,  took  posses- 
sion of  the  government, — but  they  Avere  not  long  allowed 
to  exercise  their  authority  without  disturbance.  Richard 
Avas  sensible  of  the  contempt  into  Avhich  he  had  fallen,  and, 
instigated  by  the  Earl  of  Suffolk,  Avhom  he  restored  to  liberty, 
he  made  a  bold  effort  to  recover  his  authority.  He  assembled 
Tressilian,  the  Chief  Justice  of  England,  and  the  other 
Judges,  at  Nottingham,  and  obtained  an  opinion  from  them 
that  those  who  procured  the  late  commission,  or  advised  the 
King  to  consent  to  it,  Averc  punishable  with  death,  and  that 

u  3 


294 


KEIGN   OP    RICHARD    II. 


CHAP. 

XVI. 


Civil  war. 


A  parlia- 
ment. 


Arundel 
dismissed, 
A,D.  1389. 


those  who  should  persevere  in  maintaining  it  were  guilty  of 
treason ;  and  that  the  House  of  Commons  cannot,  without  the 
King's  consent,  impeach  any  of  his  Ministers  or  Judges. 

Gloucester  and  the  Chancellor  flew  to  arms  as  soon  as  they 
heard  of  this  consultation,  and  met  Richard  near  Highgate 
with  a  force  which  he  and  his  adherents  could  not  resist.  They 
accused  the  Earl  of  Suffolk,  the  Duke  of  Ireland,  Sir  Robert 
Tressilian,  and  others  who  impugned  the  commission,  as  public 
and  dangerous  enemies  to  the  state. 

A  new  parliament  was  called  in  February,  1388*,  which 
was  opened  by  a  speech  from  the  Bishop  of  Ely,  the  Chan- 
cellor, inveighing  against  the  opposite  faction.  An  appeal  of 
treason,  consisting  of  many  articles,  was  preferred  against  the 
discomfited  leaders  of  it,  and,  as  a  matter  of  course,  they 
were  found  guilty.  Tressilian,  the  Chief  Justice,  being  dis- 
covered in  an  apothecary's  shop  in  Palace  Yard,  where  he 
had  some  time  lain  concealed,  was  hanged  at  Tyburn,  and 
his  fate  seems  to  have  excited  little  compassion,  for  he  had 
shown  himself  ready  to  mete  out  like  injustice  to  others,  and 
he  had  extra-judicially  pronounced  opinions  which,  if  acted 
upon,  would  have  been  for  ever  fatal  to  public  liberty. 

It  seemed  as  if  those  now  in  power  never  could  be  deprived 
of  it.  Thomas  of  Arundel,  the  Chancellor,  had  been  made 
Archbishop  of  York,  and  he  no  doubt  expected  to  hold  the 
Great  Seal  without  interruption  for  many  years.  But  in  the 
beginning  of  May,  1389,  Richard  unexpectedly  and  peaceably 
recovered  his  authority,  and  all  those  who  had  been  concerned 
in  the  late  plots  against  him  were  dismissed  from  their  employ- 
ments. This  change  seems  to  have  been  brought  about  merely 
by  a  reaction  in  public  opinion,  and  a  dislike  in  the  English 
nation  to  power  remaining  long  in  the  same  hands. 

Richard,  on  this  occasion,  conducted  himself  with  great 
moderation,  and  he  confirmed  by  proclamation  the  general 
pardon  which  the  parliament  had  passed  for  all  offences. 


*   1  Pari.  Hist.  196.      1   St.  Tr.  89. 


WILLIAM  OF   WICKHAM,   CHANCELLOR.  295 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

CHANCELLORS  AND  KEEPERS  OF  THE  GREAT  SEAL  FROM  THE 
SECOND  CHANCELLORSHIP  OF  WILLIAM  OF  WICKHAM  TILL  THE 
END   OF    THE    REIGN    OF    RICHARD   II. 

William  of  Wickham,   Bishop   of  Winchester,   after  a     chap. 

.  .  XVII 

retirement  from    office  of  eighteen  years,  was   again    made 


Chancellor,  as  a  person  likely  to  be  generally  acceptable.  ]\jay  4. 

After  his  resignation  of  the  Great  Seal  in  1371,  he  had   is89. 

,  ,  ,  .  ,^  ,  .   .  ,  ,  ,  .   ,    William  of 

employed  himseli  in  repairing  the  twelve  castles,  or  manorial  wickham 
residences,  belonging  to  him  as  Bishop,  on  which  he  spent  ^*'" 
20,000  marks;  —  in  rebuilding  the  cathedral  at  Winchester ;    jjis history 
—  and  in  reforming  abuses  in  the  monasteries  and  religious  between  his 
houses  within  his  diocese,  particularly  the  ancient  hospital  of  cellorsbips. 
St.  Cross,  founded  by  the  famous  Bishop  Henry  de  Blois, 
brother  of  King  Stephen.*     Having  been  appointed  by  "the 
Good  Parliament,"  which  met  in  1376,  one  of  the  council 
established  to  superintend  the  conduct  of  public  affairs,  he 
had  the  misfortune  to  incur  the  displeasure  of  the  Duke  of 
Lancaster,  who  then  wished  to  engross  all  power  into  his  own 
hands.     By  his    contrivance,    eight   informations  were  filed 
against  the  Bishop  in  the  beginning  of  the  next  Michaelmas 
term,  charging  him  with  various  acts  of  pecuniary  defalcation, 
oppression,  and  perversion  of  the  law  while  he  was  Keeper  of 
the  Privy  Seal  and  Lord  Chancellor.     The  cause  was  tried 
before  a  partial  commission   of  Bishops,   Peers,  and  Privy 
Councillors,   and   although   convicted  only  on   one    charge, 
which  amounted  at  most  to  an  irregularity,  he  was  heavily 
fined,  an  order  was  issued  for  sequestering  the  revenues  of 
his  bishopric,  and  he  was  forbidden  to  come  within  twenty 
miles  of  the  Court.     When,  on  the  petition  of  the  Commons 
the  general  pardon  was  issued  by  the  King  in  consideration  of 
its  being  the  year  of  his  jubilee,  the  Bishop  of  Winchester 

•  Under  a  regulation  then  made,  every  traveller  who  visits  the  hospital  is  now 
presented  with  a  cup  of  ale  and  a  small  loaf, — ut  gustavi. 

V  4 


?96 


KEIGN    OF    RICHARD    II. 


CHAP. 
XVII. 


A  parlia- 
ment, 
A.D.  1390. 


The  Chan- 
cellor lays 
down  his 
office  in 
parliament, 
and  is  re- 
appointed. 


alone  was  exempted  from  its  benefit.  His  enemies  contrived 
to  throw  an  imputation  upon  him  that  he  was  patronised  by 
Alice  Pierce,  and  that  he  instigated  her  to  withstand  the 
parliament.  In  spite  of  this  scandal,  his  brethren  of  the 
clergy  now  assembled  in  convocation,  manfully  took  up  his 
cause,  and  his  temporalities  were  restored  to  him  on  condition 
of  his  fitting  out  three  ships  of  war  for  the  defence  of  the 
kingdom.  The  mulct  was  remitted  on  the  accession  of 
Richard  II. ;  but  the  prosecution  subjected  him  to  a  loss  of 
10,000  marks. 

During  the  minority  of  Richard  the  Ex-chancellor  had  not 
interfered  with  politics,  except  that  after  the  suppression  of 
Wat  Tyler's  rebellion  he  was  one  of  the  seventeen  persons 
appointed  by  the  Commons  to  confer  with  them  on  the  con- 
dition of  the  kingdom,  and  that  in  1386  he  was  one  of  the 
fourteen  appointed  by  the  parliament,  at  the  instigation  of  the 
King's  uncle,  the  Duke  of  Gloucester,  to  be  a  council  to 
the  King  for  one  year,  and  to  exercise  all  the  powers  of 
government.  In  this  capacity  he  conducted  himself  with  so 
much  mildness  and  moderation,  that  when  Richard  recovered 
his  authority  he  still  wished  to  have  him  near  his  person. 

His  restoration  to  the  office  of  Chancellor  under  the  pre- 
sent circumstances  was  generally  approved  of;  for  If  his 
judicial  qualifications  for  it  were  slender,  the  people  were 
pleased  to  see  it  once  more  filled  by  a  man  of  moderate 
opinions  and  unsullied  integrity. 

In  January,  1390,  a  parliament  met,  which  he  opened  with 
a  speech,  "  declaring  the  King  to  be  of  full  age,  and  that  he 
intended  to  govern  his  people  in  peace  and  quiet,  and  to  do 
justice  and  right  to  all  men."  * 

The  Chancellor  then,  to  gain  popularity,  went  through  a 
ceremony  prescribed  by  a  repealed  statute  of  Edward  III. ;  — 
he  surrendered  the  Great  Seal  to  the  King  before  both  houses 
of  parliament;  —  the  Bishop  of  St.  David's,  the  Lord  Treasurer, 
at  the  same  time  delivered  up  the  keys  of  the  Exchequer ; 
and  they  prayed  that  they  might  be  discharged, — "complaining 
of  the  great  labour  and  costs  to  which  they  were  continually 


*   1  Pari.  Hist.  216. 


WILLIAM    OF   WICKHAM,    CHANCELLOR.  297 

put  in  their  said  offices,  and  praying  that  other  good  and  suf-     CHAP, 
ficient  persons  might  be  appointed  in  their  stead."    After  this    '__ 


resignation,  it  was  openly  proclaimed  in  full  parliament,  "  that 
if  any  person  could  justly  complain  of  any  illegal  action,  or 
any  thing  done  amiss  by  them  in  their  several  offices,  he  should 
come  forth  and  he  should  be  heard,  for  they  now  stood  upon 
their  deliverance."  Both  the  Lords  and  Commons  answered 
"  that  they  knew  nothing  amiss  against  them,  and  that  they 
had  behaved  themselves  well  in  their  respective  offices." 
Whereupon  the  King  re-instated  the  Bishop  of  Winchester  in 
the  office  of  Chancellor,  and  re-delivered  to  him  the  Great 
Seal,  and  the  Bishop  of  St.  David's  in  the  office  of  Treasurer, 
and  re-delivered  to  him  the  keys  of  the  Treasury. 

Nevertheless  the  Commons  showed  suspicion  and  jealousy 
of  the  future  proceedings  of  the  Chancellor,  for  they  prayed 
the  King  "  that  neither  the  Chancellor  nor  the  King's  Coun- 
cil, after  the  parliament  is  ended,  may  make  any  ordinance 
against  the  common  law  nor  the  ancient  customs  of  the  land, 
nor  against  the  statutes  heretofore  passed  in  the  present 
parliament,  and  that  no  judgment  rendered  be  annulled  with- 
out due  process  of  law."  An  evasive  answer  being  given,  the 
Commons  returned  to  the  attack,  and  prayed  "  that  if  the 
Chancellor  should  compel  the  King's  lieges  to  appear  before 
him  to  answer  any  thing  that  may  be  recovered  at  common 
law,  he  shall  be  liable  to  a  penalty  of  100/.;  "  but  the  answer 
still  was  —  "  The  King  willeth,  as  his  progenitors  have  done, 
saving  his  regality."  * 

William    of  Wickham    remained  Chancellor,  the    second   Resigna- 
time,  till  the  27th  of  September,  1391,  —  when  he  was  sue-   wiiiili  c 
ceeded  by  Thomas  Arundel,  Archbishop  of  York,  who  had   Wickiiam 
been  his  immediate  predecessor. f     This  change  took   place  ^•"-  '391. 
without  any  convulsion,  and  seems  to  have  been  the  result  of 
an  amicable    compromise   between    the    contending    parties. 
The  Duke  of  Gloucester   was  restored  to  his  place  in  the 
council,  and,  for  a  short  time,  there  was  a  prospect  of  public 
tranquillity. 

Here  we  must  take  leave  of  Lord  Chancellor  Wickham. 

*   Rot.  Par.  13  Ric.  2.  f   Rot.  CI.  15  Ric.  2.  m.  34. 


298 


REIGN    OF    RICHARD   II. 


CHAP. 

XVII. 

His  retire- 
ment from 
public  life. 


His  death. 


His  merits. 


September, 
1391. 

Thomas  de 
Arundel's 
second 
Chancel- 
lorship. 


From  this  date  he  seems  to  have  interfered  little  in 
public  affairs.  He  was  in  some  danger  in  1397,  when  the 
Duke  of  Gloucester  was  put  to  death,  and  several  of  his 
associates  were  attainted  for  their  former  resistance  to  the 
royal  authority ;  but,  at  the  intercession  of  the  Commons,  it 
was  declared  by  the  King,  from  the  throne,  that  the  Bishop 
of  Winchester  had  not  been  implicated  in  what  his  fellow- 
commissioners  had  then  done.  He  was  present  in  the  parlia- 
ment held  the  30th  of  September,  1399,  when  Richard  was 
deposed,  and  in  the  first  parliament  of  Henry  IV.,  sum- 
moned a  few  days  after ;  but  this  was  the  last  which  he 
attended.  He  now  devoted  himself  to  his  episcopal  duties, 
and  the  superintendence  of  his  two  noble  foundations  at 
Winchester  and  Oxford,  which  have  contributed  so  much  to 
the  cause  of  sound  education  in  England,  and  have  rendered 
his  name  so  illustrious.* 

He  expired  on  the  27th  of  September,  1404,  in  the  eighty- 
first  year  of  his  age,  having  presided  over  the  see  of  Win- 
chester above  thirty-  eight  years. 

None  of  his  decisions  as  Chancellor  have  come  down  to  us, 
but  he  left  a  greater  name  to  posterity  than  many  of  his  suc- 
cessors of  much  higher  juridical  authority.  We  are  to  ad- 
mire in  him  not  only  his  unrivalled  skill  in  one  of  the  fine 
arts,  but  his  extraordinary  aptitude  for  all  civil  business,  his 
equal  and  benevolent  temper,  his  enlightened  munificence,  and 
his  devoted  love  of  learning. f 

We  are  now  in  the  tranquil  period  of  Richard's  reign,  in 
which  he  was  permitted  to  give  free  scope  to  his  love  of  indo- 
lence, low  pleasures,  and  frivolous  company.  Thomas  de 
Arundel's  second  Chancellorship  lasted  about  five  years, 
Avithout  being  marked  by  any  striking  events  till  the  close  of 


*  The  bull  of  Pope  Urbanus  VI.  for  founding  Winchester  school,  was  granted 
1st  June,  1378.  The  building  of  the  college  at  Oxford,  which  he  called  "  St. 
Mary  College  of  Winchester,  at  Oxford,"  afterwards  "  New  College,"  was  begun 
in  1380  and  finished  in  1386;  the  papal  bull  confirming  its  statutes  is  dated 
19th  July,  1398. — I  have  a  great  kindness  for  the  memory  of  William  of  Wick- 
ham,  when  I  think  of  his  having  produced  such  Wickhamists  as  my  friends 
Baron  Rolfe  and  Professor  Empson. 

"  Hactenus  ire  libet,  tu  major  laudibus  istis 
Suscipc  conatus,  Wicame  Dive,  meos." 

t  See  Hist.  Descrip.  Gul.  Wick.     Life  by  Lowth. 


THOMAS  ARUNDEL,  CHANCELLOR. 


299 


it.     Parties  continued  pretty  equally  balanced,  and  what  lias 
since  been  called  b,  juste  milieu  government  prevailed. 

During  this  time  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Court  of  Chancery 
was  greatly  extended,  and  the  famous  writ  of  subpoena  came 
into  use  as  invented  or  improved  by  John  de  Waltham,  who 
was  Master  of  the  Rolls,  and  several  times  intrusted  with  the 
custody  of  the  Great  Seal  as  deputy  to  the  Chancellor,  though 
he  never  held  it  in  his  own  right.* 

*  Blackstone  is  entirely  mistaken  in  asserting  that  John  de  Waltham  was 
Chancellor  to  Richard  II.',  and  as  he  never  was  Chancellor,  nor  held  the  Great 
Seal  as  Keeper  in  his  own  right,  he  does  not  properly  come  into  the  list  of  those 
whose  lives  I  have  undertaken  to  write.  Yet,  as  his  name  is  so  distinguished 
in  the  history  of  the  equitable  jurisdiction  of  the  Court  of  Chancery,  the  reader 
may  be  desirous  of  being  informed  of  what  is  known  concerning  him. 

His  birth  and  place  of  education  have  not  been  traced.  He  was  an  eccle- 
siastic who  devoted  himself  to  the  study  of  the  civil  and  canon  law,  in  which  he 
made  great  proficiency.  He  was  early  introduced  as  a  clerk  in  Chancery,  and 
soon  rose  to  be  a  Master.  Rendering  himself  useful  to  Lord  Chancellor  Cour- 
tenay,  he  was  by  his  interest  appointed  one  of  the  Receivers  of  Petitions  for 
England,  Ireland,  Wales,  and  Scotland,  in  the  parliament  which  met  in 
5  Ric.  2.,  and  in  the  same  year  was  created  Master  of  the  Rolls.^  The  fol- 
lowing year,  under  Lord  Chancellor  Scrope,  he  was  a  Keeper  of  the  Great  Seal 
along  with  Hugh  de  Segrave,  the  Treasurer  of  England,  and  William  de  Digh- 
ton,  Keeper  of  the  Privy  Seal,  and  he  was  a  joint  Keeper  of  the  Great  SeaP 
likewise,  under  the  two  succeeding  Chancellors.  But  in  April,  1386,  he  was 
appointed  sole  Keeper  of  the  Great  Seal  under  Lord  Chancellor  de  la  Pole  ■*, 
and  again  in  September,  1394,  under  Lord  Chancellor  Arundel.*  He  was  after- 
wards consecrated  Bishop  of  Salisbury,  and  finally  was  made  Lord  Treasurer  of 
England.^ 

But  the  great  disgrace  or  glory  imputed  to  him,  was  the  invention  of  the  writ 
of  suBPCENA  in  Chancery,  and  some  have  represented  him  by  the  sale  of  his  new 
writ,  and  his  extension  of  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Chancellor,  in  derogation  of  the 
common  law,  to  merit  the  denunciation, 

"  Vendidit  hie  auro  patriam,  dominumque  potentem 
Imposuit,  fixit  leges  pretio  atque  refixit ;  " 
while  others  would  inscribe  his  name  among  those 

"  Inventas — qui  vitam  excoluere  per  artes, 
Quique  sui  memores  alios  fecere  merendo." 

In  censuring  and  extolling  him  there  has  been  much  exaggeration.  While 
obscurity  veils  the  honour  due  to  the  first  happy  discoverers  of  the  latitat  and 
quo  minus,  the  indignant  complaint  of  the  Commons  "  that  the  subpoena  in 
Chancery  had  never  been  known  before  the  time  of  Sir  John  de  Waltham,"  has 
fixed  upon  him  the  responsibility  of  being  the  author  of  this  writ.  In  reality, 
he  first  framed  it  in  its  present  form,  when  a  clerk  in  Chancery,  in  the  latter 
end  of  the  reign  of  Edward  III.  ;  but  the  invention  consisted  in  merely  adding 
to  the  old  clause  Quibusdam  certis  de  causis,  the  words  "  Et  hoc  sub  poena  cen- 
tum librarum  nullatenus  omittas';"  and   I  am  at  a  loss  to  conceive  how  such 


CHAP. 
XVIL 


'   Bl.  Com.  iii.  52. 

*  Rot.  Pat.  5  Ric.  2.  m.  22 
'  Rot.  CI.  G  Ric.  2.  m.  12. 

*  Rot.  CI.  9  Ric.  2.  m.  5. 
"   14  Ric.  2.      Or.  Jur.  54. 

'   See  Rot.  Pat.  38  Ed.  3.  p.  i.  m.  1 5 


Rot.  Pari.  3  Hen.  5.  m.  2. 
Rot.  CI.  9  Ric.  2. 

''  Rot.  CI.  IS  Ric.  2.  m.  31. 


Rot.  Claus.  20  Ed.  3.  p.  ii.  m.  4.  d. 


History  of 
John  de 
Waltham. 


His  inven- 
tion of 
writ  of 

SUBPCENA. 


300 


REIGN   OP   RICHARD   II. 


CHAP. 
XVII. 

Proceed- 
ings ill  par- 
liament 
against  tlie 
Court  of 
Chancery. 


Chancellor 
goes  with 
King  to 
Ireland. 


These  Innovations  were  highly  unpopular,  and  vigorous 
attempts  were  made  to  check  them ;  but  nothing  more  could 
be  effected  in  this  reign  than  passing  stat.  17  Rich.  2.  c.  6., 
entitled,  "  Upon  an  untrue  suggestion  in  the  Chancery, 
Damages  may  be  awarded,"  whereby,  after  reciting  "  that 
forasmuch  as  people  be  compelled  to  come  before  the  King's 
counsel  or  in  the  Chancery  by  writs  grounded  on  untrue  sug- 
gestions," it  is  enacted,  "  that  the  Chancellor  for  the  time 
being,  presently  after  that  such  suggestions  be  duly  found  and 
proved  untrue,  shall  have  power  to  ordain  and  award  damages, 
according  to  his  discretion,  to  him  which  is  so  troubled 
unduly,  as  aforesaid." 

This  remedy,  which  was  referred  to  the  discretion  of  the 
Chancellor  himself,  whose  jurisdiction  was  to  be  controlled, 
proved,  as  might  have  been  expected,  wholly  ineffectual,  but 
it  was  used  as  a  parliamentary  recognition  of  his  jurisdiction, 
and  a  pretence  for  refusing  to  establish  any  other  check 
to  it. 

In  the  month  of  September,  1394,  the  Chancellor  attended 
the  King  into  Ireland,  when  the  Great  Seal  was  committed 
to  the  custody  of  John  de  Waltham,  who  had  now  risen  to 
the  dignity  of  Bishop  of  Salisbury  and  Treasurer  of  England ; 
but  when  he  likewise  went  to  Ireland,  it  was  handed  over  to 
John  Searle,  who  had  succeeded  him  as  Master  of  the  Rolls. 
It  was  thrice  again  in  the  keeping  of  the  same  person  before 
the  next  revolution  of  the  government,  on  occasions  when  the 
Chancellor,  now  translated  to  the  see  of  Canterbury,  was  too 
much  occupied  with  his  other  avocations  to  attend  to  his 
judicial  duties.* 

The  Duke  of  Gloucester,  to  whose  party  Arundel  had 
attached  himself,  was  making  a  struggle  to  grasp  the  whole 
power  of  the  state,  and,  according  to  Froissart,  aimed  at  the 


His  death. 


importance  was  attached  to  it,  or  how  it  was  supposed  to  have  brought  about  so 
complete  a  revolution  in  equitable  proceedings ;  for  the  penalty  never  was 
enforced,  and  if  the  party  failed  to  appear,  his  default  was  treated  (according  to 
the  practice  prevailing  to  our  own  time)  as  a  contempt  of  court,  and  made  the 
foundation  of  compulsory  process. 

John  de  Waltham  continued  to  hold  the  office  of  Lord  Treasurer  till  his  death 
in  September,  1395.  By  the  command  of  Richard  II.  he  was  buried  in  the 
chapel  royal  of  Westminster  Abbey,  among  the  Kings  of  England. 

•    Rot.  CI.  19  Ric,  2.  m    12.      20  Ric.  2.  m.  28. 


EDMUND   STAFPOKD,    CHANCELLOK.  301 

crown  Itself,  although  Richard  had  declared  in  parliament     chap. 
that,  in  case  of  his  decease  without  issue,  the  house  of  March, 


descended  from  the  Duke  of  Clarence,  the  second  son  of 
Edward  III.,  were  his  true  heirs. 

Richard  for  a  short  time  showed  some  energy  in  defence  of  Removal 
his  rights.     Arundel,  the  Chancellor,  was  removed  from  his   nov.'^"23  ^ ' 
office,  and  replaced  by  Edmund  Staffokd,  Bishop  of  Exeter,   i396. 
who  had  sided  with  Gloucester's   enemies,  and   Gloucester  E»m»nd 
Dimselt  was  arrested  and  sent  over  to  Calais  as  a  state  pri-  Chancellor, 
soner.     The  Dukes  of  Lancaster  and  York,  the  King's  other 
uncles,  concurred  in  these  measures,  and  all  who  had  opposed 
them  were  now  at  the  mercy  of  the  ruling  faction. 

As  usual  on  such  occasions,  a  parliament  was  called  to 
register  decrees  of  vengeance,  and  acted  with  the  expected 
vigour  and  unanimity.  Some  objection  might  safely  be  made 
to  a  particular  measure  which  did  not  excite  the  passions  of 
men  as  it  passed  through  either  House ;  but  a  regular  par- 
liamentary opposition  was  unknown,  and  no  division  ever  took 
place  on  a  bill  of  attainder  or  forfeiture, —  for  this  plain  reason, 
that  the  names  of  the  minority  would  have  been  immediately 
introduced  into  the  bill,  and  they  would  forthwith  have  found 
themselves  entering  through  the  Traitor's  Gate  into  the  Tower, 
shortly  to  tread  the  scaffold  on  Tower  Hill,  if  not  assassinated 
before  the  day  fixed  for  their  execution. 

Lord  Chancellor  Stafford  opened  the  session  with  a  speech   Chancel- 
from  the  words  of  Ezekiel,  "Rex  unus  erit  omnibus."     He  o^fo'S^ 
prepared  men    for  a  little   wholesome    severity,   by  saying,   parliament. 
"  That  laws  ought  to  be  executed,  appears  by  the  common 
example  of  a  good  father  who  uses  to  strike  as  well  as  stroke 
his  child ;   for  the  better  execution  of  them,  the  King  has 
appointed  new  judges  and  officers  through  the  realm."* 

The  first  step  of  tlie  Commons  was  to  impeach  the  Ex-   Ex-chan- 
chancellor  Arundel,  for  treason,  in  respect  of  what  he  had   Arundel 
done  when  Bishop  of  Ely,  in  procuring  the  Commission  in  the  impeached 
tenth  year  of  the  King's  reign.     Knowing  that  defence  was  victed. 
useless,  and  that  being  a  churchman  his  life  was  safe,  he  con- 
fessed the  charge.     Upon  this,  the  King  and  the  Lords  tem- 

*   1  Pari.  Hist.  221. 


302  EEIGN   OF   RICHARD   II. 

CHAP,     poral,  and  (strange  to  say)  the  Prelates,  by  a  lay  commoner 
who  held   their  proxy,   "  adjudged  and   declared   the   said 


article  which  the  Archbishop  had  confessed  to  be  treason,  and 
that  it  touched  the  King  himself;  for  which  they  also  ad- 
judged and  declared  him  a  traitor,  and  it  was  awarded  that  he 
should  be  banished  out  of  the  kingdom,  have  his  temporalities 
seized,  and  forfeit  all  his  lands  and  goods  to  the  King." 
However,  he  had  six  weeks  allowed  him  to  pass  by  the  port 
of  Dover  into  France.* 

The  Earl  of  Arundel,  his  brother,  to  the  same  charge 
pleaded  the  pardon  granted  by  act  of  parliament  as  well  as  by 
proclamation ;  but  the  plea  was  overruled,  and  he  was  con- 
victed and  executed. 
Family  of  The  new  Chancellor,  the  Bishop  of  Exeter,  who  presided 
ford&**  ^^^^  these  atrocities,  was  of  illustrious  descent,  being  of  the 
family  of  the  Staffords,  which  from  the  Conquest  till  the 
reign  of  Henry  VIII.  flourished  at  the  head  of  the  English 
nobility.  He  was  a  younger  brother  of  the  present  Earl.  The 
men  of  obscure  origin,  however  great  their  talents,  generally 
worked  their  way  slowly  up  to  the  high  ecclesiastical  dig- 
nities, which  were  often  bestowed  on  youths  of  high  birth, 
almost  before  they  were  of  canonical  age  to  take  orders. 
Edmund  Stafford  was  consecrated  Bishop  of  Exeter,  pos- 
sessing little  theological  learning,  and  was  now  made  Lord 
Chancellor  without  any  knowledge  of  the  law.  But  he  was 
a  daring  and  reckless  politician. 

It  is  to  be  hoped  that  he  did  not  counsel  the  murder  of  the 
Duke  of  Gloucester  at  Calais,  although  Hume  rather  justifies 
this  coup  d^etat,  on  the  ground  that  a  person  of  such  influence 
could  not  have  been  safely  brought  to  trial  in  England  f,  but 
the  Chancellor  openly  sanctioned  the  banishment  of  Henry 
of  Bolingbroke  and  the  Duke  of  Norfolk,  together  with  the 
other  hasty  and  tyrannical  measures  which  were  precipitating 
the  fate  of  the  unhappy  Richard. 
A.D.  1399,  On  the  death  of  John  of  Gaunt,  Duke  of  Lancaster,  the 
King,  with  the  concurrence  of  the  Chancellor,  seized  all  the 
possessions  and  jurisdictions  of  this  powerful  family  as  for- 

*   1  St.  Tr.  123.  t  Vol.  iii.  32. 


JOHN    SEARLE,    CHANCELLOR. 


303 


felted  to  the  Crown,  although  the  sentence  against  Henry  of     chap. 

Bolingbroke  had  only  been  banishment  for  ten  years,  and 

it  had  been  expressly  stipulated  that  he  should  be  entitled  by  ^  d,  1399. 
his  attorney  to  enter  into  possession  of  any  succession  that 
might  fall  to  him  in  the  mean  time.     This  act  of  injustice 
made  Henry  desperate,  and  led  to  his  invasion  of  England 
and  his  claim  of  the  crown. 

Edmund    Stafford,   the    Chancellor,    did  not   accompany   Henry  of 
Richard  in  his  ill-judged  expedition  to  Ireland,  and  he  seems  ^^°'^"^' 
to  have  remained  in  possession  of  the  Great  Seal  in  London  claims  the 
till  after  Henry  had  landed  at  Ravenspurg, — had  been  joined  "°^°- 
by  the  Duke  of  York  at  St.  Alban's, — had  taken  Bristol, — 
had  put  to  death  the  Earl  of  Wiltshire  and  others  of  the 
King's  ministers  whom  he  found  there,  —  had  got  possession 
of  Richard's  person  on  his  return  from  Ireland,  —  and  was  de 
facto  the  master  of  the  kingdom. 

As  might  be  expected,  the  records  at  the  conclusion  of  this  John 
reign  are  very  defective,  and  historians  and  antiquaries  have  chancellor 
been  much  puzzled  respecting  the  manner  in  which  the  office 
of  Chancellor  was  then  disposed  of.  There  is  no  entry  to  be 
found  of  any  transfer  of  the  Great  Seal  under  Richard  from 
the  time  when  Stafford,  Bishop  of  Exeter,  was  first  sworn 
in ;  but  from  Privy  Seal  bills  still  extant,  it  is  certain  that 
before  Richard's  formal  deposition,  and  the  elevation  of  Henry 
to  the  throne,  Thomas  de  Arundel,  Archbishop  of  Canter- 
bury, and  John  Searle,  who  had  been  made  Master  of  the 
Rolls  in  1394,  were  successively  invested  with  the  office  of 
Chancellor. 

The  transfer  of  the  Seal  to  Arundel  must  have  been  be- 
tween the  15th  of  July  and  the  23d  of  August,  the  former 
being  the  last  date  of  the  Privy  Seal  bills  addressed  to  the 
Bishop  of  Exeter,  and  the  other  the  earliest  date  of  those  ad- 
dressed to  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury ;  and  on  the  like 
evidence  Searle's  appointment  must  have  been  between  the 
3d  and  5th  of  September. 

The  learned  and  acute  Mr.  Duffus  Hardy  conjectures  that 
Richard  had  recalled  the  Archbishop  from  banishment,  and 
again  made  him  Chancellor*;  but,  with  the  greatest  respect 

*   Hardy's  Chancellors,  46. 


304 


REIGN   OF   RICHARD   II. 


CHAP. 
XVII. 

A.D.  1399. 
Ex-clian- 
cellor 
Arundel 
accompa- 
nies Henry. 


for  this  high  authority,  I  think  it  certain  that  the  change  was 
made,  though  in  Richard's  name,  yet  without  his  privity,  and 
by  those  who  were  about  to  dethrone  him. 

When  Bolingbroke  and  the  Duke  of  Norfolk  were  banished, 
it  was  prescribed  that  they  should  have  no  intercourse  with 
Archbishop  Arundel,  then  in  exile,  and  considered  a  very 
dangerous  man ;  but  as  soon  as  Bolingbroke  had  renounced 
all  thoughts  of  reconciliation  with  Richard,  he  entered  into  a 
close  alliance  with  the  Archbishop,  and  they  jointly  planned 
the  invasion  of  England  durino;  Richard's  absence  in  Ireland. 
The  Archbishop,  with  his  nephew  the  young  Earl  of  Arundel, 
embarked  with  Henry  at  Nantes,'  landed  with  him  in  York- 
shire, advised  and  supported  him  in  all  his  proceedings,  and 
actually  placed  the  crown  upon  his  head.  From  the  time 
when  Richard  surrendered  himself  to  the  Earl  of  Northum- 
berland at  Conway,  which  was  on  the  18th  of  August,  he 
was  a  prisoner,  and  having  been  forced  to  issue  writs  for  the 
calling  of  a  parliament  to  depose  him,  he  was  carried  to 
London,  and  kept  in  close  custody  in  the  Tower.  We  may 
conjecture  that  an  order  was  extorted  at  the  same  time  for 
delivering  the  Seal  to  the  Archbishop,  and  that  by  him  the 
writs  were  sealed. 

It  seems  at  first  sight  more  difficult  to  account  for 
Arundel's  parting  with  the  office  so  suddenly  ;  for  Searle  was 
certainly  Chancellor  by  the  5th  of  September,  and  Richard's 
reign  nominally  continued  till  the  30th  of  the  same  month, 
when  parliament  met,  and  his  deposition  was  pronounced. 
Searle  was  in  the  interest  of  Henry,  and  was  continued  by 
him  in  office. 

The  probability  is,  that  the  Archbishop,  who  cast  all  the 
parts  In  the  drama  of  the  revolution,  intending  that  he  himself, 
as  metropolitan  and  first  in  precedence  in  the  realm,  should 
lead  Henry  to  the  vacant  throne  in  Westminster  Hall,  and 
crown  him  in  Westminster  Abbey,  conceived  that  it  would 
have  a  better  effect  if  he  should  appear  only  in  his  sacred 
character,  and  the  civil  office  of  Chancellor  should  for  the 
time  be  filled  by  another.  He,  therefore,  may  have  handed  it 
over  to  Searle,  his  creature,  in  the  belief  that  he  should  be 
able  to  resume  it  at  pleasure. 


JOHN   SEAELE,    CHANCELLOR. 


305 


I  do  not  find  Searle's  name  mentioned  as  takin?  any  active      CHAP, 
part   in    the    parliamentary  proceedings    on    this   change  of  ^ 


dynasty,  and  he  was  probably  only  permitted  to  sit  on  the  a.d.  1399. 
woolsack  in  the  House  of  Lords,  and  to  put  the  question  as 
Speaker. 

On  Michaelmas-day,  the  Archbishop  accompanied  Henry  Deposition 
to  the  Tower,  Richard,  while  a  prisoner  there,  having  said  ^  j  Richard 
that,  "  he  was  willing  to  resign  as  he  had  promised,  but  that 
he  desired  to  have  some  discourse  with  his  cousin  the  Duke  of 
Lancaster  and  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  before  he  ful- 
filled such  his  promise."  The  record  of  the  deposition  on  the 
Parliament  Roll  relates  that  "  the  King,  having  had  discourse 
with  the  said  Duke  and  Archbishop,  exhibiting  a  merry 
countenance  as  appeared  to  those  that  stood  round  about, 
holding  the  schedule  of  renunciation  in  his  hand,  very  wil- 
lingly read  the  same  and  subscribed  it,  and  absolved  all  his 
subjects  from  their  allegiance  to  him."  When  this  instru- 
ment, supposed  to  have  been  so  freely  and  cheerfully  executed, 
was  read  in  parliament  next  day,  "  it  was  demanded  by  the 
Chancellor  of  the  estates  and  people  then  present,  —  to  wit, 
first,  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  to  whom,  by  reason  of 
the  dignity  and  prerogative  of  his  metropolitan  church  it  be- 
longs in  this  behalf  to  have  the  first  voice  amono;st  the  rest  of 
the  prelates  and  nobles  of  the  realm,  whether  for  their  interest, 
and  the  utility  of  the  kingdom,  they  would  he  willing  to  admit 
such  renunciation  and  cession  ?  "  This  being  carried  with  great 
applause,  the  Archbishop  thought  it  would  be  well  to  have 
another  string  to  his  bow,  lest  hereafter  the  free  agency  of  the 
act  of  resignation  should  be  doubted  by  some  suspicious  per- 
sons, and  he  caused  articles  to  be  exhibited  against  Richard 
for  misgovernment,  and  a  solemn  sentence  of  deposition  to  be 
pronounced  against  him.* 

The  throne  thus  being  declared  vacant,  Henry  of  Boling- 
broke,  who  had  taken  his  seat  at  the  head  of  the  temporal 
lords,  rose  and  made  his  memorable  claim,  *'  in  the  name  of 
Fader,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,"  having  humbly  fortified  him- 

*    1  St.  Tr.  135.      1  Pari.  Hist.  242. 
VOL.  I.  X 


306 


REIGN   OP   RICHARD   II. 


CHAP. 
XVII. 


A.D.  1399. 
Henry 
raised  to 
the  throne. 


New  par- 
liament. 


Celebrated 
speech  for 
Richard  by 
Bishop  of 
Carlisle. 


self  with  the  sign  of  the  cross  on  his  forehead  and  on  his 
breast. 

The  states,  with  the  whole  people,  having  consented  that  the 
said  Duke  should  reign  over  them,  the  Archbishop,  taking  him 
by  the  right  hand,  led  him  to  the  royal  chair  of  state,  which 
had  been  placed  at  the  upper  end  of  the  hall ;  and  when 
the  new  King,  kneeling  down  before  it,  had  prayed  a  little 
while,  the  Archbishop  caused  him  to  sit  in  the  royal  seat,  and 
delivered  an  oration  from  the  text,  Vir  dominahitur  populo, 
"  A  man  shall  reign  over  my  people,"  1  Sam.  ix.  17. ;  in  which 
he  pointed  out  the  evils  of  the  rule  of  children,  and  the  abuses 
of  the  late  reign,  and  the  blessings  to  be  expected  from  the 
mature  wisdom  of  him  who  was  now  to  wield  the  sceptre ; 
concluding  with  these  words  —  "  And  so,  in  the  stead  of  a 
child  wantoning  in  foolish  stubborn  humours,  a  man  shall 
reign  —  and  such  a  man,  that  it  shall  be  said  of  him,  A  king 
shall  reign  in  wisdom^  and  he  shall  execute  judgment  and  do 
justice  in  the  earth'''* 

On  the  6th  of  October  following,  a  new  parliament  met 
under  writs  of  summons  issued  under  Henry's  Great  Seal,  to 
ratify  these  proceedings. 

Lord  Chancellor  Searle  was  still  silent,  and  the  session  was. 
opened  by  a  speech  from  the  Archbishop,  who  took  for  his 
text  these  words  out  of  Maccabees,  "  Incumbit  nobis  ordinare 
pro  regno^''  —  propounding  the  constitutional  doctrine,  "  that 
a  King  is  not  to  rule  by  his  own  will  or  humour,  but  to  be 
governed  by  the  honourable,  discreet,  and  sage  men  of  the 
realm."  f 

His  motion  for  confirming  what  had  been  done  in  the  depo- 
sition of  Richard  and  the  elevation  of  Henry,  was  passed  with 
the  dissentient  voice  of  one,  who  strenuously  resisted  it,  and 
earned  the  bright  testimony  "  that  he  was  the  only  honest 
man  in  this  parliament,  scorning  life  and  fortune  in  respect  to 
his  Sovereign's  right  and  his  own  allegiance."  The  noble 
speech  of  the  Bishop  of  Carlisle  on  this  occasion,  as  given  by 
Sir  John  Hayward,  greatly  exceeds,  not  only  in  boldness, 
but  in  lucid  arrangement,  close  reasoning,  and  touching  elo- 


1  Pari.  Hist.  249. 


f  Ibid.  285. 


STATE   OF   THE   LAW.  307 

quence,  any  thing  that  could  be  expected  from  that  age.*     chap. 
The  oration  was  listened  to :  but  as  soon  as  the  orator  had 


concluded  it,  he  was  attached  of  high  treason,  and  sent  pri-  ^.d.  1399. 
soner  to  the  Abbey  of  St.  Alban's.     Though  his  life  was  safe, 
he  was  deprived  of  his  bishopric.     The  Pope,  as  a  testimony 
to  his  integrity,  made  him  titular  Bishop  of  Samos. 

The  Archbishop  then  moved  that  the  King  should  be 
prayed  to  create  his  eldest  son  Prince  of  Wales,  Duke  of 
Cornwall,  and  Earl  of  Chester,  which  was  carried  unani- 
mously ;  and  thereupon  the  King,  sitting  in  his  royal  seat  in 
full  parliament,  put  a  coronet  on  the  head  of  Prince  Henry, 
and  a  ring  of  gold  on  his  finger,  and  gave  him  a  golden  rod  in 
his  hand,  and  kissed  him.f 

The  Archbishop  had  next  to  manage  a  very  delicate  matter  Fate  of 
—  "  the  disposal  of  Richard's  person  in  order  to  his  keeping  I^"=^'^'''^- 
in  safe  custody,  for  the  King  would  have  his  life  saved." 
Twenty-two  spiritual  and  thirty-six  lay  lords  being  all  who 
were  present,  were  severally  asked  their  opinion,  and  they  all 
assented  to  the  resolution,  "  that  he  should  be  put  under  a 
safe  and  secret  guard,  and  that  no  person  who  had  been 
familiar  with  him  should  be  about  his  person,  and  that  it 
should  be  done  in  the  most  secret  manner  that  could  be 
devised."  J 

We  must  not  enter  into  the  controversy  how  the  unhappy 
Richard  came  to  his  end,  —  whether  by  violence  or  famine  ; 
— and  before  passing  on  to  the  Chancellors  of  his  successor,  we 
can  only  make  a  few  observations  on  the  equitable  jurisdiction 
of  the  Court  of  Chancery  during  his  reign. 

The  practice  of  referring   matters   by  parliament  to  the  Equitable 
Chancellor  stiU  occasionally  prevailed.     Thus  in  15  Rich.  II.  Sf '''°" 
two  petitions  were  addressed  to  the  King  and  the  Peers,  and  Court  of 
the  answer  to  each  was  the  same,  —  "  that  the  petition  be  sent  jn'rei^'n^f 
to  the  Chancery,  —  the  Chancellor  to  hear  both  parties,  —    Kichardll. 
and  further  let  there  be  done  by  authority  of  parliament  that 
which  right  and  reason  and  good  faith  and  good  conscience 
demand."  § 

*   1  Pari.   Hist.    274.       See  a  beautiful  abstract  of  it  at  the  conclusion   of 
Hume's  History  of  Ric.  2.  vol.  iii.  43.,  and  sec  Shak.  Ric.  2.  act  iv.  scene  1. 
t  1  Pari.  Hi'st.  273.  J   Ibid.  274.  §   Rot.  Pari.  vol.  iii.  297. 

X  2 


308 


REIGN   OP   RICHARD   II. 


CHAP. 
XVII, 


Complaint 
against 
Masters  in 
Chancery. 


But  the  circuity  of  a  petition  to  parliament  or  to  the 
Council  was  now  seldom  resorted  to.  I  have  shown  the 
opinion  to  be  unfounded,  that  the  equitable  jurisdiction  of  the 
Court  of  Chancery  was  not  of  earlier  date  ;  but  there  can  be 
no  doubt  that,  about  this  time,  it  was  very  much  extended. 
The  petitions  of  the  Commons  in  the  13th  of  E-ichard  II., 
"  that  the  Chancellor  might  make  no  order  against  the  com- 
mon law,  and  that  no  one  should  appear  before  the  Chancellor 
where  recovery  was  given  by  the  common  law,"  carry  in  them 
an  admission  that  a  power  of  judicature  did  reside  in  the 
Chancellor,  so  long  as  he  did  not  determine  against  the  com- 
mon law,  nor  interpose  where  the  common  law  furnished  a 
remedy.  The  King's  answer,  "  that  it  should  continue  as  the 
usage  had  been  heretofore,"  clearly  demonstrates  that  such  an 
authority,  restrained  within  due  bounds,  was  recognised  by 
the  constitution  of  the  country. 

The  use  of  the  writ  of  subpoena  to  compel  an  appearance 
by  the  defendant,  gave  new  vigour  to  the  process  of  the 
Court,  and  the  necessity  for  previously  filing  a  written  state- 
ment of  the  grievance  alleged  to  require  relief  in  equity,  intro- 
duced the  formal  proceeding  by  "  Bill  and  Answer,"  instead 
of  a  mere  loose  petition  to  be  heard  in  a  summary  way,  ore 
tenus.  In  fact,  the  practice  of  addressing  bills  directly  to  the 
Chancellor  had  become  quite  common,  and  many  of  them  are 
still  extant. 

The  greatest  Indignation  broke  forth  in  this  reign  against 
the  Masters  in  Chancery,  who  were  considered  overgrown 
and  oppressive  sinecurists.  In  5  R.  11.  a  complaint  was  ex- 
hibited against  them  in  parliament,  "  that  they  were  over  fatt 
both  in  boddie  and  purse,  and  over  well  furred  in  their  bene- 
fices, and  put  the  Kinge  to  veiry  great  cost  more  than 
needed  *,"  —  yet  nothing  effectual  was  done  to  reform  them. 

The  execution  of  Tressilian,  and  the  punishment  of  the 
other  common-law  judges  under  Lord  Chancellor  Arundel, 
was  attended  with  much  violence,  but  had  a  powerful  influence 
in  creating  a  respect  for  parliamentary  privilege,  which  they 
had  attempted  utterly  to  subvert. 


•  Harg.  Law  Tracts,  314. 


STATE   OF    THE   LAW.  309 

Upon  the  whole,  down  to  the  accession  of  the  House  of    CHAP. 
......  .  .  XVII 

Lancaster,  our  juridical  institutions,  including  the  Court  of  ' 

Chancery,  had  gone  on  with  a  steady  improvement,  but  they 
remained  nearly  stationary  from  this  time  till  the  union  of  the 
Roses  in  the  reign  of  Henry  VII.* 

*  See  Cooper  on  Public  Records,  ii.  pp.  359,  360.  377. 


X  :i 


310  REIGN   OF   HENRY   IV. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 


CHANCELLORS  AND  KEEPEBS  OF  THE  GREAT  SEAL  DURING  THE 
REIGN  OF  HENRY  IV. 

CHAP.     John    Seakle,   who    had    nomlnallv  been   Chancellor  to 
XVIII  .  . 
■     Richard  II.,  and  presided  on  the  woolsack  as  a  tool  of  Arch- 


Sept.  30.      bishop  Arundel,  was  for  a  short  time  continued  in  the  office 
1399.  i,y  i\^Q  jigy^  Sovereign. 

Sea  RLE,  Little  is  known  respecting  his  origin  or  prior  history.     He 

nominally  jg  supposed  to  havc  been  a  mere  clerk  in  the  Chancery- 
brought  forward  for  a  temporary  purpose  to  play  the  part  of 
Chancellor.  Having  strutted  and  fretted  his  hour  upon  the 
stage,  he  was  heard  of  no  more.  It  proved  convenient  for 
the  Staifords,  the  Beauforts,  and  the  Arundels,  that  he  should 
be  thus  suddenly  elevated  and  depressed. 
A  parlia-  Henry   began    his  reign  by  summoning  a  parliament  to 

A.D.  1401.    meet  at  Westminster  on  the  21st  of  January,  1401.     On 
that  day  the  knights  and  burgesses  were  called  into  the  Court 
of  Chancery  in  Westminster  Hall  before  the  Chancellor,  and 
by  the  King's  authority  he  put  off  the  meeting  of  the  parliament 
Chancellor    till  the  morrow.*     The  Lords  and  Commons  then  met  the 
to  address     King  in  the  Painted  Chamber,  but  on  account  of  incapacity 
^e  two        fQj.  public  speaking  the  Chancellor  was  silent,  and  the  speech 
explaining   the    causes   of  calling   parliament,  was,    by  the 
King's  command,  delivered  by  Sir  William  Thyrning,  Chief 
Justice  of  the  King's  Bench. 
Resigns.  On  the  9th  of  March  following  Lord  Chancellor  Searle  sur- 

rendered the  Great  Seal  to  the  King  in  full  parliament,  and 
his  Majesty  immediately  delivered  it  to  Edmund  Staffi)rd, 
Bishop  of  Exeter,  who  had  held  it  towards  the  end  of  the 
preceding  reign,  and  had  been  a  special  favourite  of  Richard, 
but  had  joined  in  the  vote  for  deposing  him. 

*  1  Pari.  Hist.  285. 


EDMUND   STAFFORD,    CHANCELLOR.  311 

"We  are  left  entirely  Ignorant  as  to  the  fate  of  Ex-chan-     CHAP 

"XVTTT 

cellor  Searle.     Had  he  been  a  prelate  we  should  have  traced 


him  in  the  chronicles  of  his  diocese,  but.  we  have  no  means  of  jjj^  qJj_ 
discovering  the  retreat  of  a  layman,  unconnected  with  any  scurity. 
considerable  family,  and  of  no  personal  eminence.  He  was 
probably  fed  in  the  buttery  of  some  of  the  great  barons 
whom  he  had  served,  hardly  distinguished  while  he  lived  or 
when  he  died  from  their  other  idle  retainers.  He  may  enjoy 
the  celebrity  of  being  the  most  inconsiderable  man  who  ever 
held  the  office  of  Chancellor  in  England.* 

Edmund   Stafford,   restored   to   the  office  of  Chancellor,  Edmund 
now  found    his    situation  very  irksome,    and  very  diiferent  StaflTord 

•'  .  restored. 

from  what  it  had  been  under  the  feeble  Richard.  Henry 
looked  with  jealousy  and  distrust  even  on  those  who  had 
helped  him  to  the  crown,  and  confined  all  whom  he  employed 
strictly  to  their  official  duties.  The  Chancellor's  disgust  was 
increased  by  an  attack  which  the  Commons  now  made  on 
the  jurisdiction  of  his  Court.  They  complained  by  petition 
to  the  King  of  the  new  writ  of  subpoena,  and  prayed  "  that 
people  might  be  only  treated  according  to  the  right  laws  of 
the  land  anciently  used : "  but  the  King's  answer  tended  to 
confirm  the  jurisdiction  complained  of :  "  Such  writs  ought 
not  to  issue  except  in  necessary  cases,  and  then  by  the  dis- 
cretion of  the  Chancellor  or  King's  Council  for  the  time 
being." 

A  considerable  improvement,  however,  was  effected  in  the  issues  of 
mode  of  proceeding  when  issues  were  joined  upon  contro-  f^ct  ansmg 
verted  facts  in  the  Court  of  Chancery.     The  custom  seems  Chancery 
to  have  been  for  the  Chancellor  himself  to  try  them,  calling  [°  a^Court 
in  common-law  judges  to  his  assistance;  but  the  Commons  of  common 
now   prayed   "  that  because  great  mischiefs  happen  in   the 
Court  of  Chancery  by  the  discussion  of  all  pleas  in  matters 
traversed  in  the  said  Court,  and  by  the  judges  of  the  two 
benches  being  taken  out  of  their  Courts  to  assist  in  the  dis- 
cussion of  such  matters,  to  the  great  delay  of  the  law  and  to 

*  His  name  appears  in  the  new  House  of  Lords  among  the  Chancellors,  but 
it  has  baffled  the  research  of  the  most  learned  antiquaries  to  discover  his  armo- 
rial bearings.  Doubts  are  entertained  even  whether  his  name  was  "  Searle"  or 
"  Searle." 

X  4 


law. 


312  REIGN   OF   HENRY   IV. 

CHAP,     the  damage  of  the  people,  the  King  would  ordain  that  tra- 
^^^^''     verses  in  the  Court  of  Chancery  be  sent  and  returned  either 


into  the  King's  Bench  or  Common  Pleas,  and  there  discussed 
and  determined  according  to  law."     The  King's  answer  was, 
"  The  Chancellor,  by  virtue  of  his  office,  may  grant  the  same, 
and  let  it  be,  as  it  has  been  before  these  times,  at  the  dis- 
cretion of  the  Chancellor  for  the  time  being."  *     Ever  since, 
when  an  issue  of  fact  is  joined  on  the  common-law  side  of 
the  Court,  the  Chancellor  hands  it  over  to  be  tried  in  the 
Court    of  King's  Bench,  and  controverted   facts  in  equity 
proceedings  he  directs  to  be  tried  by  a  jury  in  any  of  the 
common-law  Courts  at  his  discretion. 
The  Chan-       Stafford  held  the  Great  Seal  only  till  the  end  of  February, 
Iwns  '^'      ^^^^-     ^^®  ^^^^  ^^'^^P*  of  ^ts  power  had  lost  its  attraction 
Feb.  1403.    for  him,  and  he,  who  differed  very  little  from  the  warlike 
baron  his  elder  brother,  had  no  inclination  to  sit  day  by  day 
as  a  judge  in  the  Court  of  Chancery,  for  which  he  felt  him- 
self so  unfit,  —  under  the  vigilant  superintendence  of  the  un- 
mannerly  Commons.     He    therefore  willingly  resigned  the 
Great  Seal  into  the  King's  hands,  and  retired  to  his  diocese 
to  exercise  baronial  hospitality,  and   to   enjoy  hunting  and 
the  other  sports  of  the  field,  in  the  vain  hope   that   some 
revolution  in  politics  would  again  enable  him  to  mix  in  the 
His  retreat  factious  Strife  which  still  more  delighted  him.     But  he  con- 
eat  1.     ^ijjyg(]  ^Q  languish  in  tranquillity,  and  before  the  war  of  the 
Roses  began,  which  would  so  much  have  suited  his  taste, 
he  was  gathered  to  his  fathers. 
March  10.         Upon  this  vacancy  the  Great  Seal  was  given  to  the  King's 
CARmNAL    half-brother,  Henry  Beaufort  f,  who  was  four  times  Lord 
Beaufort,    Chancellor,  who  was  created  a  Cardinal,  and  who  made  a  dis- 
tinguished figure  as  a  statesman  during  three  reigns. 
His  origin         He  was  the  second  son  of  John  of  Gaunt,  by  his  mistress 
caree^r!"^  ^      Catherine  Swinford,  afterwards  his  wife,  and  with  the  other 
issue  of  this  connection,  he  had  been  legitimated  by  act  of  par- 
liament in  the  20th  of  Richard  II.,  under  the  condition  of  not 
being  entitled  to  succeed  to  the  Crown.     He  studied  both  at 
Oxford,    at  Cambridge,    and    at  Aix  la  Chapelle.     Taking 

•   Rot.  Par.  2  Hen.  4.  f  Privy  Seal  Bills,  4  Hen.  4. 


CARDINAL.   BEAUFORT,    CHANCELLOR.  313 

orders,  he  rose  rapidly  in  the  church,  and  while  still  a  young     CHAP, 
man,  he  was,  in  1397,  made  Bishop  of  Lincoln  by  his  royal 


cousin.    He  gained  great  celebrity  by  assisting  at  the  Council  ^^,  1404. 
of  Constance,  and   by  making   a  pilgrimage  to  Jerusalem. 
When  he  first  obtained  the  Great  Seal  he  still  remained 
Bishop  of  Lincoln. 

The  following  year  he  was  translated  to  Winchester,  where 
he  succeeded  the  famous  William  of  Wickham,  and  he  con- 
tinued till  his  death  to  hold  this  see,  then  considered  the  best 
in  England  to  accumulate  wealth,  —  which  was  through  life  his 
ruling  passion,  great  as  was  his  love  of  power. 

During  this  reign,  the  King  was  his  own  minister,  and   His  con- 
neither  the  present  nor  any  of  his  other  Chancellors  had  much  Chancellor 
influence  in  the  affairs  of  government.     They  were  in  the 
habit  of  delivering  a  speech  at  the  opening  of  every  parlia- 
ment ;  but  it  was  rather  considered  the  speech  of  the  Bang, 
which  could  not  be  censured  without  disloyalty. 

Three  parliaments  met  in  Henry  Beaufort's  first  Chancel-  Attempt  of 
lorship,  at  which  nothing  very  memorable  was  effected ;  but   Commons 
at  the  last  of  them  an  attempt  was  made  by  the  Commons  to  seize 
(probably  at  the  instigation  of  the  King),  which,  if  it  had  sue-  property, 
ceeded,  would  have  greatly  altered  both  the  ecclesiastical  and 
civil  history  of  the  country.     All  who  are  friendly  to  a  well- 
endowed  church  ought  to  exclaim,  *•  Thank  God  we  have  had  a 
House  of  Lords."    The  Chancellor,  in  a  speech  from  the  text, 
"  Rex  vocavit  seniores  terrae,"  having  pressed  most  urgently 
for  supplies,  the  Commons  came  in  a  body,  and  the  King  being 
on  the  throne  proposed,  "  That  without  burthening  his  people, 
he  might  supply  his  occasions  by  seizing  on  the  revenues  of  the 
clergy  ;  that  the  clergy  possessed  a  third  part  of  the  riches  of 
the  realm,  which  evidently  made  them  negligent  in  their  duty; 
and  that  the  lessening  of  their  excessive  incomes  would  be  a 
double  advantage  both  to  the  church  and  the  state." 

Archbishop  Arundel,  being  now  free  from  the  trammels  of 
office,  said  to  the  King,  who  seems  to  have  been  addressed  as 
the  president  of  the  assembly,  "  That  though  the  ecclesiastics 
served  him  not  in  person,  it  could  not  be  inferred  that  they 
were  unserviceable ;  that  the  stripping  the  clergy  of  their 
estates  would  put  a  stop  to  their  prayers  night  and  day  for  the 


314 


REIGN   OF    HENRY   IV. 


CHAP. 
XVIII. 


"  Lack- 
learning 
parlia- 
ment." 


welfare  of  the  state ;  and  there  was  no  expecting  God's  pro- 
tection of  the  kingdom  if  the  prayers  of  the  church  were  so 
little  valued."  The  Speaker  of  the  Commons  standing  at  the 
bar,  smiled,  and  said  openly,  "  that  he  thought  the  prayers  of 
the  church  a  very  slender  supply."  To  which  the  Archbishop 
answered,  with  some  emotion,  "  that  if  the  prayers  of  the  church 
were  so  slighted,  it  would  be  found  difficult  to  deprive  them 
of  their  estates  without  exposing  the  kingdom  to  great  danger ; 
and  so  long  as  he  were  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  he  would 
oppose  the  injustice  to  the  utmost  in  his  power."  Then  sud- 
denly falling  on  his  knees  before  the  King,  "  he  strongly 
pressed  him  in  point  of  conscience,  and  endeavoured  to  make 
him  sensible  that  of  all  the  crimes  a  Prince  could  commit, 
none  was  so  heinous  as  an  invasion  of  the  church's  patrimony." 
The  King,  seeing  the  impression  made  upon  the  Peers,  de- 
clared "  that  he  had  made  a  firm  resolution  to  support  the 
church  with  all  his  power,  and  hoped  by  God's  assistance  to 
leave  her  in  a  better  state  than  he  found  her."  The  Arch- 
bishop, construing  this  as  a  peremptory  veto  on  the  proposal 
of  the  Commons,  turned  to  them  and  made  them  a  most  in- 
sulting speech,  telling  them  their  demand  was  built  wholly  on 
irreligion  and  avarice ;  "  and  verily,"  added  he,  "  I  will  sooner 
have  my  head  cut  off  than  that  the  church  should  be  de- 
prived of  the  least  right  pertaining  to  it."  Such  a  scene  is 
very  inconsistent  with  our  notions  of  parliamentary  decorum. 
The  Commons  not  convinced,  —  on  their  return  to  their 
own  chamber  passed  a  bill  to  carry  their  scheme  into  effect ; 
but  the  solicitations  of  the  Archbishop  and  the  other  Pre- 
lates were  so  powerful  with  the  Lords  that  they  threw 
it  out.* 

The  recklessness  of  the  Commons  may  have  arisen  from 
their  not  having  had  a  single  lawyer  amo»g  them.  Lord 
Chancellor  Beaufort,  in  framing  the  writs  of  summons,  ille- 
gally inserted  a  prohibition,  "  that  no  apprentice  or  other  man 
of  the  law  should  be  elected,"  —  grounded  on  a  most  uncon- 
stitutional ordinance  of  the  Lords  in  the  46th  of  Edward 
III.,  to  which  the  Commons  had  never  assented,  and  which 


*  1  Pari.  Hist,  294. 


THOMAS   LONGLEY,   CHANCELLOR.  315 

had  not  been  acted  upon.     In  return  for  such  a  slight,  our     CHAP, 

•  •  •  X  VIII 

law  books  and  historians  have  branded  this  parliament  with 
the  name  of  "  parliamentum  indoctum,"  or  "  the  lack-learning 
parliament  ;"  and  Sir  Edward  Coke  observes  with  some 
spleen,  that  "  there  never  was  a  good  law  made  thereat : "  — 
adding  that  as  these  writs  were  against  law,  lawyers  ever 
since  (for  the  great  and  good  service  of  the  com- 
monwealth) have  been  eligible.* 

At  the  end  of  two  years  Henry  Beaufort  appears  to  have  Feb.  27. 
lost  his  royal  brother's  favour,  for  he  was  removed  from  his  ^^g^^^jj^j^j 
office,  and  he  did  not  recover  it  during  the  remainder  of  this  Beaufort " 

removed. 

reign. 

He  was  now  succeeded  by  an  ecclesiastic,  Thomas  Long-  Thomas 
LEY,  who  then  having  high  church  preferment,  was  likewise   nh**^^!]^' 
Keeper  of  the  Privy  Seal, — was  soon  raised  to  the  See  of 
Durham  f,  —  was  afterwards  made  a  Cardinal  |,  —  and  had 
the  fortune  to  be  Chancellor  under  three  successive  Sove- 
reigns. 

This  minion  of  fortune  was  of  obscure  origin,  being  the 
son  of  a  yeoman,  who  lived  at  Longley,  in  the  county  of 
York.  We  first  hear  of  him  as  chaplain  in  the  family  of 
John  of  Gaunt,  who,  by  a  will  made  in  1388,  appointed  him 
his  executor.  In  the  course  of  three  years  he  became  canon 
of  York,  and  he  soon  rose  rapidly  in  the  church.  He  then 
recommended  himself  to  Cardinal  Beaufort,  by  whose  interest 
he  was  made  Keeper  of  the  Privy  Seal. 

Longley 's  first  Chancellorship  lasted  little  more  than  a  year.   Feb.  15. 
During  that  time  he  presided  at  a  parliament  called  by  the   ^^^^' 
King,  chiefly  for  the  purpose  of  introducing  the  Salic  law  jntroducV'' 
into  England,  whereby,  although  the  Crown  had  come  to  the   Salic  law 
house  of  Plantagenet  through  a  female,  it  was  to  descend  only  }^„j    "^' 
to  males,  —  witb  a  view   of  superseding   the   claim  of  the 
descendants  of  the  daughter  of  Lionel,  Duke  of  Clarence, 
one  of  whom,  according  to  the  doctrine  of  legitimacy,  was 
now  entitled  to  occupy  the  throne.  The  Chancellor,  to  prepare 
the  minds  of  the  members  of  both  Houses  of  Parliament  for 

*   1  Bl.  Com.  177.     4  Inst.  48.      Some  writers  say  that  the  prohibition  was 
contained  in  letters  written  by  the  King  himself  to  the  Sheriffs. 

t  May,  1406.  t  By  Pope  John  XXIIL  in  1411. 


316 


REIGN   OF   HENRY  IV. 


CHAP. 
XVIII. 


Proceed- 
ings in 
parliament 
respecting 
the  Court 
of  Chan- 
cery. 

A.D.  1406. 


this  measure,  opened  the  session  with  a  very  learned  and  con- 
ciliatory speech  from  the  text,  "  Multorum  consilia  requirun- 
tur  in  magnis,"  and  he  compared  the  King  to  Ahashiierus, 
Qui  interrogavit  sapientes  et  illorum  cauta  faciebat  consilia. 

An  act  was  accordingly  passed  in  due  form  for  entailing 
the  Crown  on  the  present  King  and  the  heirs  male  of  his  body, 
tacitly  excluding  females  ;  but  this  act'  was  so  much  disliked 
by  the  nation,  who  during  the  wars  for  fifty  years  arising  out 
of  the  claim  of  Edward  III.  to  the  Crown  of  France,  had 
fought  for  the  contrary  doctrine,  and  who  dreaded  future 
civil  wars  from  any  change  in  the  law  of  succession,  that  it 
was  almost  immediately  after  repealed,  and  the  Crown  was 
settled  upon  the  King  and  his  descendants  according  to  the 
ancient  rules  of  inheritance.* 

The  House  of  Commons  took  the  opportunity  to  enquire 
diligently  into  all  abuses,  particularly  in  the  administration  of 
justice,  and  complained  of  the  encroachments  and  delays  in 
the  Court  of  Chancery,  which  was  denounced  as  a  great  public 
grievance.  There  had  been  heavy  complaints  of  abuses  both 
with  respect  to  the  Great  and  Privy  Seal,  and  "  it  was 
agreed  by  the  King  and  parliament,  that  for  the  preservation 
of  the  laws  of  the  kingdom  the  Chancellor  and  the  Keeper  of 
the  Privy  Seal  should  not  allow  any  warrant,  grant  by 
patent,  judgment,  or  any  other  thing  to  pass  under  the  seals 
in  their  custody,  which  by  law  and  right  ought  not  to  pass, 
and  that  they    should  not  unduly  delay  such  as  ought  to 


The  Commons  then  presented  articles  to  the  King,  "  That 
worthy  councillors  and  officers  be  appointed,  and  not  to  be 
removed  without  good  proof  of  their  ill-management.  That 
two  certain  days  in  the  week  be  appointed  for  all  suitors  to 
present  their  petitions  to  the  King.  That  none  of  the  Coun- 
cil hold  pleas  of  matters  determinable  at  common  law,  and 
tliat  all  the  King's  great  officers  of  every  Court  shall  maintain 
the  common  law."  There  is  added  an  article  which  seems  to 
us  a  strange  mode  of  preserving  the  independence  and  purity 
of  the  judges  :  "  That  no  judicial  officer  in  any  of  the  Courts 


1  Pari.  Hist.  298. 


t   Rot.  Pari.  vol.  iii.  p.  586. 


THOMAS  ARUNDEL,  CHANCELLOR.  317 

enjoy  any  office  but  at  will."  This  was  probably  aimed  at  CHAP, 
the  sale  of  these  offices,  whereby  it  was  thought,  by  reason  of 
a  supposed  vested  right  in  the  purchaser,  they  were  placed 
beyond  the  control  of  parliament.  The  King,  who  on  ac- 
count of  the  infirmity  of  his  title,  was  obliged  to  court  popu- 
larity, not  only  agreed  to  all  these  articles  himself,  but  after 
a  stout  resistance  from  the  Upper  House,  prevailed  on  the 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  and  all  the  Lords  spiritual  and 
temporal,  to  swear  to  observe  them,  "  whereby  they  became 
statutes  binding  in  law  and  conscience."* 

Archbishop  Arundel's  compliance  was  quickened  by  the  Archbishop 
prospect  of  recovering  the  Great  Seal,  and  in  the  beginning  ^^j""g^  ^^ 
of  1407,  he  became  Chancellor  the  fourth  time,  f  office  of 

The  first  proceeding  before  him  was  the  trial  of  Wil-  jan."3o.°  * 
liam  Thorpe,  a  priest,  for  heresy,  of  which  we  have  a  very  1407. 
interesting  report  by  the  defendant  himself.  He  says : 
"  Being  brought  before  Thomas  Arundel,  Archebyshope  of 
Canterbury  and  Chancellor  of  Ingland,  when  that  I  came  to 
hym  he  stoode  in  a  great  chamber  and  moche  people  aboute 
hym ;  and  when  that  he  sawe  me  he  went  faste  into  a  closett, 
bydding  all  secular  men  that  followed  hym  to  go  forth  from 
hym."  There  is  then  a  long  account  of  the  heresies  imputed 
to  the  defendant,  with  his  answers,  filling  many  pages,  in  which 
he  gives  himself  greatly  the  advantage  over  his  judge.  At  last, 
allusion  being  made  to  the  Archbishop's  banishment,  his  Grace 
said,  "I  shall  assay e  if  I  can  make  thee  as  sorrowfull,  as  it  was 
tolde  me  thou  waste  gladde,  of  my  laste  going  out  of  Ingland; 
by  Seynt  Thomas  I  shall  tourne  thy  joye  into  sorrowe."  The 
narrative  continues — "  And  I  sayde, '  There  can  no  body  proue 
lawfully  that  I  ioyed  ever  of  the  manner  of  your  goynge  out 
of  this  land.  But,  Sir,  to  say  the  sothe,  I  was  joyfull  when  ye 
were  gone.' — The  Archebishoppe  said  to  me,  '  Be  this  thinge 
well  known  to  the,  that  God  (as  I  wot  well)  hath  called  me 
agayne,  and  brought  me  into  this  lande  for  to  destroye  the, 
and  the  false  secte  that  thou  arte  of,  as,  by  God,  I  shall  per- 
sue  you  so  narroulye  that  I  shall  not  leave  a  steppe  of  you 
in  thys  lande.' — And  I  said  to  the  Archebishoppe,  *  Sir,  the 

*   1  Pari.  Hist.  290.  f  Rot.  CI.  8.  Hen.  4.  m.  23. 


318 


REIGN   OF   HENRY   IV. 


CHAP. 
XVIII. 


March  10. 
1409. 


Chancellor 
dismissed. 


Great  Seal 
in  custody 
of  Master 
of  Rolls. 

Ex-chan- 
cellor 
Beaufort 
addresses 
the  two 
Houses. 


holy  prophete  Jeremy  saide  to  the  false  prophete  Anany, 
*  IFhan  the  worde  that  is  the  prophecye  of  a  prophete  is  knowen 
or  fulfilled,  than  it  shall  he  knowen  that  the  Lorde  sente  the 
prophete  in  treuthP — And  the  Archebishoppe,  as  if  he  hadde 
not  been  pleased  with  my  sayinge,  turned  him  awaye  ward 
hyther  and  thyther,  and  sayde,  '  By  God,  I  shall  sette  upon 
thy  shynnes  a  pair  of  perlis,  that  thou  shalt  be  gladde  to 
chaunge  thy  voice.' "  *  This  keen  encounter  ended  in  Thorpe 
being  "  led  forth  and  brought  into  a  foul  unhonest  prison," — 
where  he  is  supposed  to  have  died ;  for  he  was  no  more 
heard  of.  f 

The  Chancellor  now  remained  in  high  favour  with  the 
King  for  three  years.  On  one  occasion  during  this  period. 
His  Majesty  bestowed  his  bounty  upon  him  in  a  manner  that 
at  first  caused  him  much  alarm.  The  Great  Seal  was  abruptly 
demanded  from  him;  the  King  kept  it  only  a  few  hours, 
while  he  caused  a  charter  to  be  sealed  granting  the  lordship 
of  Queenbury  to  the  Chancellor  for  life,  and  immediately 
after  the  Seal  was  restored  to  him.  \ 

However,  it  was  taken  from  him  in  good  earnest  on  the 
21st  of  December,  1409  §,  when  he  must  have  had  some 
serious  difference  with  the  King  concerning  the  business  to  be 
brought  forward  at  the  parliament  then  about  to  assemble. 
Henry  kept  it  in  his  own  hands  till  the  19th  of  January  fol- 
lowing, during  which  time  several  charters,  letters  patent, 
and  writs  were  sealed  by  himself.  It  was  then  delivered  to 
John  Wakering,  Master  of  the  Eolls,  as  Keeper,  for  the 
despatch  of  judicial  business.  I 

In  the  mean  time  the  parliament  met,  and,  there  being  no 
Chancellor,  the  session  was  opened  by  a  speech  from  Ex- 
chancellor  Henry  Beaufort,  the  King's  brother,  from  the  text 
"  Decet  nos  implere  omnem  justitiam,"  in  which  he  reminded 
the  parliament  of  Aristotle's  answer  to  Alexander  when  asked 
the  best  mode  of  defending  a  city — "that  the  strongest  walls 
were  the  hearty  goodwill  of  his  subjects ; "  but  gave  them  a 

*  It  appears  also  by  the  report  of  Lord  Cobham's  trial,  that  his  Grace  was 
much  given  to  swearing,  even  when  acting  judicially  in  a  capital  case.  His 
favourite  oath  on  that  occasion  was,  "  By  our  Lady."  —  2  St.  Tr.  219. 

t  2  St.  Tr.  175.  :f   Rot.  CI.  10  Hen.  4.  m.  18. 

§  Rot.  CI.  1 1  Hen.  4.  m.  8.  ||  Rot.  CI.  1 1  Hen.  4.  m.  8. 


SIR   THOMAS   BEAUFORT,    CHANCELLOR.  319 

strong  hint  that  a  supply  was  expected,  by  reminding  them  chap. 
that  benevolence  was  due  from  subjects  to  a  Sovereign  as  well  -^"^^J^- 
as  reverence.* 

The  Commons  now  eagerly  pressed  their  expedient  of  Church  in 
seizing  the  property  of  the  church,  which  they  estimated  at  ^"S^'"- 
485,000  marks  a  year,  and  which  they  proposed  to  divide 
among  15  earls,  1500  knights,  6000  esquires,  and  100  hos- 
pitals, besides  20,000Z.  a  year  which  the  King  might  take  for 
his  own  use ;  and  they  insisted  that  the  clerical  functions 
would  be  better  performed  than  at  present  by  15,000  parish 
priests  paid  at  the  rate  of  7  marks  a  piece  of  yearly  stipend. 

The  King  was  violently  suspected  of  secretly  favouring 
this  project ;  but  finding  that  it  could  not  be  carried,  he  threw 
all  the  blame  upon  the  poor  Lollards,  and,  to  satisfy  the 
church,  ordered  a  Lollard  to  be  burnt  while  the  parliament 
was  still  sitting. f 

We  have  now  a  lay  Chancellor,  but  not  a  lawyer, — another  Sir  Thomas 
half-brother  of  the  King,    Sir   Thomas   Beaufort,  who  Beaufort, 

'-'  aiterwards 

could  not  have  been  very  fit  for  the  office,  but  who  reached  Duke  of 
the  highest  dignity  in  the  peerage  of  any  man  who  ever  held   rh*^*^% 
the  Great  Seal.     He  was  bred  a  soldier,  and  in  the  reign  of  Jan.  si. 
Richard  11.  had  gained  considerable  credit  by  opposing  his  ^^^°' 
bad  counsels.     He  was  created  successively  Earl  of  Dorset 
and  Duke  of  Exeter. 

He  continued  Chancellor  two  years,  during  which  time  he  His  history 
must  often  have  sat  in  the  marble  chair  at  the  marble  table  :  ^"'^/^o'^- 

.  duct  as 

but  he  seems  to  have  been  much  engaged  in  political  business.  Chancellor, 
and  he  had  the  assistance  of  Sir  John  Wakering,  the  Master 
of  the  Rolls.  On  one  occasion  he  declared  that  he  was  so 
much  occupied  with  other  business,  that  he  had  no  time  to 
attend  to  the  duties  of  his  office  {Quod  circa  alia  negotia 
adeo  occupatus  erat  ut  sigillationi  vacare  non  posset).  Political 
Chancellors  have  not  always  been  so  plain-spoken. 

After  his  surrender  of  the  Great  Seal,  he  remained  in-  His  sub- 
active  for  the  remainder  of  this  reign :  but  he  afterwards  ^^i"^"* 

o     '  career  and 

death. 

*    1  Pari.  Hist.  312. 

f  1  Pari.  Hist.  308.  This  was  the  beginning  of  burning  heretics  in  England, 
a  practice  which  became  more  common  till  after  the  violent  struggle  excited  by 
the  Reformation  had  subsided. 


320 


REIGN   OF   HENRY   IV. 


CHAP. 
XVIII. 

AD.    1412. 


Archbishop 
Arundel, 
Chancellor 
the  fifth 
time. 


Illness  of 
Henry  IV. 


Character 
of  Chan- 
cellors of 
Henry  IV. 


made  a  most  distinguished  figure  in  the  wars  of  Henry  V., 
and  upon  the  untimely  death  of  that  Sovereign  he  was  con- 
stituted guardian  of  the  person  of  his  infant  successor,  then 
crowned  King  of  France  as  well  as  of  England.  Although 
he  comes  in  the  list  of  Chancellors,  he  had  little  to  do  with 
the  duties  of  the  office  or  the  profession  of  the  law,  and  I 
should  not  be  justified  in  narrating  his  campaigns  or  entering 
more  circumstantially  into  his  history.  He  died  at  Greenwich 
in  1425,  without  issue,  leaving  his  immense  wealth  to  his 
royal  ward. 

We  have  no  certain  explanation  of  the  reason  why  he  ceased 
to  be  Chancellor  any  more  than  why  he  was  first  appointed. 
Henry,  though  now  only  forty-five  years  of  age,  had  fallen 
into  a  mortal  distemper,  and  felt  serious  compunction  for  the 
manner  in  which  he  had  acquired  the  Crown,  as  well  as  for 
some  of  his  acts  in  the  exercise  of  his  royal  authority.  Per- 
haps, as  his  strength  declined,  he  wished  to  have  a  spiritual 
*'  keeper  of  his  conscience"  who  had  been  his  chief  councillor 
and  accomplice,  and  who  might  be  expected  to  be  a  lenient 
and  absolving  confessor. 

On  the  5th  of  January,  1412,  the  Great  Seal  was  trans- 
ferred to  the  aged  Archbishop  Arundel*,  who  became  Chan- 
cellor for  the  fifth  time.  While  Henry  languished  under  his 
malady,  nothing  memorable  occurred.  He  had  long  expected 
death,  and  in  one  of  his  fits  was  supposed  to  be  dead.  At 
last,  on  the  20th  of  March,  1413,  he  expired,  in  the  Jerusa- 
lem Chamber,  at  Westminster,  having  been  taught  to  believe 
that  he  had  made  a  full  atonement  for  all  his  transgressions, 
by  vowing  that,  if  he  recovered,  he  would  lead  an  army  to  the 
East  and  reconquer  the  Holy  Land,  and  that  his  death  under 
these  circumstances  was  tantamount  to  a  fulfilment  of  his 


vow. 


He  had  appointed  all  his  Chancellors  merely  from  political 
convenience,  without  any  regard  to  their  fitness  for  the  judi- 
cial duties  of  the  office,  and  our  jurisprudence  is  under  no 
obligation  to  them.  They  showed  great  vigour,  however,  in 
enforcing  the  due  administration  of  justice.     While  Cardinal 


*  Rot.  Cl.  13  Hen.  4.  m.  1. 


THOMAS  ARUNDEL,  CHANCELLOR.  321 

Beaufort  was  Chancellor,  the  Archbishop  of  York  had  been  chap. 

....  XVIII 
guilty  of  an  overt  act  of  high  treason,  by  joining  in  open 


rebellion  and  levying  war  against  the  King.     Being  taken  conviction 
prisoner,  he  claimed  to  be  set  at  liberty  on  account  of  his  and  execu- 
sacerdotal  character,  but  the  government  ordered  him  to  be  archbishop, 
brought  to  trial.     Sir  William  Gascoigne,  Chief  Justice  of 
the  King's  Bench,  who  had  courage  to  commit  the  Prince  of 
Wales  to  prison  for  a  contempt,  was  afraid  to  try  an  arch- 
bishop.     Thereupon,  a  commission  passed  the  Great  Seal  for 
his  trial  before  another  judge.  Sir  William  Falthorpe,  and  he 
was  convicted  and  executed,  to  the  great  horror  of  all  church- 
men and  many  of  the  laity,  although  clerical  exemptions  and 
privileges  were  now  regarded  with  much  less  respect  than 
at  any  prior  ara.* 

The  Chancellors  at  this  time  successfully  resisted  an  attempt 
by  the  Commons  to  participate  in  the  appellate  jurisdiction  of 
parliament,  and  obliged  them  to  be  contented  with  a  resolu- 
tion that  their  consent  was  necessary  to  all  legislative  acts.f 

*  As  civilisation  advanced,  it  was  desirable  that  the  power  and  exclusive 
privileges  of  the  clergy  should  be  curtailed  ;  but  their  ascendancy  during  the 
darker  ages  had  been  highly  beneficial  to  the  community.  Not  only  were  they 
the  sole  depositaries  of  learning,  but  they  were  often  the  protectors  of  the 
people  against  the  tyranny  of  the  King  and  the  nobles.  The  enlightened  re- 
formers at  Runnymede  therefore  made  it  the  first  article  of  Magna  Charta, 
"  quod  Ecclesia  Anglicana  libera  sit,  et  habeat  omnia  jura  sua  integra,  et  liber- 
tates  suas  illesas." 

f  See  HaWs  Jurisd.  House  of  Lords.  There  is  a  curious  entry  in  the  Parlia- 
ment Roll,  showing  the  hours  when  the  two  Houses  now  met  for  the  despatch 
of  business.  At  the  parliament  which  assembled  in  ]  406,  after  the  choice  of 
the  speaker  had  been  confirmed,  "  Et  sur  ceo  le  Chanceller  d'Engleterre  dona 
en  charge  de  par  le  Roi  as  ditz  Communes,  q.  pur  I'esploit  du  dit  parlement  ils 
soient  assemblez  en  lour  maison  accoustemez  deinz  I'Abbeie  de  Westm'  chescun 
jour  durant  le  parlement  a  iept  del  clocke ;  et  semblable  charge  il  dona  as 
seignrs.  du  parlement,  qu'ils  de  lour  partie  pur  mesme  I'esploit  se  assemblent 
en  lour  lieu  accustume  a  noef  del  clocke." — Roll.  Par.  iii.  568. 


VOL.  I. 


322 


REIGN   OF    HENRY   V. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


CHANCELLORS   DURING   THE   REIGN   OF   HENRY   V. 


CHAP. 
XIX. 

March  21. 
1413. 
Accession 
of  Hen.  V. 

Great  Seal 
taken  from 
Arch- 
bishop 
Arundel, 
and  re- 
stored to 
Cardinal 
Beaufort. 


We  now  come  to  a  reign  for  military  exploits,  one  of  the 
most  brilliant  in  our  annals,  but  by  no  means  distinguished 
for  juridical  improvement,  although  during  the  course  of  it 
the  office  of  Chancellor  was  filled  by  very  eminent  men. 

Henry  V.  being  proclaimed  King,  to  the  great  joy  of  the 
people,  — the  first  act  of  his  reign  was  to  take  the  Great  Seal 
from  Archbishop  Arundel,  and  deliver  it  to  his  uncle  Henry 
Beaufort,  Bishop  of  Winchester,  the  Cardinal,  who  now 
entered  on  his  second  Chancellorship.  The  young  King  was 
not  actuated  by  any  desire  to  change  his  father's  ministers. 
Contrary  to  the  expectations  of  his  dissolute  companions,  and 
of  the  nation  generally,  his  plan  was  to  continue  in  their  offices 
all  who  had  faithfully  served  the  Crown.*  Perhaps  he  was 
induced  to  make  an  exception  in  the  case  of  the  Archbishop, 
on  account  of  the  active  part  which  this  Prelate  had  taken  in 
the  dethronement  of  Bichard  II.  Henry  expressed  the 
deepest  sorrow  for  the  fate  of  that  unhappy  Prince,  did  justice 
to  his  good  qualities,  performed  his  funeral  obsequies  with 
pomp  and  solemnity,  and  cherished  all  those  who  had  dis- 
tinguished themselves  by  their  loyalty  and  attachment  to 
him.  The  Archbishop,  while  in  exile,  and  on  his  return  to 
England,  had  devised  and  prosecuted  the  plans  which  led 
Richard  to  his  grave,  and  he  might  now  be  an  object  of 
personal  dislike  to  the  new  King,  who  did  not  go  so  far  as  to 
resign  his  Crown  to  the  true  heir,  but  affected  much  to  favour 
the  doctrine  of  legitimacy. 

*  We  might  have  expected  to  see  the   Great  Seal  now  delivered  to  Sir  John 
FalstaflT,  that  he  might  play  the  part  of  "  Chancellor,"  as  he  had  done  that  of 

"  King  ;  "  but  instead  of  tliis,  the  stern  order  was  given  : 

"  Go,  carry  Sir  John  FalstafF  to  the  Fleet : 
Take  all  his  company  along  with  him." 


CARDINAL  BEAUFORT,  CHANCELLOR.  323 

We  must  now  take  final  leave  of  Ex-chancellor  Arundel.      CHAP. 
Relieved  from  official  duties,  he  occupied  himself  in  carrying 


on  a  violent  prosecution  against  the  Lollards,  whom  the  King   Subsequent 
was  rather  disposed  to  screen,  and  he  presided  on  the  trial   career  of 
and  condemnation  of  Sir  John  Oldcastle,  Lord  Cobham,  their   ceiior 
leader,  who  had  incurred  the  peculiar  hatred  of  the  clergy,    Arundel, 
by    actively    supporting   the    proposal   to    encroach  on    the   ^,^.^^l   d 
revenues  of  the  church.     This  intriguing  Prelate  and  Chan-   Cobham  to 
cellor  does  not  fill  so  great  a  space  in  the  eye  of  history  as     ^   ""^^  ' 
might  have  been  expected,  from  the  important  part  he  acted 
in  the  revolutions  of  his  age ;  but  such  was  his  reputation  for 
ability  with  his  contemporaries,  that    when    impeached    for 
high  treason  in  1397,   the  Commons   having   finished  their 
case,  —  as  he  began  to  answer  for  himself.  Sir  John  Busby, 
the    Speaker,    entreated  the   King  that   this   might    not  be 
allowed  him,  '•  lest  he  might,  by  his  subtlety  and  great  wit, 
bring  persons  over  to  believe  him  innocent,"  —  so  that  he  was 
forced  to  remain  silent.*     Of  his  judicial  character  no  author 
makes  mention.     He  died  in  January,  1413. 

Cardinal  Beaufort,  two  days  after  his  appointment,  sealed   March  23. 
writs  for  a  new  parliament  to  meet  at  Easter;  and  when  the   jig„g^ej 
time  came,  opened  the  session  with  a  s[)eech  from  the  text,   attempt  t)f 
"Ante  omne  actum  consilium  stabilire."  f      The  Commons  mo„sto" 
made  an    attempt    to    reform   the  Ecclesiastical  Courts  and  size  the 
other   abuses,  but    exhausted    themselves    in  attacks  on  the  the  church, 
Lollards.     These  were  renewed  in  a  parliament  which  met 
the  following  year,  when  laws  were  passed,  at  the  suggestion  A.n.  uii. 
of  the  Chancellor  and  other  Prelates,  against  reading  Wick- 
liffe's  translation  of  the  Bible,  and  against  other  such  enor- 
mities. I     But  the  church  was  alarmed  by  the  Commons  again 
urgently  pressing  that  the  revenues  of  the  clergy  should  be 
applied  to  the  purposes  of  the  State,  and  passing  a  bill  which, 
says  Hall,  "  made  the  fat  abbots  to  sweat,  the  proud  priors  to 
frown,  the  poor  monks  to  curse,  the  silly  nuns  to  weep,  and 
indeed  all  to  fear  that  Babel  would  fall  down." 

It  is  said  by  some   historians,  that  it  was  to  divert  this 

*   1  St.  Tr.  226.  f   1   Pari.  Hist.  319. 

t  1  Pari.  Hist.  324. 

T  2 


324  llEIGN    OF    HENRY    V. 

CHAP,     storm  from  the  church,  that  Chicheley,  the  new  Archbishop  of 
^  Canterbury,  strongly  advised  the  King  to  claim  the  crown 

j^j„  of  France,  and  to  lead  an  army  across  the  seas  in  support  of 

claims  liig  pretended  right.     Certainly  there  is  extant  a  long  and 

France,  Very  extraordinary  speecli  of  his,  addressed  to  the  King  in  the 
House  of  Lords,  making  out  the  title  of  Edward  III.,  not- 
withstanding the  Salic  law,  and  insisting  that  whatever  title 
that  Sovereign  had  was  now  vested  in  his  present  Majesty. 
He  thus  concluded,  "  Consider  the  just  title  you  have  to  this 
Crown,  devolved  on  you  by  Queen  Isabella  your  great-grand- 
mother, sister  and  heir  to  three  successive  kings  of  France, 
who  died  without  children,  and  take  up  noble  arms  to  assist 
so  just  a  cause.  Advance  your  standard  into  France,  and 
with  assured  hopes  of  victory  march  to  conquer  those  do- 
minions which  are  your  own  by  inheritance.  There  is  no 
true  Englishman  but  is  ready  to  devote  his  life  and  fortune 
to  so  glorious  a  service  of  his  King.  And  in  full  persuasion 
of  the  justness  of  the  war,  we  the  clergy  have  given  such  a 
sum  of  money  to  maintain  it  as  was  never  granted  to  any  of 
your  predecessors,  and  will  join  all  our  prayers  for  the  success 
of  your  arms."  His  Grace  found  it  convenient  to  forget  not 
only  the  objections  to  the  claim  of  Edward  III.,  but  the 
awkward  fact,  that  supposing  this  monarch  to  have  been  en- 
titled to  the  crown  of  France,  —  if  the  succession  to  it  was 
not  regulated  by  the  Salic  law,  the  true  heir  was  the  Earl  of 
March,  descended  from  his  second  son  the  Duke  of  Clarence, 
and  not  Henry  V.  descended  from  his  third  son,  the  Duke  of 
Lancaster ;  —  and  if  the  parliament  of  England  could  cliange 
the  descent  of  the  English  crown,  transferring  it  to  a  younger 
branch  of  the  royal  family,  it  could  have  no  such  power 
over  the  crown  of  another  country,  which  could  not  be  con- 
sidered, like  the  Isle  of  Man,  as  appurtenant  to  the  crown  of 
England.*  But  the  Primate  was  warmly  supported  by  the 
Ex-chancellor  Thomas  Beaufort,  then  Earl  of  Dorset,  after- 
Avards  Duke  of  Exeter,  and  his  arguments  prevailed  with  the 

•  After  the  revolution  of  16S8,  William  III.  and  our  conKtitutional  kings 
ot  the  House  of  Hanover  called  themselves  kings  of  France,  and  bore  the  lilies 
in  their  shield  till  the  year  1801  ;  — but  to  make  out  their  title  would  have  re 
quired  the  eloquence  of  the  Archbishop. 


CARDINAL   BEAUFOET,    CHANCELLOE.  325 

King  and  the  royal  brothers,  who,  being  young  and  thirsting     CHAP. 

for  glory,  were  impatient  to  signalise  their  courage  against   ' 

the  old  enemies  of  their  native  land.  The  same  gallant 
spirit  diffusing  itself  through  the  minds  of  the  other  nobles, 
they  all  declared  for  a  war  with  France.  The  Ecclesiastical 
Revenues  Bill  was  allowed  to  drop,  and  as  soon  as  a  supply 
was  voted,  the  parliament  was  prorogued.  The  successive 
ecclesiastical  Chancellors  who  presided  in  the  House  of  Lords 
from  this  time  till  the  quarrel  with  Rome  in  the  reign  of 
Henry  VIII.,  contrived  to  prevent  the  subject  being  again 
brought  forward  in  parliament. 

But  the  clamours  against  the  abuses  of  the  Court  of  Chan- 
cery could  not  be  silenced.     Cardinal  Beaufort  was  now  ex- 
tending its  jurisdiction  in  a  maimer  that  greatly  alarmed  the 
common  lawyers,   and  caused  the  most  lively  remonstrances 
from  the  House  of  Commons.     As  soon  as  the  King  returned  a.d.  i415. 
to  England,  after  his  glorious  campaign,  commenced  by  the  i^^>^  speech 
capture   of  Harfleur,   and  ^^rowned  by  the  battle  of  Agin-  attheopen- 
court,  —  a  parliament  was  called,  and  the  Chancellor,  in  his  Uament, 
speech  with  which  the  session  was  opened,  tried  to  divert 
attention  from  all  domestic  grievances,  by  a  glowing  descrip- 
tion of  the  martial  glory  the  nation  had  won.     He  strongly 
urged  them  to  be  content  with  nothing  less  than  the  conquest 
of  France,  endeavouring  to  demonstrate  "  that  a  thing  well 
begun,  and  continued  with  diligence,  must  have  a  prosperous 
event,  according  to  the  saying,  Dimidium  facti  qui  bene  coepit 
habeV  * 

There  were,  of  course,  warm  congratulations  on  account  of  Petition 
the   splendid  success  of  the  royal  arms;  but  the  first  real  ^(fu"fof^° 
business  was  a  petition  from  the  Commons  to  the  King  (the    Chancery, 
usual  mode  of  legislating  in  that  age)  against  the  I'ccent  en- 
croachment of  Courts  of  Equity,  —  praying  that  no  causes 
should  be  drawn  thither  which  might  be  determined  in  the 
Courts  of  common  law.    The  petition  is  curious,  as  containing 
a  full  exposition  of  the  opinion  of  the  great  body  of  the  nation 
upon  the  subject  of  equitable  jurisdiction,  f 

•    1   Pari.  Hist.  331. 

■j"  "  Also  the  Commons  pray,  that  inasmuch  as  many  persons  of  your  king- 
dom feel  themselves  greatly  aggrieved  in  this,  that   your  writs,  called  writs  of 

Y  3 


326  REIGN   OF    HENRY   V. 

CIIAP.         The  royal  veto  was  put  upon  the  measure,  the  response 
"  being,  "  Le  Roy  s'avisera."  *     The  chief  grievance  now  com- 

petition 

negatived,  subpoena  and  certiorari,  are  made  and  sued  out  of  your  Chancery  and  Exche- 
quer for  matters  determinable  by  your  common  law,  which  never  were  granted 
or  used  before  the  time  of  the  late  King  Richard  ;  when  John  Waltham,  here- 
tofore Bishop  of  Salisbury,  of  his  craft,  invented,  made,  and  commenced  such 
innovations  against  the  form  of  the  common  law  of  your  realm,  as  well  as  to  the 
great  loss  and  hinderance  of  the  profits  which  ought  to  arise  to  you,  Sovereign 
Lord,  in  your  courts,  as  in  the  fees  and  profits  of  your  seals,  fines,  issues,  and 
amerciaments, — and  divers  other  profits,  coming  to  your  other  Courts,  in  causes 
in  which  the  matters  might  be  sued  and  determined  by  the  common  law,  be- 
cause no  profit  arises  to  you  from  such  writs,  except  only  Qd.  for  the  seal :  And 
whereas,  by  reason  that  your  Justices  of  either  Bench,  when  they  ought  to 
attend  in  their  places,  to  enter  pleas  and  to  take  inquests  for  the  deliverance  of 
your  people,  are  occupied  upon  examinations  upon  such  writs,  to  the  great 
vexation,  loss,  and  costs  of  your  liege  subjects,  who  are  long  time  delayed  in  the 
sealing  of  their  writs,  sued  in  your  Chancery,  by  reason  of  the  great  occupation 
upon  the  said  examinations,  which  things  are  not  profitable  to  you,  most  Sovereign 
Lord,  nor  to  your  liege  subjects,  on  which  examinations  there  is  great  clamour 
and  noise  by  divers  persons  not  aware  of  the  law,  without  any  record  thereupon 
entered  in  your  said  places:  And  in  which  pleas  they  cannot  make  fine  but  by 
examination  and  oath  of  the  parties,  according  to  the  form  of  the  civil  law,  and 
the  law  of  Holy  Church,  in  subversion  of  your  common  law  :  And  in  causes 
which  the  said  parties  cannot  be  convicted  by  their  examination  there,  they  are 
sent  to  find  sureties  for  your  peace,  which  they  are  not  able  to  find  in  their 
counties  without  coming  to  your  said  courts ;  or  otherwise  they  are  encouraged 
to  treat  and  agree  with  their  adversaries  who  sue  such  writs,  or  otherwise  to 
abide  elsewhere,  in  ward  or  on  bail,  until  they  shall  so  do  :  That  it  please  our 
most  Sovereign  Lord  to  ordain,  in  tliis  present  parliament,  that  every  person 
who  shall  sue  such  writs  shall  put  all  the  cause  and  matter  of  his  suit  in  the 
said  writs,  and  that  all  such  writs,  in  the  Courts  out  of  which  they  shall  issue, 
shall  be  enrolled  in  the  said  Courts,  and  made  patent,  and  shall  remain  for  the 
defendants  therein,  without  being  returned  in  the  said  Courts.  And  in  cases 
in  which  any  one  shall  feel  himself  aggrieved  or  vexed  by  such  manner  of  writs, 
for  any  matter  determinable  by  the  common  law,  then  the  person  so  aggrieved 
or  vexed  shall  have  an  action  of  debt  for  4()Z.  against  him,  wherefore  he  sued  the 
said  writs,  upon  which  writ  the  cause  of  the  action  by  how  much  he  was  vexed 
by  such  writ,  of  the  matter  which  was  determinable  by  the  common  law.  And 
in  cases  which  appear  to  the  court  in  such  writ  for  which  the  debt  is  sued  and 
the  matter  contained  in  such  writ  was  determinable  by  the  common  law,  whicii 
they  maintained  in  pursuance  of  such  writ,  shall  be  condemned  towards  such 
person,  being  so  vexed,  in  the  said  sum  of  40/.  And  moreover  to  ordain  by 
autliority  of  the  said  parliament,  that  in  writs  called  informations,  which  are 
issued  out  of  your  Exchequer,  the  names  of  those  on  whose  suggestion  or  inform- 
ation such  writs  issued  shall  be  sent  in  the  said  writs.  And  that  all  such  writs 
so  issuing  at  your  suit,  or  at  the  suit  of  the  party,  shall  be  enrolled  and  made 
patent,  and  shall  remain  for  the  defendant  therein,  without  being  returned  into 
your  Exchequer,  and  in  like  manner  to  declare  concerning  writs  called  subpoena 
and  certiorari.  And  in  cases  which  after  those  who  are  made  to  come  into  your 
Exchequer,  by  force  of  such  writs,  may  be  sufficiently  excused,  acquitted,  or 
discharged,  of  the  suggestions  and  matters  on  them  so  surmised,  upon  such 
writs,  then  they  shall  have  an  action  of  debt  for  40/.  against  the  said  suggestors 
and  informers,  declaring  against  them  upon  the  said  writs  the  cause  of  their 
action,  by  so  much  as  the  said  suggestions  or  informations  are  of  record  not 
proved  true.      And  if  it  may  appear  by  the  record  to  the  Court  on  such  writs, 


*   Rot.  Pari.  3.  Hen.  5. 


CARDINAL   BEAUFORT,    CHANCELLOR.  327 

plained  of  was  afterwards  remedied  in  practice,  by  the  plaintiff    CHAP, 
being  obliged  to  put  upon  the  file  of  the  Court  a  bill  specify- 


ing his  cause  of  suit  before  the  subpoena  issued. 

In  the  following  year,  the  Commons  renewed  the  complaint  a.d.  i416.  ' 
against  arbitrary  proceedings  contrary  to  the  course  of  the   ^^^f,^  P^°- 

o  ^    1  o  J  ^  ^    ^         ceedings  of 

common  law,  although  the  Chancellor  had  tried  to  tranquillise  Commons 
them  by  an  opening  speech  from  the  text,  "  Operam  detis  ut  ^^^^^^^^^^f 
quieti  sitis."  *  There  had,  as  we  have  seen,  been  an  early  Chancery, 
practice  of  presenting  petitions  to  parliament  complaining  of 
private  grievances.  After  the  separation  of  the  two  Houses, 
these  were  reserved  for  the  consideration  of  the  Lords,  and 
were  first  submitted  to  the  triers  of  petitions,  who  were  ap- 
pointed at  the  commencement  of  every  session.  Such  of 
them  as  disclosed  matters  only  fit  for  the  ordinary  tribunals 
of  the  country,  were  in  regular  manner  referred  to  those 
tribunals,  and  some  were  not  improperly  allotted  to  the  Chan- 
cellor, or  the  Privy  Council.  But  this  course  was  resorted 
to  chiefly  by  suitors  who  knew  they  had  no  chance  of  success 
in  the  Courts  of  common  law  ;  —  and,  as  an  expedient  for 
securing  themselves  a  hearing  before  those  by  whom  the  rules 
of  the  common  law  were  disregarded,  they  presented  peti- 
tions to  parliament,  and  themselves  indorsed  upon  them  a 
supposed  reference  to  the  Council  or  the  Chancellor,  — 
which  was  considered  as  giving  the  Council  or  Chancellor 
jurisdiction,  although  the  subject-matter  was  properly  cog- 
nisable at  common  law. 

The  House  of  Commons  now  prayed  the  King  "  that  if 
any  man  shall  indorse  his  bill  or  petition  with  these  Avords 
bi/  authority  of  parliament,  let  this  bill  or  petition  he  sent  to  the 
Council  of  the  King,   or  to  the  Chancellor  of  England,  to  exe- 

they  shall  be  sued  for  the  debt  which  the  plaintiffs  in  the  said  writs  were  ac- 
quitted, excused,  or  discharged,  of  the  matters  and  suggestions  having  been  by 
them  surmised,  that  then  the  said  informers  and  suggestors  shall  be  condemned 
to  the  prosecutor  of  the  said  writs  of  debt  in  the  said  sum  of  40/.  And  fur- 
thermore that  as  well  the  pain  contained  in  such  writs,  as  all  the  process  there- 
upon, shall  be  void  and  holden  for  nothing.  And  if  any  such  writs,  called  sub- 
poena and  certiorari,  and  informations  shall  be  sued  out  of  your  said  Courts, 
against  this  ordinance,  in  time  to  come,  that  the  said  writs,  and  all  the  proceed- 
ings depending  thereupon,  shall  be  wholly  void  and  holden  for  nothing."' 
*    1  Pari.  Hist.  33:,. 


Rot.  Pari.  3  Hen.  5.  part  ii.  vol.  iv.  p.  84. 
y  4 


328 


KEIGN   or   HENRY   V. 


CHAP. 
XIX. 


Chancellor 
lends 
money  to 
tbe  King, 
taking  the 
Crown  in 
pawn. 


cute  and  determine  what  is  contained  therein,  by  which  the  said 
bill  or  petition  be  not  by  the  Commons  of  the  parliament 
inquired  into,  affirmed,  or  assented  unto,  (which  no  one 

CAN  indorse  on  ANY  SUCH  BILL  OR  PETITION,  WITH- 
OUT   THE     ASSENT     AND     REQUEST     OF     THE    COMMONS    OF 

PARLIAMENT,)  let  him  be  sent  to  answer  for  disobeying  the 
laws  of  the  kingdom  of  England." 

The  King's  answer  still  was,  "  Le  Roy  s'avisera  *," — which 
I  can  only  account  for  from  the  parenthetical  claim  of  privi- 
lege set  up  by  the  Commons,  that  they  were  to  join  in  hear- 
ing and  disposing  of  petitions  to  parliament  respecting  the 
administration  of  justice,  and  that,  without  their  concurrence, 
the  Lords  could  neither  themselves  determine  the  matter  nor 
refer  it  to  another  tribunal.  The  simple  condemnation  and 
prohibition  of  the  unauthorised  practice  of  individuals  so  in- 
dorsing their  petitions  without  the  sanction  of  either  House, 
could  not  have  been  refused  ;  but  a  great  jealousy  has  always 
been  manifested  of  an  encroachment  by  the  Commons  on  the 
judicial  powers  of  the  Upper  House. 

The  Chancellor  had  now  a  very  delicate  matter  to  ne- 
gotiate ;  and  he  had  to  encounter  a  very  formidable  struggle 
between  his  avarice  and  his  love  of  power.  The  King  was 
reduced  to  the  greatest  necessity  for  money  to  carry  on  the 
war  with  France.  Tenths  and  fifteenths  were  voted  to  him, 
but  a  long  time  was  required  to  collect  them  ;  and  cash  to 
pay  the  mutinous  troops  was  indispensable.  A  sum  was 
raised  upon  the  personal  responsibility  of  the  Dukes  of 
Clarence,  Bedford,  and  Gloucester,  who  made  themselves 
liable  if  the  King  should  die ;  but  this  was  quite  insufficient 
for  the  present  exigency,  and  there  was  no  hope  except  in  the 
Lord  Chancellor.  He  had  amassed  immense  riches  from  the 
profits  of  his  see  and  of  his  office ;  but  he  refused  to  make 
any  gift,  and  even  to  lend  on  the  security  with  which  others 
had  been  satisfied.  At  last  the  King  offered  to  pawn  to  him 
the  Crown  itself.  Thereupon,  taking  the  pledge  into  his 
custody,  the  Chancellor  advanced  a  very  large  loan,  and  the 
war  was  vigorously  prosecuted. 


*    Rol.  Par.  4  Hen.  5. 


CARDINAL  BEAUFOKT,  CHANCELLOR.  329 

At  the  last  parliament  over  which' Cardinal  Beaufort  pre-     CHAP, 
sided  during  the  present  reign,  an  act  was  passed  with  his 


concurrence,  and  probably  with  the  great  applause  of  the  ^.d.  i4i7. 
English  nation,  — who  for  many  centuries  hated,  and  despised.  Act  against 
and  oppressed  their  Irish  fellow  subjects,  —  "  That  none  of 
the  Irish  nation  should  be  elected  an  Archbishop,  Bishop, 
Abbot,  or  Prior ;  and  that  whoever  promoted  such  to  those 
ecclesiastical  preferments,  or  brought  any  such  Irish  rebels 
to  parliaments,  councils,  or  other  assemblies  among  the 
English,  should  have  all  their  temporal  estates  seized  into 
the  King's  hands  till  they  have  paid  the  fines  due  for  such 
offences." 

On  the  last  day  of  the  session,  the  King,  sitting  on  his 
throne  in  full  parliament,  created  Thomas  Beaufort,  who 
was  Earl  of  Dorset  and  Ex-chancellor,  Duke  of  Exeter,  with  a 
pension  of  lOOOZ.  a  year.  The  Lords,  with  a  proper  respect 
for  Ex-chancellors,  so  much  approved  of  the  King's  liberality, 
that  they  said  no  objection  could  be  made,  but  only  that  it 
was  too  little,  and  not  proportionable  to  the  merits  and  ser- 
vices of  that  noble  person.* 

Cardinal  Beaufort,  in  this   Chancellorship,    never  parted  Judicial 
with  the  custody  of  the  Great  Seal,  except  from  the  5th  of  ^^rdinai 
September  to  the  12th  of  October,  1416,  during  w^hich  time  Beaufort, 
he  was  absent  with  the  King  in  France,  and  the  Great  Seal 
was  intrusted  by  him  to  the  keeping  of  Simon  Gaunstede, 
Master  of  the  Rolls,  to  be  re-delivered  to  him  on  his  return. f 
We  have  slender  means  of  knowing  how  he  performed  his 
judicial  duties ;  but  we  may,  from  his  general  disposition,  not 
imcharitably  believe  that  he  was  assiduous  in  business,  and 
encouraged  suitors   that    he    might   multiply  fees.      He  re- 
sembled the  fallen  angel,  whose 

"  looks  and  thoug-hts 


Were  always  downward  bent,  admiring  more 
The  riches  of  Heaven's  pavement,  trodden  gold, 
Than  aught  divine  or  holy." 

His  avarice,  however,  was  now  to  receive  a  heavy  and  Great  Seal 
unexpected  blow.  From  the  hard  bargain  he  made  when  he  car*d"nar" 
advanced  money  for  the  public  service,  or  his  importunity  to   Beaufort. 

*    Pari.  Rol.  4  &  5  Hen.  5.      1    Pari.  Hist.  335. 
f   Rot.  CI.  4  Hen.  5.  m.  13. 


330 


REIGN   OF   HENRY  V. 


CHAP. 
XIX. 

Longley, 
Chancellor 
tliu  second 
time. 
July  23. 
1417. 


A  parlia- 
ment. 


A.D.  1421. 
Treaty  of 
Troyes. 


be  repaid,  he  disgusted  the  King.  The  Close  Roll,  5  Hen.  V., 
records,  that,  "On  the  23d  of  July,  1417,  Henry  Beaufort, 
Bishop  of  Winchester,  delivered  up  the  Great  Seal  of  gold  to 
the  King,  on  which  day  it  was  given  to  Thomas  Longley, 
Bishop  of  Durham,  who  became  Chancellor  the  second 
time*,"  but  no  writer  gives  us  the  particulars  of  the  intrigue 
which  brought  about  this  change. 

The  Ex- chancellor  now  visited  the  Council  of  Basil,  and 
contrived  to  get  himself  named  by  Pope  Martin  Y.  Cardinal 
and  Apostolic  Legate  in  England  and  Ireland  ;  but,  upon  the 
remonstrance  of  Archbishop  Chicheley,  the  King  forbade  him 
to  accept  these  dignities,  and  he  was  not  gratified  with  wear- 
ing the  red  hat  till  after  he  had  finally  resigned  the  Great 
Seal  in  the  succeeding  reign. 

A  parliament  was  soon  after  called,  which  was  opened  by 
the  new  Chancellor  with  a  speech  from  the  text,  Com- 
fortamini  et  viriliter  agite  et  gloriosi  eritis.]  The  most  re- 
markable transaction  during  this  parliament, — throwing  par- 
ticular discredit  on  the  Chancellor,  —  was  the  order  by  the 
Lords  that  Sir  John  Oldcastle,  Lord  Cobham,  should  be 
burnt  under  the  sentence  passed  against  him  as  a  heretic. 
He  was  the  first  English  peer  who  ever  suffered  death  for 
religion.  \ 

About  the  same  time  the  Ex-chancellor  Beaufort,  Bishop 
of  Winchester,  managed  to  get  a  private  bill  of  his  smuggled 
through  both  Houses,  that  a  security  given  to  him  for  a 
loan  on  the  customs  of  Southampton,  should  be  confirmed  by 
parliament.  § 

Nothing  memorable  connected  with  the  office  of  Chan- 
cellor occurred  till  1421,  when  Henry's  victories  having  led 
to  the  treaty  of  Troyes,  by  which  he  was  to  marry  the  Prin- 
cess Catherine,  and  was  declared  regent  of  France  and  heir  to 
that  kingdom,  he  called  a  parliament  to  ratify  the  treaty.  || 
This  parliament  was  opened  by  a  speech  from  the  King's  own 
mouth,  the  first  instance  I  have  found  of  the  Sovereign 
himself  declaring  the  causes  of  summoning  his  great  council. 
Henry  represented  to  them  the  state  of  affairs, —  "  what  con- 


*    Rot.  Cl.  5  Hen.  5.  m.  15. 
t    Ibid.  337. 


§   Ibid. 


t   1  Pari.  Hist.  335. 
II    Ibid.  339. 


THOMAS   LONGLEY,   CHANCELLOK.  331 

quests  he  had  made  in  France,  and  what  supplies  were  ne-     CHAP, 
cessary  to  continue  the  war;  —  assuring  them  that  the  Dau-  ' 


phin  and  his  party,  who  maintained    some    cities   and  pro-  ^^  j,.  I42i. 
vinces,  being  subdued,  that  kingdom  might  be  entirely  united 
to  the  English  crown." 

The  Lord  Chancellor,  by  order  of  the  King,  read  the 
articles  of  the  treaty  of  Troyes,  which  had  been  sworn  to  by 
the  two  Kings  of  England  and  France,  and  ratified  also  by  the 
three  estates  of  France ;  whereupon  both  Houses  of  Parliament 
avowed  that  they  approved  and  accepted  it  as  most  conducive 
to  the  good  of  both  nations,  and  of  all  Christendom ;  and 
every  one  promised  for  himself,  his  heirs,  and  successors, 
that  they  would  inviolably  observe  it.*  It  is  marvellous 
that  such  men  as  Longley  and  the  spiritual  Peers,  whose 
blood  was  not  heated  by  being  personally  engaged  in  the 
conflict,  should  have  sanctioned  a  treaty  which  nothing 
but  the  power  of  the  sword  could  carry  into  execution,  and 
which,  if  it  had  taken  effect,  must  have  proved  equally  per- 
nicious to  England  and  to  France. 

At  this  parliament  the  Commons  made  another  unsuccessful 
attempt  to  put  an  entire  stop  to  the  writ  of  subpoena 
in  Chancery,  as  well  as  to  Privy  Seals  bringing  matters  of 
private  right  before  the  Council ;  but  they  had  a  limited  and 
temporary  triumph  by  carrying  an  act  to  endure  until  the 
next  parliament,  "  that  the  exception  how  that  the  partie 
hath  sufficient  remedy  at  the  common  law,  shall  discharge 
any  matter  in  Chancery."  f  The  act  was  never  renewed,  so 
that  the  concurrent  jurisdiction  of  the  Courts  of  equity 
and  Courts  of  common  law  in  partition,  dower,  account,  and 
many  such  matters,  has  continued. 

Henry,  leaving  the  government  in  the  hands  of  his  brother  Death  of 

the   Duke  of  Bedford,  and  of  the  Chancellor,  returned  to  ^^'^^^„7' 

,  .  A"g-  si- 

France, —  espoused  Catherine, — got  possession  of  Paris, —   1422. 

had  his   infant  son  proclaimed  heir  of  both  kingdoms,  and 

died  at  Vincennes  in  the  thirty-fourth  year  of  his  age. 

His  last  parliament  had    been  held  in    his   absence,   the 

Chancellor  opening  the  session  with  a  formal  speech.     After 

*    1  Pari.  Hist.  339.  f   Rol.  Pari.  9  Hen.  5. 


332  STATE   OF   THE   LAW. 

CHAT,     voting  a  supply,  the  chief  business  was  regulating  the  coinage, 

which  had  fallen  into  great  disorder  from  the  short-sighted 

Dec.  1.        fraud  of  adulteration,  first  begun  in  the  reign  of  Edward  III. ; 

^421.  — and  it  was  enacted,  "  that  the  Chancellor  of  England  should 

deliver  to  those  who  would  have  them  good  and  just  weights 

of  the  noble,  half  noble,  and  farthing  of  gold,  to  prevent  the 

people  being  abused  by  such  as  were  counterfeit."  * 

Adminis-         During  this  reign  the  equity  jurisdiction  of  the  Chancellor 

justice  **      ^^'^^  ^®  actively  enforced,  that  some  have  ascribed  its  origin 

during  his    to  the  chancellorship  of  Cardinal  Beaufort.    He  first  exercised 

'^^'^"'  a  control  over  the  marriage  of  infants,  and  along  with  uses 

and  trusts  he  took  cognisance  of  many  miscellaneous  matters, 

which  would  now  be  referred  to  courts  of  common  law  either 

civil  or  criminal.! 

It  may  be  remarked,  that  at  this  period  of  our  history 
there  was  an  unusual  ferment  in  men's  minds,  and  the  Com- 
mons showed  a  strong  spirit  of  innovation  both  in  church  and 
state,  so  that  there  seemed  a  great  probability  that  important 
changes  would  be  introduced  with  respect  to  the  maintenance 
of  the  clergy  and  the  administration  of  justice;  but  the 
absorbing  foreign  war  in  which  the  country  was  engaged 
preserved  all  our  institutions  untouched  by  legislation  during 
the  whole  reign  of  Henry  V. 

*  1  Pari.  Hist.  340.  f   See  2  Cooper  on  Records,  361. 


EEIGN   OF   HENRY   VI. 


333 


CHAPTER  XX. 


CHANCELLORS     FROM    THE     COMMENCEMENT     OF     THE     REIGN     OF 
HENRY   VI.    TILL    THE    DEATH   OF    CARDINAL    BEAUFORT. 


Henry  VI.  was,  at  his  father's  death,  an  infant  of  nine 
months  old.  The  Duke  of  Gloucester,  his  uncle,  having  been 
named  Regent  of  England  by  the  late  King,  was  at  first 
allowed  to  assume  the  government  under  that  title.  At  the 
end  of  a  month  a  council  was  held  at  Windsor,  at  which  the 
baby  monarch  in  his  nurse's  arms  was  present,  and  was  sup- 
posed to  preside.  Longley,  Lord  Chancellor  to  the  late 
King,  put  the  Great  Seal  into  the  royal  lap,  and  placed  upon 
it  the  hands  of  the  child,  who  was  too  young  even  to  be 
amused  with  it  as  a  toy.  The  Regent  then,  in  the  King's 
name,  delivered  it  to  Simon  Gaunstede,  the  Master  of  the 
Rolls,  for  the  despatch  of  necessary  business.* 

But  the  Regent  soon  found  that  he  could  not  exercise  his 
authority  without  the  sanction  of  the  legislature,  and  a  com- 
mission passed  the  Great  Seal  for  a  new  parliament  to  be 
held  before  him. 

The  session  was  opened,  by  his  command,  with  a  speech 
from  Cbicheley,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury.  Business  being 
begun,  it  is  stated  in  the  Parliamentary  History,  that  the 
two  bishops  of  Durham  and  London,  the  former  having  been 
Chancellor  of  England  in  the  late  reign,  and  the  other 
Chancellor  of  the  Duchy  of  Normandy,  who  had  both 
delivered  up  the  several  seals  of  their  offices,  prayed  to  be 
discharged  by  act  of  parliament,  and  that  the  same  might  be 
enrolled,  —  which  was  granted.  It  was  then  also  enacted, 
that  the  King's  style  and  titles  should  be  changed,  and  that 


CHAP. 
XX, 

Sept.  I. 

1422. 

Lord 

Chancellor 

Longley 

resigns 

Great  Seal 

to  infant 

King. 


Nov.  1422. 
A  parlia- 
ment. 


*  "  Pra;fatus  Dominus  Rex  nunc  sigillum  illud  per  manus  praefati  Ducis 
pradicto  Simoni  liberavit  custodiendum,"  &c.  Rot.  CI.  1  Hen.  6.  m.  15. — This 
was  the  precedent  chiefly  relied  upon  for  the  fictitious  use  of  the  Great  Seal 
during  the  insanity  of  George  IIL 


334  llEIGN    OF    HENRY   VI. 

CHAP,     upon  all  his  seals  should  be  engraven,  "  Henricus  Rex  Franciae 

et  Angliae,  et  Dominus  Hiberniae."      At  the  request  of  the 

^  ^  j4„<      Commons,  the  Duke  of  Gloucester  declared  that  the  King 

Longley       }iad  appointed  the  Bishop  of  Durham  to  be  his  Chancellor, 

ChanceUor.  which  appointment  was  confirmed  by  parliament.* 

In  reality,  the  whole  administration  was  arranged  by  the 

Lords  and  Commons,  who  had  been  gradually  extending  their 

influence  during  the  reig-ns  of  the  Lancastrian  Princes.     Dis- 

regarding  the  will  of  the  late  King,  they  declined  altogether 

the  name  of  "  Regent "  for  England.     They  appointed  the 

Duke  of  Bedford  "  Protector  "  of  that  kingdom,  a  title  which 

Duke  cf      they  thought  implied  less  authority ;  they  invested  the  Duke 

Protestor'  ^^  Gloucester  with  the  same  dignity  during  the  absence  of 

his  elder  brother  — with  a  council  of  nine,  by  whose  advice 

he  must  act ;  and  the  guardianship  of  the  person  of  the  infant 

King  was  given  to  the  two  Ex-chancellors,  the  Bishop  of 

Winchester  and   the    Duke    of  Exeter,  with  whom  it  was 

thought  he  must  be  safe,  as,  from  the  stain  on  their  birth, 

they  themselves  could  never  aspire  to  the  crown,  f 

Proceed-  In  this  parliament,  a  vigorous  eifort  was  made  to  limit  the 

liainent^'^'^"  jurisdiction  of  the  Court  of  Chancery.     The  Commons  pre- 

against  the    gentcd  a  petition  to  the  King,  which,  if  agreed  to,  would  very 

Chancery,     effectually  havc  preserved  the  supremacy  of  the  common  law, 

but  would  have  deprived  the  country  of  many  benefits  derived 

from  equitable  interference.     They  proposed,  that  to  prevent 

persons  being  called  upon  to  answer  in   Chancery  for  any 

matter  for  which  there  is  remedy  provided  by  the  common 

law,  no  one  should  be  allowed  to  sue  any  process  before  the 

Chancellor  till  the   complainant  had   sent  a  bill,   containing 

all  the  matter  of  his  plaint  or  grievance,  to  be  approved  of 

by  two  judges   of  the  King's  Bench,  or  Common  Pleas,  and 

they  should  have  certified  that  for  such  matter  he  could  not 

have  any  action  or  remedy  by  the  common  law.     But  the 

*   1  Pari.  Hist.  345.      Rol.  Pari.  Hen.  6.  vol.  xv.  170. 

f  In  Nov.  1422,  a  new  Great  Seal  was  made,  because  the  King's  style  in  the 
inscription  on  the  former  seals  was  not  suited  to  the  reigning  monarch.  The 
order  in  council  recited,  that  "  great  peril  might  ensue  to  the  King  if  the  said 
seals  were  not  immediately  altered,"  and  required  the  keepers  of  all  the  King's 
seals  to  cause  them  to  be  altered  forthwith. — Rot.  Pari.  1  Hen.  6. 


CARDINAL   BEAUFORT,    CHANCELLOR.  335 

answer  returned  in  the  King's  name,  by  the  advice  of  the     CHAP. 
Council  of  Regency,  was,  "  Let  the  statute  on  this  subject, 
made  in  the  17th  year  of  the  reign  of  King  Richard  II.,  be  ^j,  ^433 
observed  and  put  in  due  execution,"  *  which  was,  in  fact,  a 
veto,  and  left  the  Chancellor  without  control  to  determine  the 
limits  of  his  own  jurisdiction. 

Lord  Chancellor  Longley  opened    another  parliament  in   Lord 
October,  1423,  with  a  speech  from  the  text,  "  Deum  timete,  lor'sTpeech 
Regem  honorificate,"  showing  that  peculiar  honour  ought  to   on  opening 
be  rendered  to  the  present  King,  notwithstanding  his  tender 
years,  since  now  this  realm  had  attained  their  wish,  which 
was  that  the  King  of  England  might  also  be  King  of  France, 
and  that  the  love  due  to  the  father  was  due  to  the  son,  for 
omnis  quidiligit  eum  qui  genuit  diligit  eiim  qui  genitus  est.\ 

The  petition  or  bill  against  the  Court  of  Chancery,  which 
had  for  some  time  been  nearly  annual,  was  now  dropped  ;  and 
nothing  more  memorable  was  transacted  at  this  parliament 
than  passing  an  act,  "  to  secure  those  persons  who  had  only 
the  late  King's  jewels  in  pawn,  and  that  the  Bishop  of  Win- 
chester, who  had  lent  the  King  20,000  marks  on  the  crown, 
should  have  letters  patent  to  receive  the  said  sum  out  of  the 
customs."  X 

The  great  struggle  for  power  between  Humphry,  Duke  of  a.d.  1424. 
Gloucester,  the  Protector,  and  the  Bishop  of  Winchester,  his  P!^^"\^^ 
uncle,  which  produced   such  calamities,  and  which  ended  so   Duke  of 
fatally  to  both,  was  now  begun,   and  the  Bishop,  from  his  gnd^Car-^*^ 
superior  shrewdness  and  vigour,  was  gaining  the  ascendant,   dinal  Beau- 
although  his  rival,  as  Protector,  claimed  to  exercise  all  the 
prerogatives  of  the  crown. 

Beaufort  by  intriguing  with  the  Council,  contrived  to  re-   Longley 
sume  the  office  of  Chancellor,  which  added  both  to  his  wealth   ^'^p'''J"^  **/" 

Great  Seal. 

and  his  authority.     On  the  6th  of  July,  1424,  the  Great  Seal    cardinal 
was  delivered  to  him  for  the  third  time.  §  Beaufort 

Chancellor 
the  third 

•    Rol.  Pari.  1  Hen.  6.  f   1  Pari.  Hist.  347.  %  Ibid.  .'548.        *^'"^- 

§  The  Close  Roll  states  with  much  gravity  that  the  Bishop  of  Durham 
surrendered  the  Great  Seal  into  the  hands  of  the  King  (not  then  two  years  old), 
and  that  the  King  delivered  it  to  the  Bishop  of  Winchester  "  cujus  sacramentum 
de  officio  Cancellarii  bene  et  fideliter  faciendo  praefatus  Dominus  Rex  recepit." 
We  are  told  that  the  Bishop  then  took  it  with  him  to  his  hospitium  of  St.  Mary 
Overey,  in  Southwark,  and  on  the  following  Monday  sat  for  the  despatch  of 


336  EEIGN   OF    HENRY   VI. 

CHAP.         Longley,  who  was  then  forced  to  resign  it,  retired  to  the 
duties  of  his  diocese,  which  he  fulfilled  very  reputably  till 


Death  and    ^^^"^ >  when  he  died.     He  was  buried  in  that  beautiful  struc- 
character      ture  at  the  wcst  end  of  Durham  Cathedral,  called  the  Galilee, 
chancellor     ^^  *^^  restoration  of  which  he  had  expended  a  large  sum  of 
Longley.      money.     As  an  ecclesiastic,  he  is  said  to  have  possessed  a  love 
of  learning,  which  he  testified  by  princely  donations  of  books 
to  both  the  universities,  and  by  legacies  to  establish  public 
libraries   in  Durham,    Leicester,    and   Manchester ;    but  he 
never  gave  much  proof  of  ability  for  civil  affairs,  and  his  pro- 
motion, like  that  of  many  others,  was  probably  owing  to  his 
mediocrity  and  his  pliancy. 
April,  The  Bishop  of  Winchester,  as   Chancellor,  opened  a  new 

parliament  in  the  spring  of  the  following  year,  under  very 
extraordinary    circumstances.      With    a    view   probably    of 
throwing  into  the  shade  the  lustre  of  the  oflfice  of  Protector, 
he  on  this  occasion  produced  the  King  himself,  a  child  of  three 
Henry  VI.,  years  old,  as  ruler  of  the  realm.     On  the  day  of  meeting,  the 
arms,"operis  ^^yal  infant  was  carried  on  a  great  horse  from  the  Tower  of 
parliament.   Londou  through  the   city  to  Westminster.     Having  taken 
some  pap  at  the  palace,  he  was  from  thence  conducted  to  the 
House  of  Lords,  and  sat  on  his  mother's  knee  on  the  throne. 
"  It  was  a  strange  sight,"  says   Speed,  "  and  the  first  time  it 
ever  was  seen  in  England,  an  infant  sitting  in  his  mother's 
lap,  and  before  it  could  tell  what  English  meant,  to  exercise 
the  place  of  sovereign  direction  in  open  parliament." 
Lord  'j'l^g  Chancellor  took   for  his  text,  "  Gloria,  honor,  et  pax, 

Lnancellor  .  .  ,  '■ 

Beaufort's  omni  operanti  bonum."  He  slyly  threw  out  various  sarcasms  on 
speech.  ^ns  opponents  in  the  Council,  under  pretence  of  inculcating  the 
duty  of  the  people  to  obey  those  who  are  set  over  them, 
although  not  good  in  themselves.  "  But  a  real  good  coun- 
cillor" (meaning  himself)  "  he  conipai'ed  to  an  elephant  for 
three  properties ;  the  one  in  that  he  wanted  a  gall,  the  second 
that  he  was  inflexible  and  could  not  bow,  and  the  third  that 
he  was  of  a  most  sound  and  perfect  memory."* 

business  "  in  dome  capitulari  Fratrum  Predicatorum  infra  Ludgate  Londoniae." 
—  Rot.  CI.  2  Hen.  6.  m.  2. 
*    1  Pari.  Hist.  351. 


CARDINAL    BEAUFOET,    CHANCELLOR.  337 

The  following  day  the  King  was   again   placed   on  the     CHAP, 
throne,  when  the  Commons  presented  Sir  Thomas  Nanton  as 


their  elected  Speaker,  who,   as   usual,  disqualified   himself.  ^  ^  1425^ 
But  the  Chancellor,  in  the  King's  name,  would  not  allow  of 
his  objections,  confirmed  the  choice  of  the   Commons,  and 
granted  to  them  all  their  ancient  privileges. 

At  this  parliament  an  act  was  passed  throwing  upon  the   Chancellor 
Chancellor  a  duty  very  aliene  to  his  judicial  functions.     The  ii°fnces  ^r 
exportation  of  butter  and  cheese  being  generally  prohibited,   exportation 
—  "for  the  encouragement  of  husbandry  the  Chancellor  of  and  cheese. 
England  was  empowered,  at  his  discretion,  to  grant  licences 
to  such  persons  as  should  desire  to  vend  the  said  articles  in 
foreign  parts,  as   well    as  at  the  great  staple  at   Calais."* 
While  it  was  acted  upon,  it  must  have  considerably  increased 
the  fees  and  emoluments  of  the  office,  and  must  have  been 
highly  agreeable  to  the  present  Chancellor. 

The  rivalry  between  him  and  the  Protector  now  became 
dangerous  to  the  public  tranquillity,  and  each  mustering  his 
adherents  and  dependents,  a  civil  war  was  apprehended.  The 
former  had  added  to  his  power  and  insolence  by  obtaining  for 
himself  the  appointment  of  legate  to  the  Pope  in  England, 
and  on  many  occasions  he  asserted  his  superiority  to  the  Pro- 
tector, who,  though  vested  with  that  high  title,  he  contended 
had  no  authority  beyond  others  of  the  Council.  The  Pro- 
tector, on  the  contrary,  affected  royal  pomp,  assumed  much 
on  his  prospect  of  succeeding  to  the  crown,  and  insisted 
that,  during  the  minority  of  his  nephew,  he  was  entitled 
to  exercise  all  the  royal  prerogatives  under  the  control  of 
parliament. 

The  citizens  of  London  were  of  the  party  of  the  Protector.   Oct.  1425. 
To  overawe  them,  the  Chancellor  strengthened  the  garrison   ?^'"*j  "^ 

I  _  °  o  London 

of  the  Tower,  which  had  been  intrusted  to  a  creature  of  his  caused  by 
own.     The  Protector  was  refused  admission  into  this  fortress,   and  Pr  ^^ 
and  the  gates  of  the  city  were  shut  against  the  Chancellor,   tector. 
The  next  morning,  the  retainers  of  the  Chancellor  attempted 
to  force  the  gate  at  London  Bridge.     The  citizens  flew  to 
arms,  and  bloodshed  was  with  difficulty  averted  by  the  Arch- 

*    1  Pari.  Hist.  353. 
VOL.   I.  Z 


338 


REIGN   OF   IIENIIY   VI. 


CHAP. 
XX. 


Chancel- 
lor's letter 
to  Duke  of 
Bedford. 


A,D.  1426. 

"  Parlia- 
ment of 
Bats." 


bishop  of  Canterbury  and  the  Prince  of  Portugal,  who,  it  is 
said,  were  obliged  to  travel  eight  times  in  one  day  between 
Lambeth  and  the  City  of  London  to  act  as  peace-makers.  By 
their  interposition,  the  rival  parties  were  prevailed  upon  to 
suspend  their  feuds  till  the  arrival  of  the  Duke  of  Bedford, 
the  Regent  of  France,  who  was  coming  over  in  the  hope  of 
establishing  a  reconciliation  between  them.  There  is  extant 
a  letter  then  written  by  the  Chancellor  to  the  Duke,  for  the 
purpose  of  unfairly  gaining  his  favour  : 

"  I  recommend  me  unto  you  with  all  my  heart ;  and  as  you  de- 
sire the  welfare  of  the  King  our  Sovereign  Lord,  and  of  his  realms 
of  England  and  France,  and  your  own  health  and  ours  also,  so 
haste  you  hither ;  for,  by  my  troth,  if  you  tarry,  we  shall  put  this 
land  in  a  jeopardy  with  a  field — such  a  brother  you  have  here. 
God  make  him  a  good  man.  For  your  wisdom  knoweth  that  the 
profit  of  France  standeth  in  the  welfare  of  England.  Written  in 
great  haste  on  Allhallow  even,  by  your  true  servant  to  my  lives 
end.  Hen.  Winton." 

Bedford  hastened  over  from  Paris,  and  called  an  assembly 
of  the  chief  nobility  at  St.  Alban's ;  but  the  time  was  spent 
in  hot  contests  between  the  hostile  factions,  and  nothing  was 
concluded.  The  assembly  was  adjourned  to  Northampton, 
but  to  as  little  purpose ;  —  till  at  last  the  resolution  was  formed 
to  refer  the  whole  matter  to  a  full  parliament,  to  meet  at 
Leicester  on  the  18th  of  February.* 

Much  care  was  taken  to  prevent  tumults  between  the 
great  trains  of  the  Protector  and  the  Chancellor,  by  strictly 
prohibiting  any  person  whatever  to  come  thither  with  swords, 
or  any  other  warlike  weapon.  The  order  was  literally  obeyed ; 
but  the  Lords  and  their  attendants  came  armed  with  hats  or 
great  clubs  on  their  shoulders,  from  which  this  meeting  got 
the  name  of  "  The  Parliament  of  Bats." 

These  weapons,  as  soon  as  they  were  observed,  were  for- 
bidden also ;  and  the  Lords  and  Commons,  being  peaceably 
seated  in  the  great  hall  of  the  Castle  of  Leicester,  the  young 
King,  now  in  his  fifth  year,  was  placed  upon  the  throne.  "  His 
Majesty,   from  a  little  previous  drilling,  having  graciously 


*  1  Pari.  Hist.  354. 


CAEDINAL  BEAUFOKT,  CHANCELLOR.  339 

returned  the  salute  of  the  Lords  and  Commons,  was  deco-     chap. 
rously  quiet,  and  the  Lord  Chancellor  declared  the  cause  of       ' 


the  summons  in  a  very  short  manner."*  It  had  been  pro-  ^d,  1426. 
bably  stipulated  that,  on  this  occasion,  he  should  abstain  from 
all  party  and  personal  reflections.  His  text  was,  "  Sic  facite 
ut  salvi  sitis ; "  and  without  any  particular  allusion  to  the 
existing  differences,  he  recommended  the  protection  of  the 
church,  the  giving  of  good  counsel,  and  the  granting  of 
needful  subsidies. 

But  as  soon  as  a  speaker  had  been  chosen,  and  business   Innpeach- 
had  begun,   articles  were  regularly  exhibited  by  the    Pro-   chancellor, 
tector  against  the  Chancellor,  which   were  answered   with 
recrimination.     We  may  take  as  a  specimen  the  manner  in 
which  a  charge  of  the  crime  of  assassination  was  bandied 
between  them.     Article  II. :  — 

"  That  the  Chancellor  laid  wait  for  the  Protector  by  placing 
armed  men  at  the  end  of  London  Bridge,  and  in  the  windows  of 
the  chambers  and  cellars  in  Southwark,  to  have  killed  him  if  he 
had  passed  that  way." 

Answer — 

"  True,  indeed,  it  is,  that  he  did  provide  a  certain  number  of 
armed  men,  and  set  them  at  the  foot  of  London  Bridge  and 
other  places,  without  any  intention  to  do  any  bodily  harm  to  the 
Duke  of  Gloucester,  but  merely  for  his  own  safety  and  defence, 
being  informed  by  several  creditable  persons  that  the  Duke  had 
proposed  bodily  harm  to  him,  and  gathered  together  a  company  of 
citizens  for  that  end."f 

The  Commons  having  expressed  their  "  much  dislike "  to   chancellor 

the  dissensions  between  these  great  men,  and  moved  for  their  ^^^  ^'^°' 

"    ^      _     ^  tector  re- 

reconcilement,  the  farther  examination  of  the  charges  and  conciled. 

answers  was  devolved  by  the  two  Houses  upon  a  select  com- 
mittee of  peers  and  bishops,  —  both  parties  having  agreed,  by 
formal  instruments,  to  submit  to  what  should  be  awarded. 
The  Duke  of  Bedford,  who  presided  in  the  court  of  arbitra- 
tion, reported  in  open  parliament  "  that  the  Chancellor  was 
innocent  of  the  charge  alleged  against  him,  of  having  pro- 
cured a  person  to  murder  the  late  King  when  he  was  Prince, 

•   1  Pari.  Hist.  3.55.  t   Ibid.  357. 

Z  2 


340 


REIGN    OF    HENRY    VI. 


CHAP. 
XX, 


Cardinal 
Beaufort 
resigns 
Great  Seal, 


A.D,  1426. 


His  sub- 
sequent 
history. 


ahd  having  advised  the  Prince  to  depose  Henry  IV.,  his 
ftither;  but  pronounced  judgment,  that  in  respect  of  the 
incivilities  that  had  passed  between  them,  he  should,  in  a 
submissive  manner,  ask  pardon  of  the  Duke  of  Gloucester; 
that  the  Duke  of  Gloucester  should  freely  forgive  him ;  and, 
in  token  of  a  thorough  reconciliation,  each  should  take  the 
other  by  the  hand,  so  that  they  should  be  firm  friends  for 
the  future."  They  accordingly  shook  hands,  and  parted  with 
all  outward  signs  of  perfect  love  and  concord,  "  which 
yielded  a  mighty  satisfaction  to  all  people,  both  of  the  clergy 
and  laity ; "  and,  by  the  advice  of  the  Council,  a  magnificent 
feast  was  given,  in  the  name  of  the  King,  in  honour  of  this 
supposed  reconciliation. 

It  is  not  stated  by  historians  that  it  was  part  of  this 
arrangement  that  Beaufort  should  give  up  his  office  of  Chan- 
cellor, the  better  to  preserve  the  equilibrium  between  him 
and  his  rival ;  but  it  may  be  fairly  presumed  that  he  would 
not  have  voluntarily  parted  with  such  a  source  of  power  and 
of  profit.  However  this  may  be,  we  find  him  immediately 
petitioning  parliament  to  be  discharged  of  the  Great  Seal, 
which,  by  common  consent,  was  granted.*  He  delivered  it 
to  the  Duke  of  Bedford,  —  who  himself  sealed  some  letters 
patent  with  it  in  the  presence  of  the  King's  Council,  but 
soon  went  through  the  form  of  putting  it  into  the  hands  of 
the  infant  King, — and,  on  the  18th  of  March,  it  was  given, 
in  full  parliament,  to  JoHN  Kempe,  Bishop  of  London,  as 
Lord  Chancellor,  t 

Beaufort  never  resumed  the  Great  Seal,  and  we  can  only 
give  a  slight  sketch  of  his  subsequent  history.  On  his  re- 
signation he  went  abroad,  and  was  declared  Cardinal  priest 
of  St.  Eusebius.  Then  he  was  first  regularly  raised  to  the 
purple  ;  —  although  we  have  occasionally  called  him  Cardinal, 
the  title  by  which  he  is  best  known.  At  the  same  time 
he  was  appointed  by  the  Pope  Captain-General  of  the  Cru- 
saders, destined  to  oppose   the   Hussites,  in  Bohemia.     On 


*  "  Tlie  Bishop  of  Winton,  for  sundry  causes,  prayed  to  be  discharged  from 
the  office  of  the  Great  Seal,  and  he  was  consequently  discliarged." — Rot.  Pari. 
4  Hen.  6,      Rot.  CI.  4  Hen,  6.  m.  8. 

t  Rot,  CI.  4  Hen.  6.  m.  8, 


CARDINAL   BEAUFORT,    CHANCELLOR. 


341 


his  return  to  England,  he  obtained  leave  to  raise  an  army  of     CHAP. 
500  lancers  and  5000  archers  for  the  expedition ;  but  for  a  ' 


bribe  of  1000  marks,  he  consented  that  the  men  whom  he  had 
raised  for  the  crusade  should  be  led  against  the  King's  enemies 
in  France. 

He  was  constantly  on  the  watch  for  an  opportunity  to 
regain  his  political  influence,  and  in  1429,  he  succeeded  in 
humbling  Gloucester,  by  having  the  young  king  crowned, 
and  inducing  the  parliament  to  declai'e  on  the  occasion  that 
the  office  of  Protector  was  at  an  end.  Gloucester  was  thus 
reduced  to  his  rank  as  a  peer,  and  the  Cardinal  from  this  time 
to  his  death  bore  chief  sway. 

In  1431,  he  again  went  abroad,  and  at  Rouen  he  assisted  sits  on  trial 
at  the  trial  of  Joan  of  Arc,  the  Maid  of  Orleans,  and  joined  «( "^^'^  °^ 

'  .  -,    Orleans. 

in  the  sentence  that  she  should  be  burnt  alive  for  heresy  and 
witchcraft.  He  was  the  only  Englishman  who  was  concerned 
in  this  atrocity,  and  our  neighbours  the  French,  when  they 
so  eagerly  impute  it  to  us  as  a  national  disgrace,  should  re- 
member that  the  Bishop  of  Beauvais  and  all  her  other  judges 
Avere  Frenchmen  ;  and  that  she  was  brought  to  trial  under  an 
arret  of  the  parliament  of  Paris. 

The  Duke  of  Gloucester,  though  no  longer  Protector,  was  Fresh 
still  formidable,  and  from  time  to  time  seemed  on  the  point  of  ^"^^'^Duke 
recovering  his  authority.  He  accused  the  Cardinal  of  having  of  Glouees- 
incurred  the  penalties  of  a  prEemunire,  by  accepting  papal 
bulls,  —  of  having  amassed  immense  wealth  by  dishonest 
means,  —  of  having  usurped  the  functions  of  sovereignty  by 
appointing  embassies  and  releasing  prisoners  of  his  own  au- 
thority, —  and  of  estranging  all  but  his  own  creatures  from 
the  person  of  the  young  King.  The  Cardinal  caused  an  accusa- 
tion to  be  brought  against  the  Duke's  wife,  to  whom  he  was 
much  attached,  that  she  was  guilty  of  witchcraft,  by  melting, 
in  a  magical  manner,  before  a  slow  fire,  a  waxen  figure  of  the 
King,  with  the  intention  of  making  the  King's  force  and 
vigour  waste  away  by  like  insensible  degrees.  The  Duchess 
,  was  condemned  to  do  public  penance,  and  to  suffer  perpetual 
imprisonment.  But  this  proceeding  was  ascribed  solely  to 
the  malice  of  the  Duke's  enemies,  and  the  people  increased 
their  esteem  and  affection  towards  a  Prince  who  was  thus 

z  3 


342 


REIGN    OF    HENRY   VI. 


CHAP. 
XX. 


Feb.  1447. 
Murder  of 
Duke  of 
Gloucester, 


April, 
1447. 
Death  of 
Cardinal 
Beaufort. 


His  cha- 
racter. 


exposed  without  protection  to  such  mortal  injuries.  The 
manifestation  of  these  sentiments  made  the  Cardinal  sensible 
that  it  was  necessary  to  destroy  a  man  whose  popularity  might 
soon  become  dangerous,  and  from  whose  resentment  every 
thing  was  to  be  apprehended,  if  he  should  ever  be  in  a  situ- 
ation to  gratify  it. 

To  effect  this  purpose,  a  parliament  was  called  to  assemble, 
—  not  at  London,  which  was  supposed  to  be  too  well  affected 
to  the  Duke,  —  but  at  Bury  St.  Edmund's,  where  it  was  sup- 
posed he  would  be  helpless.  As  soon  as  he  appeared,  he  Avas 
thrown  into  prison  on  a  charge  of  treason.  He  was  soon  after 
found  dead  in  his  bed ;  and  though  it  was  pretended  that  his 
death  was  natural,  no  one  doubted  that  he  had  fallen  a  victim 
to  the  vengeance  of  his  arch-enemy. 

The  Cardinal  himself  died  six  weeks  after  the  murder  of 
his  nephew,  which,  it  is  said,  gave  him  more  rerilorse  in  his 
last  moments  than  could  naturally  have  been  expected  to  be 
felt  by  a  man  hardened,  during  the  course  of  a  long  life  of  vio- 
lence, in  falsehood  and  in  religious  hypocrisy.  His  death-bed 
is  described  in  harrowing  terms  by  our  great  dramatic  bard : — 

"  Lord  Cardinal,  if  thou  think'st  on  Heaven's  bliss, 
Hold  up  thy  hand,  make  signal  of  thy  hope  ! 
• —  He  dies  and  makes  no  sign." 

And  the  agony  of  his  despair  is,  if  possible,  made  more  dread- 
ful by  the  lofty  conception  and  successful  execution  of  the 
scene  in  the  masterpiece  of  Reynolds. 

But  volumes  have  been  written  to  prove  that  his  life  was 
innocent  and  his  end  pious,  by  arguments  which  may  carry 
conviction  to  the  mind  of  those  who  believe  that  Richard  III. 
was  a  remarkably  straight  and  handsome  man,  with  a  very 
tender  heart.  The  Cardinal's  enormous  wealth  was  applied, 
according  to  his  will,  in  founding  oratories  for  priests-  to  pray 
for  his  soul,  and  these  may  account  for  the  attempts  which 
have  been  made  to  vindicate  his  memory.* 


*  Cardinal  Beaufort  is  not  only  a  favourite  with  ignorant  chroniclers,  but 
with  the  enlightened  Dr.  Lingard,  who  says  that  we  owe  to  the  imagination 
of  Shakspeare  the  fiction  of  his  dying  agonies.  But  it  is  well  known  that 
Shakspeare,  in  his  historical  plays,  most  strictly  followed  history  or  tradition, 
and  embodied  the  belief  of  his  time.  Dr.  ]  lingard  himself  quotes  a  passage  from 
Hall,  stating  "  that  the  Cardinal  lamented  on  his  death-bed  that  money  could 


CARDINAL    BEAUFORT,    CHANCELLOR. 


343 


not  piirchase  life,  and  that  death  should  cut  him  off  when  he  hoped,  now  his       CHAP. 

nephew  Gloucester  was  gone,  to  procure  the  purple  tiara," — which  the  historian  XX. 

tries  to  discredit,  merely  on  the  ground  of  improbability,  because  the  Cardinal    _^^_^___ 

was  so  old  and  infirm,  and  had  his  funeral  rehearsed  while  he  was  yet  alive. 

Dr.  Lingard  even  denies  his  avarice,  because  he  did  not  receive  interest  on  liis 

loans  to  the  crown,  and  only  looked    to  be  benefited  by  the  forfeiture  of  the 

pledges  which  he  took  by  way  of  security,  and  being  paid  back  in  gold  coin  the 

sums  he  seems  to  have  advanced  in  silver.       He  thus  demanded  "  that  paement  be 

maad  in  golde  of  the  coigne  of  England  of  just  weighte,  elles  I  not  to  be  bounde 

to  delyver  ayene  the  seide  weddes  (pledges),  though  the  seide  paiement  were 

offered  to  be  maad  in  silver."     A  usurer  stipulating  for  ten  per  cent,  interest 

would  not  show  a  more  intense  love  of  money.  —  Acts  of  Coun.  iv.  234.  248. 

Ling.  v.  124. 


z  4 


344 


REIGN   OF    HENRY   VI. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 


CHAKCELLOES  DURING  THE  EEIGN  OF  HENRY  VI.  FROM  THE 
APPOINTMENT  OF  CARDINAL  KEMPE  TILL  THE  DEATH  OF  LORD 
CHANCELLOR   WATNFLETE. 


CHAP. 
XXI. 

March  16. 

1426. 

Obscure 

origin  of 

Lord 

Chancellor 

Kempe. 


His  rise. 


His  con- 
duct as 
Chancellor. 


We  have  had  a  succession  of  Chancellors  of  high  birth,  some 
of  them  nearly  allied  to  the  Crown.  Cardinal  Beaufort's  suc- 
cessor was  one  of  that  other  class  who  have  won  their  way  in 
this  country  to  high  distinction  from  an  obscure  origin.  He 
was  born  in  Kent,  of  parents  in  a  very  low  condition  of  life  *, 
and  educated  as  a  poor  scholar  at  Merton  College,  in  Oxford. 
Here,  amidst  all  the  evils  of  penury,  he  applied  himself  with ' 
ardour  to  study,  and  made  particular  proficiency  in  the  civil 
and  canon  law.  In  due  time  he  took  the  degree  of  Doctor  in 
both  faculties,  after  disputations  which  attracted  the  notice  of 
the,  whole  university,  and  were  talked  of  all  over  England. 

After  practising  for  some  time  as  an  advocate  in  the  eccle- 
siastical courts,  —  on  account  of  his  high  reputation  as  a  jurist 
he  was  made  Dean  of  the  Arches  and  vicar-general  to  the 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury.  Rising  rapidly  in  the  church,  he 
was  consecrated  Bishop  of  Rochester;  from  whence  he  was 
translated  to  Chichester,  and  thence  to  London,  the  see  he 
filled  when  he  was  appointed  Lord  Chancellor ;  finally,  he  was 
promoted  to  the  Archbishopric  of  York,  and  a  cardinal's  hat 
was  bestowed  upon  him. 

Soon  after  his  high  civil  appointment,  he  was  called  upon  to 
take  a  decisive  part  in  checking  the  arrogance  of  the  Duke 
of  Gloucester,  who  having  for  a  time  got  rid  of  Cardinal 
Beaufort,  avowed  his  purpose  to  rule  in  an  arbitrary  manner, 
although  the  Duke  of  Bedford  had  not  yet  returned  to 
France,  exclaiming,  "  Let  my  brother  govern  as  him  lusteth, 

*  I  have  since  ascertained  that  at  the  time  of  his  birth  his  father  and  mother 
were  living  in  the  parish  of  St.  Gregory,  in  Wye,  where  he  founded  a  college  of 
secular  priests,  to  attend  divine  service  and  instruct  youth  in  grammar  and  other 
learning.  — Note  to  3d  Edition. 


CARDINAL    KEMPE,    CHANCELLOR.  345 

whiles  he  is  in  this  land  ;  after  his  going  over  into  France,  I  cHAP. 
woll  govern  as  me  seemeth  good."  The  Chancellor  and  the  XX i. 
other  members  of  the  Council  made  a  representation  on  the 
subject  to  the  Duke  of  Bedford,  and  both  brothers  being 
present,  the  Chancellor  delivered  an  address,  stating  "  that 
the  young  Prince  was  the  rightful  King  of  England,  and 
entitled  to  the  obedience  of  all  his  subjects,  of  whatever  rank 
they  might  be ;  that,  young  as  he  was,  he  yet  possessed  by 
law  all  the  authority  which  would  belong  to  him  at  a  more 
mature  age ;  that  as,  during  his  infancy,  he  could  not  exercise 
such  authority,  it  was  vested  in  the  Lords  spiritual  and  tem- 
poral assembled  in  parliament,  or  in  the  great  council,  and  at 
other  times  in  the  Lords  appointed  -to  form  "  the  continual 
council^''  and  that  this  Council,  representing  the  King's  person, 
had  a  right  to  exercise  the  powers  of  government,  "  with- 
outen  that  any  one  ■person  may  or  ought  to  ascribe  to  himself  the 
said  rule  and  government.''''  * 

Kempe's  first  chancellorship  lasted  six  years.  During  this 
time  several  parliaments  were  held,  which  he  opened  with 
suitable  speeches,  except  that  held  in  January,  1431,  when,  on 
account  of  his  sickness,  the  Duke  of  Gloucester  sitting  in  the 
chair  of  state  in  the  Painted  Chamber,  commanded  William 
Linewood,  Doctor  of  Laws,  to  explain  the  cause  of  the 
summons  f,  which  was  done  with  infinite  divisions  and  sub- 
divisions ;  but  the  only  important  business  transacted  at  these 
parliaments,  was  passing  the  famous  statute  which  regulates 
county  elections,  and  enacts  that  no  freeholder  shall  vote  who 
cannot  spend  from  his  freehold  at  least  405.  a  year  \,  —  all 

•    Rot.  Par.  V.  409.  411.      Acts  of  Coun.  iii.  231.  242. 

t  There  is  a  curious  entry  of  this  in  the  Parliament  Roll,  showing  a  great 
anxiety  to  preserve  the  Chancellor's  right  to  address  the  two  Houses  on  the 
opening  of  parliament.  After  stating  the  meeting  of  Lords  and  Commons 
under  the  Duke  of  Gloucester,  Custos  Angliae,  it  proceeds,  ''  Pro  eo  quod  Ve- 
nerabilis  Pater  Johannes  Archiepiscopus  Ebor.  Cancellarius  Anglie,  cui  ratione 
officii  sui  secundum  consuetudineni  laudahilem  in  Regno  Anglie  antiquitus  usitatam 
pertinuit  cnusum  summonitionis  parliamenti  predicti  pronunciare  et  declarare,  tali  et 
tanta  detenebatur  infirmitate  quod  circa  declarationem  et  pronunciationem 
predictas  adtunc  intendere  non  valebat,  Reverendus  vir  Magister  Willielmus 
Lynwoode,  Legum  Doctor,  causam  summonitionis  ejusdem  parliamenti  de  man- 
dato  prefati  custodis  egregie  declaravit." — Vol.  iv.  367.  So  in  31  &  32  Hen.  6., 
Bishop  of  Lincoln  stated  causes  of  summons.  "  Johanne  Arch.  Cant.  Cancellario 
Angliaj  tunc  absentc."  —  Roll.  v.  227. 

\  10  Hen.  6. 


346  REIGX   OF   HENRY   VI. 

CHAP,     freeholders  having  before  voted  for  knights  of  the  shire,  as 


XXI 


they  still  may  for  coroners. 


Resigna-  ^  change  in  the  office  of  Chancellor  now  took  place,  the 

tion  of         reasons  for  which  have  not  been  explained  to  us,  and  all  we 
Kempe.       know  of  it  we  learn  from  the  Close  Roll,  which  records 

March  4.  "  That  the  Lord  Cardinal,  Archbishop  Kempe,  on  the  25th  of 

1432.  February,   1432,   delivered  up  to  the  King  the  gold  and  silver 

FORD        "    Seals,  and  the  Duke  of  Gloucester  immediately  took  them  and 
Chancellor,   kept  them  till  the  4th  of  March,  on  which  day  he  gave  them  back 
to  the  King,  and  they  were  deHvered  by  his   Majesty  to   John 
Stafford,  Bishop  of  Bath  and  Wells,  who  took  the  oath  of  office, 
and  used  the  silver  seal  for  the  despatch  of  business."* 
His  birth  The  new  Chancellor  was  of  illustrious  descent,  being  the 

tion.  "  son  of  the  Earl  of  Stafford  by  the  Lady  Anne  Plantagenet, 
daughter  and  heir  of  Thomas  of  Woodstock,  sixth  son  of 
Edward  III.,  and  he  was  equally  distinguished  for  his  learn- 
ing and  industry.  Having  with  great  reputation  taken  the 
degree  of  Doctor  of  Civil  Law  at  Oxford,  he  practised  for 
some  time  as  an  advocate  in  Doctors  Commons,  and  rose 
into  considerable  business,  when  Chicheley,  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury,  elevated  him  to  be  Dean  of  the  Arches,  and  ob- 
tained for  him  the  deanery  of  St.  Martin,  and  a  prebend  in 
Lincoln  Cathedral.  He  then  became  a  favourite  of  Henry  V., 
who  made  him  successively  Dean  of  Wells,  Prebendary  of 
Sarura,  Keeper  of  the  Privy  Seal,  and  Treasurer  of  England. 
He  attached  himself  to  the  party  of  Cardinal  Beaufort,  by 
whose  interest,  in  1425,  he  was  appointed  Bishop  of  Bath 
and  Wells. 
His  long  He  filled  the  office  of  Chancellor  till  1450,  a  longer  period 

ance  in         than  any  one  since  the  Conquest  had  continuously  held  the 
office.  Qreat  Seal. 

From  the  22d  of  April  to  the  23d  of  May,  1433,  he  was 
absent  on  an  embassy  to  Calais,  and  the  silver  Seal  was  in 
the  custody  of  John  French,  Master  of  the  Rolls,  for  the 
sealing  of  writs  and  the  despatch  of  necessary  business,  but 
it  was  restored  to  the  Chancellor  on  his  return  without  any 
re-appointment,  or  new  oath  of  office,  the  Master  of  the  Rolls, 

•   Rot.  Cl.  10  Hen,  6.  m.  8. 


JOHN   STAFFORD,    CHANCELLOR.  347 

as  upon  similar  occasions,   being  merely  considered  as  his     CHAP, 
deputy.  ' 


In  1436,  an  act  was  passed  with  the  concurrence  of  the   ^^t  to  re- 
Chancellor,  to  check  the  wanton  filing  of  bills  in  Chancery  in   strain  ex- 

CGSSIVG  lU* 

disturbance  of  common  law  process.      The  Commons,  after  risdiction 
reciting  the  prevailing  grievance,  prayed  "  that  every  person  assumed  by 
from  this  time  forward  vexed  in  Chancery  for  matter  deter-   chancery. ' 
minable  by  the  common  law,  have  action  against  him  that  so 
vexed  him,  and  recover  his  damages."     The  King  answered, 
"  that  no  writ  of  subpoena  be  granted  hereafter  till  security 
be  found  to  satisfy  the  party  so  vexed  and  grieved  for  his 
damages  and  expenses,  if  it  so  be  that  the  matter  may  not  be 
made  good  which  is  contained  in  the  bill."  * 

We  find  few  subsequent  complaints  against  Lord  Chancellor 
Stafford,  and  he  seems  to  have  diligently  and  quietly  applied 
himself  to  the  duties  of  office,  not  aiming  at  political  as- 
cendancy himself,  and  bending  submissively  to  the  varying 
pressure  of  the  times.  In  opening  parliaments,  and  urging 
supplies,  he  had  no  victories  to  announce ;  but  he  had  to  tell 
of  the  raising  of  the  siege  of  Orleans  by  the  sorceress  Joan  of 
Arc,  and  of  successive  disasters  rapidly  succeeding  each  other, 
till  after  the  defection  of  the  Duke  of  Burgundy,  and  the 
death  of  the  Duke  of  Bedford,  the  English  were  driven 
from  Paris;  —  Guienne  and  Normandy  were  lost,  and  there  a.d.  1449. 
was  not  left  to  the  English  a  remnant  of  the  conquests  of 
Henry  V.  in  France. 

The  Parliament  Roll  and   the   contemporary  chroniclers   Lord 
give  us  a  very  slender  account  of  this  Chancellor's  harangues   §.^^^'^^1'°'^ 
in  parliament :  but  from  the  specimen  we  have  of  them,  they  style  of 
seem  to  have  been  very  dull  and  quaint.     His  maiden  ex-  ^  <"l"ence. 
hibition  was  on  the  12th  of  March,  1432,  when  the  infant 
King  being  on  the  throne,  he  took  for  his  text,  "  Deum  timete, 
Regem   honorificatc  : "  on    which    words   he   remarked    two 
points :  —  1 .   A  general  Counsel  to  Princes,  that  they  might 
learn  knowledge  :  —  2.   A  Commandment  to  subjects  to  learn 
to  obey  and  honour  the  Prince.     Which  points  he  learnedly 
enlarged  upon,  and  endeavoured  to  prove  by  many  quotations, 

*   From  the  petition  and  answer  was  framed  stat.  15  Hen.  6.  c.  4. 


348  EEIGN   OF    HENRY   VI. 

CHAP,     examples,  and  similitudes,  that  the  King  and  realm  of  England 
might  easily  attain  to  the  height  of  peace  and  prosperity,  if 


A.D.  1432. 


true  fear  of  God  and  honour  to   the  Prince  were  in  the 
hearts  of  the  subjects.* 

He  had  a  more  delicate  task  to  perform  the  following  day. 
The  Duke  of  Gloucester  rose  in  his  place  and  declared,  for 
the  contentment  of  the  Commons,  who,  he  was  informed, 
had  expressed  some  uneasiness  on  the  subject,  that  although 
he  was  Chief  President  of  the  Council,  yet  he  would  act 
nothing  without  the  consent  of  the  majority  of  them.  This 
declaration  was  communicated  to  the  Commons  by  the  Chan- 
cellor when  they  produced  John  Russell  as  their  Speaker  for 
the  King's  approbation  ;  and  it  so  much  pleased  them,  that 
they  immediately  granted  tonnage  and  poundage,  with  a  new 
subsidy  on  wools,  f 
May,  1433.  The  Chancellor's  text  the  following  year  was  Suscipiant 
monies  pacem  populo  et  colles  justiciam.  "  This  subject  he 
divided,"  we  are  told,  "  into  three  parts,  according  to  the  three 
estates  of  the  realm ;  by  mountains,  he  understood  bishops, 
lords,  and  magistrates  ;  by  the  lesser  hills,  he  meant  knights, 
esquires,  and  merchants ;  by  the  people,  he  meant  husbandmen, 
artificers,  and  labourers.  To  which  three  estates,  he  en- 
deavoured to  prove,  by  many  examples  and  authorities,  that 
a  triple  political  virtue  ought  to  belong  ;  to  the  first  —  unity 
peace,  and  concord,  without  dissimulations  ;  to  the  second  — 
equity,  consideration,  and  upright  justice,  without  partiality ; 
to  the  third  —  a  due  obedience  to  the  King,  his  laws  and 
magistrates,  without  grudging."  % 

During  the  same  session,  he  seems  gracefully  to  have 
expressed  to  the  Duke  of  Bedford  the  confidence  which 
all  felt  in  his  gallantry  and  honour,  notwithstanding  the 
reverses  of  the  English  arms  in  France.  The  Duke  having 
said  "that  he  had  come  over  to  clear  himself  from  some 
slanders  which  were  cast  upon  him,  as  that  he  had  been 
the  occasion  of  the  late  great  losses  by  his  default  and 
negligence,  and  offered  to  take  his  trial  for  the  same,"  —  the 
Chancellor,  by  the  King's  command,    declared,   "  That   his 

•   1  Pari.  Hist.  365.  f   Ibid.  366.  \  Ibid.  368. 


JOHN   STAFFORD,    CHANCELLOR.  349 

Majesty  took  him  for  his  true  and  faithful  subject  and  most     CHAP, 
dear  uncle,  and  that  for  his  coming  at  that  time  gave  him   ' 


most  hearty  thanks."  This  was  followed  up  by  a  compliment  ^  n.  1435. 
from  the  other  house,  communicated  in  a  way  rather  dif- 
ferent from  our  present  forms.  The  Commons  came  before 
the  King  and  Lords,  and  by  their  Speaker  praised  the  Duke 
of  Bedford  for  his  warlike  behaviour  and  notable  deeds  done 
in  France,  and  particularly  for  his  conduct  in  the  battle  of 
Verneuil.* 

In  1435,  the  Kino;  sitting;  in  his  chair  in  the  Painted 
Chamber,  the  Chancellor  delivered  a  most  violent  invective 
against  the  defection  of  the  Duke  of  Burgundy,  his  text  being 
"  Soliciti  sitis  servare  unitatem  spiritus  in  vinculo  pacis." 
This  performance  is  plain,  forcible,  and  eloquent.  But  he  pro- 
bably piqued  himself  much  more  on  his  speech  the  next  year 
from  the  words  Corona  Regni  in  manu  Dei:  — 

"  On  which  he  demonstrated  that  three  sorts  of  men  are  crowned, 
viz.  all  Christians  in  their  baptism,  in  token  whereof  they  are 
anointed ;  all  clerks  in  their  orders,  in  token  whereof  they  are 
shaven  ;  and  all  kings  in  their  coronation,  who  in  token  thereof 
wear  a  crown  of  gold  set  about  with  flowers  and  precious  stones. 
The  erecting  and  standing  of  the  flowers  in  the  upper  part  of  the 
crown  denoteth  the  King's  pre-eminency  over  his  subjects,  which 
ought  to  be  garnished  with  four  cardinal  virtues,  that  is  to  say, 
in  the  fore  part  ought  to  be  wisdom,  adorned  with  three  precious 
stones,  viz.  memory  of  things  past,  circumspection  of  things  pre- 
sent, and  prudence  in  things  to  come.  On  the  right  hand  ought 
to  be  fortitude  —  accompanied  with  courage  in  attempting,  —  pa- 
tience in  suffering,  —  and  perseverance  in  well  meaning.  On  the 
left  side  ought  to  be  justice  distributing  her  arms  three  ways,  to 
the  best,  mean,  and  lowest.  On  the  hinder  part  ought  to  be  tem- 
perance, with  her  trinity,  viz.  restraint  of  sensuality  in  fear,  silence 
in  speech,  and  mortification  in  will ;  all  which  proceeding  from 
God  fully  proved  that  the  crown  of  the  King  was  in  the  hand 
of  God."  t 

In  1439,  the  Chancellor,  being  a  friend  to  free  trade,  passed   Repeal  of 
an  act  lessening  his  duties  and  his  emoluments, —  "  that  cheese  chancellor 
and  butter  might  be  exported  to  foreign  parts  without  the  to  license 
Chancellor's  licence."  atum. ' 

*    1  Pari.  Hist   369.  f  Ibid.  .S74. 


350 


KEIGN   OF    HENRY   VI. 


CHAP. 
XXI. 


King's 
marria£e. 


Disgraceful 
treaty  with 
France. 


Founda- 
tion of 
Eton  Col- 
lege. 


National 
indignation 
on  dis- 
covering 
secret  arti- 
cle in 
treaty  with 
France. 


After  an  interval  of  some  years,  in  which  we  have  no 
account  of  any  parliamentary  proceeding,  in  February,  1445, 
the  parliament  met  which  was  to  sanction  the  King's  marriage 
with  Margaret  of  Anjou,  daughter  of  the  titular  King  of 
Sicily  and  Jerusalem,  and  the  Chancellor  put  forth  all  his 
strength  in  painting  the  felicity  of  this  happy  union,  selecting 
for  his  text,  "  Justitia  et  Pax  osculatse  sunt."* 

But  a  great  difficulty  arose  respecting  the  peace  with 
France,  which  had  been  negotiated  at  the  same  time  with 
the  marriage,  and  the  conditions  of  which  were  so  humbling 
to  England.  An  act  had  been  passed  in  the  late  King's  time 
forbidding  any  treaty  with  the  Dauphin  of  France,  now 
Charles  VIL,  without  the  assent  of  the  three  estates  of  both 
realms,  and  the  Chancellor  was  afraid  that  the  peace  being 
unpopular,  he  might  be  impeached  for  an  infraction  of  this 
statute.  To  evade  the  danger, — in  the  presence  of  the  King 
and  the  whole  parliament,  Stafford  made  a  protestation 
*'  That  the  peace  about  to  be  made  with  France  was  merely 
of  the  King's  own  motion  and  will,  and  that  he  was  not 
instigated  thereto  by  any  one  whatsoever."  This  protest  was 
enrolled,  and  thereupon  the  statute  referred  to  was  repealed, 
and  it  was  declared,  "  that  no  person  whatsoever  should  be 
impeached  at  any  time  to  come  for  giving  counsel  to  bring 
about  this  peace  with  France."! 

It  should  be  stated  to  the  honour  of  the  Chancellor,  who 
cordially  seconded  the  liberal  intentions  of  the  King,  that  in 
this  parliament  he  proposed  and  carried  an  act  to  confirm  the 
foundation  of  Eton  College,  where — 

"  Grateful  Science  still  adores 
Her  Henry's  holy  shade." 

By  concealing  an  article  in  the  treaty  with  France,  that 
the  province  of  Maine,  which  was  still  in  the  possession  of 
the  English,  should  be  delivered  up,  ministers  contrived  to 
obtain  a  vote  of  thanks  from  both  Houses  for  concluding  the 
treaty;  and  for  some  time  the  Chancellor's  tenure  of  office 
seemed  more  secure  than  ever.  But  after  the  murder  of 
Gloucester  and  the  death  of   Cardinal  Beaufort,  when  the 


1  Pari.  Hist.  .378. 


t  Ibid.  379. 


JOHN   STAFFORD,    CHANCELLOR. 


351 


stipulated  cession  of  Maine  was  made  known,  and  France 
insisted  on  the  strict  performance  of  the  treaty,  there  was  a 
general  burst  of  indignation  throughout  the  country,  and  the 
greatest  impatience  was  testified  to  bring  to  punishment  the 
Duke  of  Suffolk,  the  Queen's  favourite  who  had  negotiated 
the  treaty,  together  with  the  Lord  Chancellor,  and  all  who 
were  concerned  in  it. 

The  assembling  of  a  parliament  was  delayed  as  long  as 
possible.  The  Queen,  who  had  gained  a  complete  ascendant 
over  her  husband,  apprehensive  of  danger  to  Suffolk,  long 
prevented  the  writs  from  issuing,  and,  under  pretence  of  the 
plague,  contrived  to  have  the  opening  of  the  session  several 
times  adjourned. 

At  length  both  Houses  met  in  the  beginning  of  the  year 
1450.  Lord  Chancellor  Stafford,  who  had  been  lately  made 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  appeared  on  the  woolsack,  and 
tried  to  brave  the  storm,  but  soon  found  himself  obliged  to 
yield  to  it.  Although  he  was  the  organ  of  announcing  se- 
veral prorogations,  he  was  not  permitted  to  deliver  the  usual 
address  explaining  the  reasons  for  summoning  parliament; 
and  the  two  Houses  seem  to  have  insisted,  before  beginning 
any  business,  that  he  should  be  dismissed  from  his  office. 

On  the  31st  of  January,  1450,  the  day  that  parliament  met 
pursuant  to  the  last  adjournment,  "  the  Archbishop  of  Canter- 
bury was  discharged  from  the  office  of  Chancellor,  and  John 
Kempe,  Cardinal  and  Archbishop  of  York,  was  put  in  his 
place."  *  I  conjecture  that,  to  appease  the  two  Houses,  this 
transfer  actually  took  place  in  their  presence.  From  the 
entry  in  the  Close  Roll,  it  appears  that  there  were  three  seals 
delivered  to  the  new  Chancellor,  all  which,  it  is  said,  he  took 
with  him  to  his  country  house  at  Charing  Cross,  f 

Ex-chancellor  Stafford  was  not  further  molested.  He 
retired  from  politics,  and  died  at  Maidstone,  in  Kent,  on  the 
6th  of  July,  1452.  He  was  par  negotiis  neque  supra,  one  of 
those  sensible,  moderate,  plodding,  safe  men,  who  are  often 
much  relished  by  the  leaders  of  political  parties,  as  they  can 
fill  an  office  not  discreditably,  without  any  danger  of  gaining 


CHAP. 
XXL 


A  par- 
liament. 


A.D.  1450. 


Lord 

Chancellor 
Stafford 
dismissed. 


His  death 
and  cha- 
racter. 


•   1  Pari,  Hist.  38G. 


t   Rot.  CI.  28  Hen.  6.  m.  7. 


352  REIGN   OF   HENBY   VI. 

CHAP,     too  much   eclat,    and  with   a  certainty   of  continued   sub- 

XXI 

serviency. 

Cardiiiai  Cardinal  Kempe  succeeded  him  likewise  as  Archbishop  of 

Kempe         Canterbury,  and    continued  Chancellor  till  he   died  in    the 

Oiancellor.  office  on  the  2d  of  March,  1454.     Any  knowledge  of  the 

law  he  had  acquired  when  he  before  held  the  Great  Seal  had 

utterly  evaporated  during  his  eighteen  years'  retirement  from 

the  office,  and  he  must  no  doubt  have  now  been  very  unfit 

for  its  judicial  duties ;  but  civil  war  was  at  hand,  and  the 

interests  of  justice  were  little  regarded  in  the  struggles  of  the 

diiferent  factions  who  were  preparing  for  hostilities. 

Banish-  He  had  first  to  preside  on  the  impeachment  of  the  Duke  of 

™^"*  ^'V^      Suffolk,  who,   declaring   "  that   he  was  as  innocent  as   the 

death  or  ,  ',       ,     '  ° 

Duke  of  child  still  in  the  mother's  womb,"  instead  of  claiming  to  be 
"  "  •  tried  by  his  peers  threw  himself  without  reserve  on  the  will 
of  his  sovereign.  Chancellor. —  "  Sir,  since  you  do  not  put 
yourself  on  your  peerage  for  trial,  the  King  will  not  hold  5  ou 
either  guilty  or  innocent  of  the  treasons  with  which  you  have 
been  charged,  but  as  one  to  whose  control  you  have  volun- 
tarily submitted  (not  as  a  Judge  advised  by  the  Lords) :  — 
he  commands  you  to  quit  this  land  before  the  1st  of  May, 
and  forbids  you  ever  to  set  your  foot  during  the  five  next 
years  on  his  dominions  either  in  this  kingdom  or  beyond  the 
sea."*  It  is  well  known  how  the  unfortunate  SuflTolk,  who 
the  cunning  man  in  calculating  his  nativity  had  prophesied 
was  to  die  by  "  Water,"  had  his  head  struck  off  by  "  Walter" 
Whitmore,  as  he  was  crossing  the  sea  under  this  illegal 
sentence,  t 

A.n.  1450.         Then  broke  out  Jack  Cade's  rebellion,  which  was  specially 

Jack  Cade's       •  .  '  sr  j 

rebellion,  aimed  against  the  Chancellor  and  all  concerned  with  the 
profession  of  the  law.  The  measures  at  first  taken  to  sup- 
press it  were  most  inefficient,  and  the  King  and  his  court  were 
obliged  to  seek  protection  in  Kenilworth  Castle,  London 
opening  its  gates  to  the  insurgents.  The  Chancellor  took 
the  chief  management  of  affairs,  and  the  rebels  having  re- 
ceived a  repulse,  he  succeeded  in  dispersing  them  by  offering 

*   Rot.  Par.  vol.  v.  182.  f   Shaks,  Part  II.  Hen.  VI.  act  iv.  so.  1. 


CARDINAL   E.EMPE,    CHANCELLOE.  353 

a  general  pardon  and  setting  a  price  on  Cade's  head,  which     chap. 
was  earned  by  Iden  of  Kent.  * 


Many  supposed  that  Cade  had  been  set  on  to  try  the  dis-  ^  j,.  1450. 
position  of  the  people  towards  the  right  heir  to  the  crown. 
He  pretended  to  be  a  son  of  Mortimer,  who  had  married  the 
daughter  of  the  Duke  of  Clarence,  elder  brother  of  John  of 
Gaunt ;  and  in  this  belief  thousands  flocked  to  his  standard. 
The  Duke  of  York,  the  real  heir  through  a  daughter  of  Mor- 
timer, at  last  openly  set  up  his  claim — for  which  there  was 
now  a  very  favourable  opportunity  from  the  intellectual 
weakness  of  the  King; — from  the  extreme  unpopularity  of 
the  Queen,  whose  private  character  was  open  to  great  sus- 
picion, and  who  was  considered  a  devoted  partisan  of  France ; 
—  from  the  loss  of  the  foreign  possessions  which  had  so  much 
flattered  the  pride  of  the  English  nation ;  —  from  the  death 
and  discomfiture  of  the  ablest  supporters  of  the  reigning  dy- 
nasty ;  —  from  the  energy  and  popularity  of  the  pretender  him- 
self;—  and  from  the  courage,  the  talents,  and  the  resources 
of  his  numerous  adherents. 

The  claims  of  the  rival  houses  being  debated  in  the  Temple  War  of  the 
Gardens,  the  red  and  the  white  roses  there  plucked  became  the   ^^"ses, 
opposing  emblems  f,  and  men  took  different  sides  according  to 
their  judgment,  their  prejudice,  or  their  interest. 

When  the  next  parliament  met  at  Reading  in  the  spring  of 
1453,  it  was  found  that  the  Duke  of  York  had  a  powerful  party 
in  both  Houses,  although  many  who  preferred  his  title  were 
very  reluctant  to  take  active  measures  to  support  it,  on  ac- 
count of  the  mild  virtues  of  the  reigning  Sovereign.  The 
Chancellor,  being  unable  to  attend,  the  session  was  opened  by 
a  speech  from  the  Bishop  of  Lincoln,  who  contented  himself 
with  declaring  "  the  cause  of  summoning  the  parliament  to 
be  chiefly  for  the  good  government  of  the  realm  and  safe 

*  Shakes.  Part  11.  Hen.  VI. 

f  "  Plantogenet.    Let  him  that  is  a  true  born  gentleman 

And  stands  upon  the  honour  of  his  birth, 
If  he  suppose  that  I  have  pleaded  truth, 
From  off  this  brier  pluck  a  white  rose  with  me. 

"  Somerset.    Let  him  that  is  no  coward  nor  no  flatterer, 
But  dare  maintain  the  party  of  the  truth. 
Pluck  a  red  rose  from  ofFtliis  thorn  with  me." 

VOL.  I.  A  A 


354 


REIGN   OF   HENRY   VI. 


CHAP. 
XXI. 

A.D.  1453. 


Death  and 
character 
of  Lord 
Chancellor 
Kempe. 


defence  of  the  saine;  to  which  end  he  bid  the  Commons 
choose  their  Speaker  and  present  him  at  the  bar."*  The 
Speaker  chosen  was  Thomas  Thorpe,  Chief  Baron  of  the 
Exchequer,  whose  imprisonment  gave  rise  to  the  famous  case 
of  parliamentary  privilege,  in  which  the  judges  declared  that 
such  questions  did  not  belong  to  them  to  consider.  On  the 
22d  of  July  the  Chancellor  prorogued  the  parliament  to  the 
7th  of  November,  to  meet  at  Reading,  and  it  was  farther 
prorogued  to  the  11th  of  February  following,  to  meet  at 
Westminster. 

Before  this  day  arrived,  public  affairs  had  fallen  into 
a  state  of  the  greatest  confusion.  The  King  had  been 
attacked  by  an  illness  which  affected  his  mind  and  made 
him  unfit  for  business,  and  his  ministers  seem  to  have  been 
wholly  at  a  loss  what  course  they  should  adopt.  The 
Duke  of  York  did  not  yet  venture  formally  to  claim  the 
crown ;  but  he  contrived  to  get  almost  all  the  power  of 
the  executive  government  into  his  own  hands.  A  commis- 
sion under  the  Great  Seal  was  produced,  appointing  him  to 
hold  the  parliament  in  the  King's  absence.  Thorpe  the 
Speaker  being  of  the  opposite  party,  and  being  imprisoned  for 
damages  recovered  against  him  by  the  Duke  of  York,  the 
Commons  were  prevailed  upon  to  choose  another  Speaker, 
and  the  Chancellor  announced  to  them  the  royal  approbation 
of  the  choice. 

This  was  the  last  act  of  Lord  Chancellor  Kempe ;  while 
still  in  possession  of  his  office  he  suddenly  sickened,  and  died 
on  the  22d  of  jVIarch,  1454.  He  had  showed  himself  always 
ready  to  go  with  the  ruling  power,  and  recently,  even  to  join 
the  Yorkists  if  necessary,  a  disposition  which  may  account 
for  the  continued  stream  of  promotion  which  flowed  upon 
him  through  life.  Besides  being  twice  Lord  Chancellor,  he 
had  held  three  bishoprics  and  two  archbishoprics.  He  was 
first  created  cardinal  by  the  title  of  aS'^.  Albinus,  which  after- 
wards, when  he  came  to  be  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  he 
changed  by  the  authority  of  the  Pope  for  that  of  St.  Rufinus. 


*  1  Par).  Hist.  391. 


CARDINAL   KEMPE,    CHANCELLOR.  355 

A  barbarous  line  has  been  handed  down  to  us  describing  his     chap. 
ecclesiastical  preferments  — 


"  Bis  primas,  ter  prases,  et  bis  cardinale  functus." 

Amidst  the  difficulties  which  arose  in  carrying  on  the  a.d.  1454. 
government  on  the  Chancellor's  death,  a  committee  of  the  ne^sf^' 
Lords  was  appointed  to  go  to  the  King  lying  sick  at  Windsor, 
to  learn  his  pleasure  touching  two  articles ;  the  first,  to  know 
who  should  be  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  and  who  Chancellor 
of  England  in  the  place  of  John  Kempe,  by  whose  death  they 
lay  in  the  King's  disposal*;  the  second,  to  know  whether 
certain  Lords  there  named  to  be  of  the  Privy  Council  were 
agreeable  to  him  or  not.  On  the  25th  of  March,  the  said 
committee  reported  to  the  whole  House  "  that  they  had  been 
to  wait  upon  the  King  at  Windsor,  and  after  three  several 
repairs  thither,  and  earnest  solicitations  to  speak  with  the 
King,  they  could  by  no  means  have  answer,  or  token  of 
answer,  being  only  told  the  King  was  sick."  Two  days  after- 
wards the  Lords  appointed  the  Duke  of  York  Protector  of 
the  realm,  so  long  as  the  same  shall  please  the  King.  The 
Duke,  still  hesitating  about  the  assertion  of  his  own  right, 
with  a  view  to  the  pains  of  treason  to  which  he  might 
afterwards  be  subjected,  obtained  a  declaration  of  the  House, 
"  that  he  took  upon  him  the  said  office  by  the  particular  ap- 
pointment of  the  Lords,  and  not  of  his  own  seeking  or  desire." 
Letters  patent,  to  Avhich  the  Duke  must  himself  have  affixed 
the  Great  Seal,  were  read  in  the  House,  appointing  him  Pro- 
tector during  the  King's  pleasure,  or  until  such  time  as 
Edward  the  Prince,  then  an  infant  a  few  months  old,  should 


*  The  entry  in  the  Parliament  Roll  affords  a  curious  specimen  of  the  English 
language  in  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  century. 

"  Mt-morand'  that  on  the  xxiii  day  of  Marche,  forasmuche  as  God  hath  called 
to  his  mercy  and  shewed  his  will  upon  Maister  John  Kempe,  late  Cardinall 
Archebishop  of  Caunterbury,  and  Chaunceler  of  Englond,  whoos  soule  God 
assoile,  and  by  whoos  deth  th'  oflRce  of  Chaunceler  of  Englond  stondeth  now 
voide,  the  which  office,  of  force  and  necessite  for  the  ease  of  the  people  and 
processe  of  the  lawe,  must  be  occupied;  it  was  advised,  ordeigned,  assented, 
and  thurroughly  agreed  by  the  Duke  of  York,  the  Kinges  lieutenaunt  in  this 
present  parlement,  and  all  the  Lordes  spiritualx  and  temporal x  assembled  in  the 
parlement  chambre  at  Westr.,  that  certain  Lordes,  that  is  to  seie,  &c.,  siioulde 
ride  to  Wyndesore  to  the  Kynges  high  presence,  to  shewe  and  declare  to  his 
Highnesse  the  seid  materes,"  &c.  The  instructions  are  then  set  out,  and  there 
is  a  long  account  of  the  whole  transaction.  —  v.  244. 

A  A   2 


York. 


356  REIGN   OF   HENRY   VI. 

CHAP,     come  to  the  age  of  discretion.     The  Duke,  in  full  parliament, 
then   swore   faithfully  to   perform   the   duties  of  his   high 
office.* 
The  Earl  His  first  judicial  appointment  must  have  caused  consider- 

Buuv  ap"  ^ble  astonishment  in  Westminster  Hall.  The  Close  Roll  of 
pointed  this  year  informs  us,  that  "on  the  2d  of  April  the  King's 
by  the  three  Great  Seals,  one  of  gold  and  two  of  silver,  were  brought 
v"Ji.^°'^  into  parliament;  and  the  Duke  of  York,  Lieutenant  of  the 
kingdom,  delivered  them  to  Richard  Neville,  Earl  of 
Salisbury,  as  Chancellor."  f 

He  was  the  most  powerful  Peer  who  has  ever  been 
Chancellor  of  England;  and  if  military  prowess  were  the 
great  requisite  for  the  office,  none  could  be  better  qualified 
to  fill  it.  He  was  one  of  the  chiefs  of  the  family  of  Neville, 
'•'  which,"  says  Hume,  "  was  perhaps  at  this  time  the  most 
potent,  both  from  their  opulent  possessions,  and  from  the 
characters  of  the  men,  that  has  ever  appeared  in  England." 
This  Earl  of  Salisbury  was  the  son  of  the  Earl  of  West- 
moreland, and  inherited  by  his  wife,  daughter  and  heir  of 
Montacute  Earl  of  Salisbury,  killed  before  Orleans,  the 
estates  and  title  of  that  great  house.  In  the  1  ith  of  Hen.  VI. 
he  was  made  warden  both  of  the  east  and  west  marches, 
and  gained  great  distinction  in  rej^ressing  incursions  of  the 
Scotch.  He  then  served  with  gallantry  in  France,  having 
under  his  own  pennant  7  knights,  49  men  at  arms,  and 
1046  archers.  He  early  espoused  the  interest  of  Richard 
Duke  of  York.  Havino;  contributed  his  assistance  to  make 
him  Protector,  he  was  now  rewarded  with  the  office  of  Lord 
Chancellor,  and  seemed  in  the  possession  of  permanent  power 

*  1  Pari.  Hist.  393.  —  Historians  have  been  much  at  a  loss  to  account  for 
Richard's  reluctance  to  throw  off  his  allegiance,  even  when  his  party  had  all 
the  power  of  the  state  in  their  hands.  The  reason  may  be,  that  while  the  King 
■was  childless  he  would  not  run  the  risk  of  civil  war,  as  he  hoped  that  his  family 
would  succeed  to  the  throne  without  any  dispute,  on  failure  of  the  line  of 
Henry  IV.  The  war  of  the  Roses  may  perhaps  be  ascribed  to  the  birth  of  the 
Prince  of  Wales,  which  was  considered  so  auspicious.  There  can  be  no  doubt 
that  had  it  not  been  for  the  birth  of  another  Prince  of  Wales,  the  son  of 
James  II.,  William  and  Mary  would  have  waited  to  claim  the  crown  by  right 
of  blood. 

f  Another  account  states,  that  on  the  second  of  April  the  coffer  containing 
the  Seals  was  brought  into  the  parliament  chamber,  placed  on  the  bench  where 
tlie  Duke  of  York  sat  as  Lieutenant,  and  after  an  interval  opened  by  the  Earl  of 
Salisbury  himself,  wlio  took  possession  of  them,  and  assumed  the  office  of  Chan- 
cellor.—  Ilymer,  t.  ii.  p.  344. 


CARDINAL  BOURCHIER,  CHANCELLOR.  357 

and  felicity,  though  actually  destined  to  finish  his  career  by     CHAP, 
the   hands    of  the    common   executioner,  —  his   head   being 
stuck  upon  a  pole  erected  over  one  of  the  gates  of  the  city  of  peh.  2. 
York.  1461. 

He  retained  the  office  exactly  one  year.  During  this  time  a»-  1455. 
the  King  so  far  recovered  from  his  distemper  as  to  be  able  to  covery/ 
carry  the  appearance  of  exercising  the  royal  prerogative ;  and 
the  Duke  of  York,  not  haviiio;  boldlv  seized  the  Crown  as  his 
right,  Margaret,  in  her  husband's  name,  resumed  the  royal 
authority,  annulled  the  protectorship,  released  the  Duke  of 
Somerset,  the  principal  leader  of  the  Lancastrians,  from  the 
Tower,  and  committed  the  administration  into  the  hands  of 
that  nobleman.  The  Duke  of  York,  and  his  Chancellor,  saw 
that  if  they  submitted  to  this  revolution,  they  would  soon  be 
brought  to  trial  for  treason.  They  flew  to  arms,  and  em- 
ployed themselves  in  levying  forces  in  the  counties  where 
they  were  most  potent. 

On  the  7th  of  March,  1455,  Thomas  Bourchier,  Arch-  Cardinal 
bishop    of   Canterbury,  was  made  Lord  Chancellor   by  the  ^°^'^^"'*^'' 
Queen's  new  government.      There  is  an  entry  in  the  Close   Chancellor 
Roll  of  the  surrender  of  the  Seals*;  but,  in  reality,  the  same   nj^^^ 
seals  were  not  used  by  the  different  Chancellors  of  the  oppos-  March  7. 
ing  parties,  and  it  was  objected  to  the  Earl  of  Salisbury  that 
the  true  Great  Seal  had  never  been  in  his  custody. 

The  new  Chancellor  holds  a  distinguished  place  in  English   Great 
history,  having  been  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  under  five  To  Edward 
successive  reiscns,  and  having;  exercised  a  considerable  influ-  ^^^- 
ence  upon  the  events  of  his  time.     He  was  of  high  lineage, 
being  a  descendant  of  Lord  Chancellor  Bourchier,  and  son  of 
William  Bourchier,   Count  of  Eu  in  Normandy,  by  Anne, 
daughter  of  Thomas  of  Woodstock,  sixth  son  of  Edward  III., 
and  relict  of  Edmund  Earl  of  Stafford.     He  early  discovered  His  good 
that  love  of  letters  for  which  he  was  noted  through  life,  and 
which  induced  him  to  take  an  active  part  in  introducing  the 
art  of  printing  into  England.     In  1434,  while  he  was  still  a 
young  man,  he  was  elected  Chancellor  of  the  University  of 
Oxford,  where  he  had  been  educated.     He  filled  successively 

♦  Rot.  CI.  S3  Hen.  6.  m.  9. 
A  A   3 


358  EEIGN   OF    HENRY    VI. 

CHAP,     the  sees  of  "Worcester  and  Ely.     In   April,    1454,   on  the 
death  of  Cardinal  Kempe,  he  was   promoted  to  the  Arch- 
llis  rise.      bishopric  of  Canterbury ;    and   in   December   following   he 
received  the  red   hat  from   Rome,  being  created  Cardinal- 
priest  of  St.  Cyriacus  in  Thermis. 
Battle  of  Soon  after  his  appointment  as  Chancellor  was  fought  the 

Ma^s''?"^'  S^'^^^  battle  at  St.  Alban's,  in  which  his  predecessor  had  a 
1455.  leading  command,  and  in  which  the  Yorkists  were  superior, 

having,  without  any  material  loss  on  their  part,  slain  5000  of 
their  enemies.  Among  these  were  the  Duke  of  Somerset  and 
several  other  of  the  most  distinguished  Lancastrian  leaders, 
so  that  Margaret's  party  seemed  almost  annihilated. 

The  Duke  of  York  still  thought  it  the  most  politic  course 
to  exercise  power  in  the  name  of  the  King,  who  had  been 
taken  prisoner,  and  for  whom  all  outward  respect  was  tes- 
tified. As  a  proof  of  moderation,  the  Archbishop  of  Canter- 
bury was  allowed  to  retain  the  office  of  Chancellor,  and  a 
July,  1455.  parliament,  which  met  in  July  at  Westminster,  was  opened 
by  a  speech  from  him.  There  was  some  mistrust,  however, 
as  to  what  he  might  say  if  left  to  himself  to  declare  the 
causes  of  the  summons,  and  his  speech  was  settled  at  a  con- 
ference between  the  two  parties.  It  is  related  that  "the 
Chancellor  caused  certain  articles  to  be  read  before  the 
Houses  containing  the  causes  of  the  summons,  which  were 
divided  as  follows  —  to  take  order  for  the  expenses  of  the 
King's  household;  for  the  due  payment  of  the  garrison  at 
Calais;  for  keeping  the  seas  against  any  invasion  of  the 
French ;  to  guard  against  the  Scots,  who  had  besieged  Ber- 
wick; to  procure  a  perfect  accord  and  unity  among  the 
Lords,"  &c.* 

The  Earl  of  Salisbury,  the  late  Chancellor,  was  present  at 
this  parliament,  and  produced  a  charter  of  pardon,  under  the 
Great  Seal,  to  himself  and  his  confederates  for  having  taken 
arms  and  fought  at  St.  Alban's,  and  all  other  acts  which 
could  be  construed  into  treason.  This  charter  was  confirmed 
by  both  Houses,  but  was  found  a  very  feeble  protection  when 
the  opposite  party  regained  their  superiority. 

*    1  Pari.  Hist.  395. 


CARDINAL  BOURCHIER,  CHANCELLOR.  359 

On  the  31st  of  July  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  as     CHAP. 
Chancellor,  in  the  King's   presence  and  in  bis  name,    pro-   '__ 


rogued  the  parliament  to  the  12th  of  November.  a.d.  1455. 

In  the  interval  he  seems  to  have  been  entirely  gained  over  I'uke  of 
by  the  Yorkists ;  for,  when  the  parliament  again  met,  he  con-  tector. 
curred  with  them  in  measures  for  utterly  subverting  the  royal 
authority.  A  deputation  from  the  Commons  prayed  the  Lords 
that  a  Protector  might  be  again  appointed.  The  Lords  con- 
sequently held  a  consultation,  when  it  was  resolved  that  the 
Duke  of  York  was  the  most  worthy  for  the  office,  and  a 
request  was  made  to  him  by  the  whole  House,  that  he  would 
assume  the  protectorship.  The  Duke  excused  himself,  and 
desired  time  to  consider  of  it.  The  deputation  from  the 
Commons  expressed  some  impatience;  to  which  the  Lord 
Chancellor  answered,  that  the  King,  with  the  assent  of  the 
Lords,  had  requested  the  Duke  of  York  to  be  Protector. 
At  the  proper  moment  the  Duke  relented,  but  he  accepted 
the  office  with  the  like  protestation  as  on  a  former  occasion — 
that  it  had  been  forced  upon  him  by  the  King  and  the  two 
Houses.* 

This  farce  must  have  been  somewhat  disgusting  to  the 
people,  who  probably  would  have  been  better  pleased  had  the 
right  heir  boldly  seated  himself  on  the  throne  under  the  title 
of  Richard  IIL  The  Queen  watched  her  opportunity  ;  and, 
thinking  that  the  Yorkists  had  incurred  unpopularity, 
availed  herself  of  the  Duke's  absence  from  London,  produced 
her  husband  before  the  House  of  Lords,  and  made  him  declare 
his  intention  of  resuming  the  government,  and  putting  an  end 
to  the  Protectorship.  The  manoeuvre,  being  unexpected,  was 
not  resisted  by  the  opposite  party,  and  the  House  of  Lords, 
who  had  unanimously  appointed  the  Protector,  unanimously 
assented  to  the  immediate  termination  of  his  authority. 
Bourchier  the  Chancellor  rejoined  his  old  friends,  and  a  writ  Chancellor 
under  the  Great  Seal  was  addressed  to  Richard  Duke  of  ^Tsu,^? 
York,  in  the  King's  name,  superseding  him  as  Protector,  and  sede  Duke 
at  the  same  time  the  King,  by  proclamation,  committed  the 


*  1  Pari.  Hist.  398, 

A   A    4 


of  York. 


160 


REIGN  OF   HENRY  VI. 


CHAP. 
XXI. 


Seal  taken 
from  Arch- 
bishop 
Bourc'hier. 


Oct.  11. 
1456. 

William 
Wayn- 

FLETE, 

Bishop  of 
Winches- 
ter, Chan- 
cellor. 


whole  estate  and  governance  of  the  realm  to  the  Lords  of  his 
council  —  meaning  the  Lancastrian  leaders  with  whom  the 
Chancellor  co-operated.  The  King's  son  was  now  created 
i*rince  of  Wales,  with  a  splendid  provision  for  his  main- 
tenance during  his  minority. 

The  Parliament  was  prorogued  by  Archbishop  Bourchier, 
which  seems  to  have  been  the  last  act  which  he  did  as  Chan- 
cellor.* He  rather  affected  neutrality  in  the  struggle  that 
was  going  forward,  and  he  was  always  desirous  of  preserving 
peace  between  the  contending  parties.  Maintaining  his  alle- 
giance to  the  King,  he  refused  to  enter  into  the  plots  that 
were  laid  for  the  destruction  of  the  Yorkists.  The  Great 
Seal  was  therefore  now  taken  from  him,  and  transferred  to 
William  Watnflete  f,  Bishop  of  Winchester,  a  most 
determined  and  uncompromising  Lancastrian. 

The  Record  states  that  the  Court  being  at  Coventry,  in 
the  Priory  there,  on  the  11th  of  October,  the  Lord  Chan- 
cellor Bourchier,  in  the  presence  of  the  Duke  of  York,  who, 
with  the  Earls  of  Salisbury  and  Warwick,  had  been  invited 
to  attend,  and  of  many  Lords  spiritual  and  temporal,  produced 
to  the  King  in  his  chamber  the  three  royal  seals  which  had 
been  intrusted  to  him,  two  of  gold  and  one  of  silver,  in  three 
leather  bags  under  his  own  seal,  and  caused  them  to  be 
opened;  that  the  King  received  them  from  his  hands,  and 
immediately  delivered  them  to  the  Bishop  of  Winchester, 
whom  he  declared  Chancellor,  and  that  Waynflete,  after 
taking  the  oath  of  office  and  setting  the  silver  seal  to  a 
pardon  to  the  late  Chancellor  for  all  offences  which  could  be 
alleged  against  him,  ordered  the  seals  to  be  replaced,  and  the 
bags  to  be  sealed  with  his  own  signet  by  a  clerk  in  Chancery, 
and  was  thus  fully  installed  in  his  new  dignity.  | 

Waynflete  was  the  son  of  Richard  Patten  §,  a  gentleman  of 


*  1  Pari.  Hist.  399. 

f  Dugdale  calls  him  Wickham  ;  but  this  is  a  mistake,  as  he  certainly  always 
went  by  the  name  of  Waynflete,  although  he  may  be  considered  as  spiritually  a 
son  of  William  of  Wickham.  —  Rot.  CI.  35  Hen.  6.  m.  10. 

I   Rot.  CI.  35  Hen.  6-  m.  10. 

§  His  father  was  sometimes  called  Bardon.  At  this  time  the  surnames  of 
families  were  very  imcertain 


WILLIAM   WAYNFLETE,    CHANCELLOR.  ^^^ 

respectable    family  residing    at  Waynflete,  in  Lincolnshire,      ^^^f' 
His  biographers  are  at  great  pains  to  refute  an  imputation 


upon  him  that  he  was  a  foundling,  and  relate  with  much  His  origin, 
exultation  that  not  only  was  his  father  "  worshipfuUy  de- 
scended," but  that  his  mother,  Margery  Brenton,  was  the 
daughter  of  a  renowned  military  leader,  who  for  his  gallantry 
in  the  French  wars  had  been  made  governor  of  Caen.  Young 
Patten  was  educated  in  the  noble  seminaries  established  by 
William  of  Wickham,  —  first  at  Winchester,  and  then  at 
Oxford,  and  acquired  very  great  reputation  for  his  proficiency 
in  classical  learning. 

He  was  ordained  priest  at  an  early  age,  and  according  to  a 
very  usual  custom,  even  with  those  of  good  birth,  he  then 
exchanged  his  family  name  for  that  of  the  place  where  he 
was  born.     In  1429  he  was  made  head  master  of  Winchester 
school.     Here  he  acquired  high  fame  as  a  teacher,  and  in  con- 
sequence gained  the  favour  of  Cardinal  Beaufort,  then  bishop 
of  the  diocese,  who  introduced  him  to  the  King.     "  Holy  a.d.  1441. 
Henry "  was  now  employed  in   founding  his  illustrious  es-   provost  of 
tablishment  for  education  at  Eton,  and  prevailed  on  Waynflete  J^*^"- 
to  consent  to  be  named   in  the   charter  one  of  the  original 
Fellows  for  three  years ;    he  Avas  promoted  to  the  office  of 
Provost,  and  he  not  only  superintended  the  studies  of  the  place 
with  unwearied  industry,  but  largely  contributed  to  the  ex- 
pense of  the  buildings  from  his  private  means. 

On  the  death  of  Cardinal  Beaufort,  by  the  unanimous 
election  of  the  Chapter  and  the  royal  consent,  he  was  ap- 
pointed Bishop  of  Winchester.  In  compliance  with  the 
fashion  of  the  times  he  protested  often,  and  with  tears,  against 
the  appointment,  till  he  was  found  about  sunset  in  the  church 
of  St.  Mary,  —  when  he  consented,  saying,  he  would  no 
longer  resist  the  divine  will.  He  repeated  often  that  verse 
of  the  Magnificat,  "  Qui  potens  est  fecit  pro  me  magna ;  et 
sanctum  nomen  ejus  ;"  *  which  also  he  added  to  his  arms  as 
his  motto. 

He  showed  great  energy  in  assisting  in  the  suppression  of  His  con- 
Jack  Cade's  rebellion.     He  had  a  persoiiul  conference  with  ^^[th"ja^.k 

Cade. 
*    St.  Luke,  i.  49. 


a62 


EEIGN   OF   HENRY   VI. 


CHAP. 
XXI. 

The  Chan- 
cellor sup- 
ports the 
Lancas- 
trians. 


His  judicial 
conduct. 


Cade,  and  advised  the  publication  of  the  general  pardon,  which 
drew  off  many  of  his  followers. 

The  war  of  the  Roses  beginning,  he  took  a  most  decided 
part  in  favour  of  the  Lancastrians.  The  two  armies  being 
first  arrayed  against  each  other  on  Blackheath,  the  King  sent 
Waynflete  to  the  Duke  of  York  to  inquire  the  cause  of  the 
commotion ;  and  the  Lancastrians  being  indifferently  pre- 
pared, a  temporary  reconciliation  was  brought  about  by  his 
efforts. 

He  was  selected  to  baptize  the  young  Prince,  who,  to  the 
great  joy  of  the  Lancastrian  party,  was  born  on  St.  Edward's 
day,  1453  ;  and  he  so  won  the  King's  heart,  by  framing 
statutes  for  Eton  and  King's  College,  Cambridge,  that  his 
Majesty  added  a  clause  with  his  own  hand,  ordaining  that 
both  colleges  should  yearly,  within  twelve  days  preceding  the 
Feast  of  the  Nativity,  for  ever  after  Waynflete's  decease, 
celebrate  solemn  obsequies  for  his  soul,  "  with  commendations 
and  a  morrow  mass ;  "  a  distinction  not  conferred  on  any  other 
person  besides  Henry  V.  and  Queen  Katherine,  the  father 
and  mother  of  the  founder ;  and  Queen  Margaret,  his  own 
wife,  for  whom  yearly  obits  are  decreed,  with  one  quarterly 
for  the  founder  himself. 

The  prudence  of  the  Bishop  was  now  to  be  "  made  eminent, 
in  warilie  wielding  the  weight  of  his  office  "  *  of  Lord  Chan- 
cellor. For  its  judicial  duties  he  must  have  been  very  unfit : 
and  as  he  had  not  the  assistance  of  a  Vice-chancellor,  the 
defective  administration  of  justice  must  have  given  great  cause 
of  complaint ;  but  in  such  troublous  times,  these  considera- 
tions were  little  attended  to.  His  first  act  was  to  bring  to 
trial,  on  a  charge  for  publishing  Lollardism,  Peacock,  Bishop 
of  Chichester,  inclined  to  Yorkism,  if  not  to  heterodoxy,  — 
who  was  sentenced  to  sit  in  his  pontificals,  and  to  sec  his  books 
delivered  to  the  flames  in  St.  Paul's  churchyard,  and  then  to 
retire  to  an  abbey  on  a  pension. 

While  the  Yorkists  renewed  their  efforts  to  shake  the 
Lancastrian  power,  and  the  two  parties  continued  to  display 
mutual  animosity,  the  peaceful  King  found  consolation  in  his 


Hollinsh.  vol.  ii.  p.  628. 


WILLIAM    WAYNFLETE,    CHANCELLOR. 


363 


Chancellor.     He  sometimes,  it  is  related,  would  bid  the  other     ^^vf 

Lords  attend  the  council,  but  detain  him  to  be  the  companion  

of  his  private  devotion ;  to  offer  up  with  him  in  his  closet 
prayers  for  the  common  weal.*  However,  the  Chancellor, 
in  reality,  exerted  himself  to  the  utmost  to  depress  the 
Yorkists,  although  he  was  sometimes  obliged  to  dissemble,  and 
to  make  the  King  assume  a  tone  of  moderation,  and  almost 
of  neutrality.! 

By   the   mediation    of  Archbishop   Bourchier,   a   seeming   March  24. 
reconciliation  was  brought  about,  and  a  formal  treaty  con-   Apparent 
eluded,  consisting  of  eight  articles,  to  which  the  new  Chan-  pacifica- 
cellor,  with   no    very    sincere  intentions,  affixed   the  Great 
Seal.     In  order  to  notify  this  accord  to  the  whole  people,  a 
solemn   procession  to    St.  Paul's  was  appointed,  where   the 
Duke  of  York  led  Queen  Margaret,  and  the  chiefs  of  the 
opposite  parties  marched  hand  in  hand.     Chancellor  Wayn- 
flete,  I  presume,  had  for  his  partner  Ex-chancellor  the  Earl 
of  Salisbury.    The  less  that  real  cordiality  prevailed,  the  more 
were  the  exterior  demonstrations  of  amity  redoubled  on  both 
sides.  X 

Had  the  intention  of  the  leaders  been  ever  so  amicable.   Hostilities 

they  would  have  found  it  impossible  to  restrain  the  animosity  '"^^"""^  • 

of  their  followers  ;  and  a  trifling  quarrel  between  one  of  the 

royal  retinue  and  a  retainer  of  the  Earl  of  Warwick,  the  son 

of  the  Earl  of  Salisbury,  and  soon  famous  under  the  title  of 

"  the  King-maker,"  renewed  the  flames  of  civil  war.     The   Battle  of 

battle  of  Blore  Heath  was  fought,  in  which  the  Earl  of  Salis-   Heath 

bury  acquired  the  most  brilliant  renown  for  his  generalship ; 

but    this  was    soon    followed   by    a    heavy    disaster   to   the 

Yorkists,  arising  from  the    sudden   desertion  of  a  body  of 

veterans  the  night  before  an  expected  engagement,  so  that 

they  were  obliged  to  disperse  ;  and  the  leaders  flying  beyond 

sea,  for  a  time  abandoned  the  kingdom  to  their  enemies. 

The  Queen,  under  the  advice  of  the  Chancellor,  took  this   A  parlia- 
ment. 

*  "  S£epius  ob  eximiam  sanctimoniain  in  penetrale  regiiim  adhibitus,  cacte- 
roque  senatu  super  arduis  regni  negoliis  consilium  inituro,  Quin  ahite  (inquit 
Princeps)  Ego  interim  et  Cancellarius  mens  pro  salute  rcipuhlicm  vota  Deo  nuncu- 
pabimus."  —  Budden,  p  86. 

t  Chandler's  Life  of  Waynflete,  c.  iv.  v.  J   1  Pari.  Hist.  40ir 


364 


REIGN   OF    HENRY   VI. 


CHAP. 
XXI. 


Yorkists 
attainted, 
A.D.  1460. 


Battle  of 
Nortliamp- 
ton, 

July  10, 
1460. 


Waynflete 
resigns 
Great  Seal. 


opportunity  of  holding  a  parliament  to  attaint  the  Duke  of 
York  and  his  adherents.  Both  Houses  met  at  Coventry  on 
tlie  20th  of  November,  1459.  No  temporal  Peers  were  sum- 
moned, except  staunch  supporters  of  the  House  of  Lancaster. 
On  the  day  of  meeting,  the  King,  sitting  in  his  chair  of  state 
in  the  Chapter  House  belonging  to  the  Priory  of  our  Lady 
of  Coventry,  the  Lords  and  Commons  being  present,  it  is  said 
that  "  William,  Bishop  of  Winchester,  then  Chancellor,  made 
a  notable  declaration  why  this  parliament  was  called."  But 
we  have  no  account  either  of  his  text  or  his  topics ;  and  we 
are  only  told  that  he  willed  the  Commons  to  choose  their 
Speaker,  and  present  him  the  next  day  to  the  King.* 

The  desired  attainders  were  quickly  passed ;  the  members 
of  both  Houses  were  sworn  to  support  the  measures  taken  to 
extinguish  the  Yorkists ;  and  the  Chancellor,  in  the  presence 
of  the  King  and  of  the  three  estates,  and  by  his  Majesty's 
command,  after  giving  thanks  to  the  whole  body,  dissolved  the 
parliament.! 

But  in  a  short  time  the  Yorkists  again  made  head  ;  and  the 
youthful  Earl  of  March,  afterwards  Edward  IV.,  gained  the 
battle  of  Northampton,  in  which  above  10,000  of  the  Queen's 
forces  were  slain.  The  King  was  again  taken  prisoner,  and  a 
Yorkist  parliament  was  held  at  Westminster. 

Preparatory  to  this,  the  Great  Seal  was  demanded  in  the 
King's  name  from  Bishop  Waynflete,  and  he  resigned  it  on 
the  7th  of  July,  1460,  having  held  it  three  years  and  nine 
months.^  He  took  the  precaution  of  carrying  away  with 
him  a  pardon,  under  the  Great  Seal,  which  he  might  plead  if 
afterwards  questioned  for  any  part  of  his  conduct.  He  like- 
wise induced  the  King  to  write  an  autograph  letter  to  the 
Pope,  to  defend  him  from  the  calumnies  now  propagated 
against  him.  § 


•   1  Pari.  Hist.  401 .  f  Ibid.  463. 

t   Rot.  CI.  38  Hen.  6.  m.  5. 

§  This  curious  epistle  is  of  considerable  length,  and  I  shall  content  myself 
with  extracting  one  sentence  as  a  specimen.  "  Animo  nobis  est,  vehementer  et 
cordi,  clarissimo  viro  fortasse  per  emulos  tracto  in  infamiam,  nostro  testimonio 
quantum  in  nobis  est  omnem  adimere  culpam,  huic  presertim  quem  plurimum 
carum  habemus  Reverendo  in  Christo  patri  Willelmo  Winton  Episcopo  ;  cujus 
cum  o])era  et  obsequiis,  in  rcgni  negotiis  gerendis  non  parum  usi  sumus,  in 
nichilo  tamen  cum  excessisse  testamur  quo  juste  denigrari  possit  aut  debeat 


WILLIAM   WAYNFLETE,    CHANCELLOK.  365 

William,   Bishop   of  Sidon,  a  monk  of  the  order  of   St.  CHAP. 

•  X  X  T 

Austin,  had  acted  for  him   as   his    suffragan  while   he  was 


Chancellor,  but  he  now  returned  to  the  personal  dischar-ge  of  jjj^  subse- 
his  episcopal  duties,  and  occupied  himself  for  the  rest  of  his  quent  ca- 
days  in  founding  Magdalen  College,  Oxford,  that  splendid 
monument  of  his  munificence. 

Although  always  at  heart  an  affectionate  partisan  of  the   Submits  to 
House    of  Lancaster,  when    Edward  IV.  had    been  firmly   ^'^^^'.^   ' 

•'        A.D.    14(0. 

established  on  the  throne,  he  submitted  to  the  new  dynasty ; 
but  he  was  allowed  frequently  to  visit  his  ancient  master,  who, 
while  a  prisoner  in  the  Tower,  being  indulged  in  the  freedom 
of  his  devotions,  hardly  regretted  the  splendour  of  royalty. 
During  Henry's  short  restoration,  Waynflete  assisted  in  re- 
crowning  him ;  but  after  he  and  his  son  had  been  murdered, 
and  Edward  was  restored  and  re-crowned,  the  Ex-chancellor 
again  submitted,  swore  allegiance  to  the  young  Prince,  who  a.d.  1472. 
Iiad  been  born  in  the  sanctuary  at  Westminster,  and  accepted 
the  office  of  Prelate  to  the  Order  of  the  Garter. 

He  was  famed  for  the  hospitable    reception   he   gave   to   Entertains 
Richard  III.  in  his  new  College.     This  Sovereign,  who  seems  ni^a['ji,e 
not  to  have  been    by  any  means   unpopular  while   on   the   College 
throne,   having  intimated   an  intention  of  visiting  the  imi-  ^'^^^  *"     ^ 
versify  of  Oxford,  Waynflete  invited  him  to  lodge  at  Mag- 
dalen, and  went  thither  to  entertain  him.     On  his  approach 
from  Windsor  on  the  24th  of  July,  1483,  he  was  honourably 
received,  and  conducted  in  procession  into  the  newly  erected 
College  by  the  founder,  the  president,  and  scholars,  and  there 
passed  the  night  witli  his  retinue,  consisting  of  many  prelates, 
nobles,  and  officers  of  state.* 

Next  day  two  solemn  disputations  were  held  by  the  King's 
order  in  the  College  hall,  the  first  in  moral  philosophy,  the 


tanti  fama  Prelati,  quam  hactenus  omnium  ore  constat  intemeratam  extitlsse." 
—  MS.  C.  C.  C.  Cambridge,  Budden,  p.  80. 

*  It  puzzles  us  much  to  understand  how  not  only  the  King  and  his  court, 
but  the  King  and  both  Houses  of  Parliament,  were  anciently  accommodated 
when  assembled  in  a  small  town  ;  but  it  ajipears  that  a  great  many  truckle  beds 
were  spread  out  in  any  apartment,  and  with  a  share  of  one  of  these  a  luxurious 
baron  was  contented, — the  less  refined  not  aspiring  above  straw  in  a  barn.  Both 
Charles  I.  and  Cromwell  slept  in  the  same  bed  with  their  officers.  By  Wayn- 
flete's  statutes  for  Magdalen  College,  each  chamber  on  the  first  floor  in  ordinary 
times  was  to  contain  two  trujkle  beds. 


366  REIGN   OF   HENRY   VI. 

CHAP.     Other  in  divinity,  —  the  disputants  receiving  from  the  King  a 
'  "    ■       buck,  and  a  present  in  money.     He  bestowed  likewise  on  the 
president  and  scholars  two  bucks,  with  five  marcs  for  wine. 
Such  good  will  was  created  by  his  condescension  and  gene- 
rosity, that  the  entry  in  the  college  register  made  under  the 
superintendence  of  Waynflete,  ends  with  "  Vivat-  Rex   in 
eternum." 
His  death         The  Ex-  chanccllor  lived  to  see  the  union  of  the  Red  and 
and  cha-      "w^hitc  Rosc,  and  died  on  the  11th  of  August,  I486.* 

racter.  '  . 

His  character  and  conduct  are  not  liable  to  any  consider- 
able reproach,  and  his  love  of  learning  must  ever  make  his 
memory  respected  in  England,  f 

*  It  is  remarked  as  a  curious  fact  that  three  prelates  in  succession  held  the 
bishopric  of  Winchester  for  119  years,  the  time  between  the  consecration  of 
William  of  Wickham  and  the  death  of  Waynflete. 

f  Budden's  Life  of  Waynflete.      Chandler's  Life  of  Waynflete. 


GEORGE   NEVILLE,    CHANCELLOR.  367 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

CHANCELLORS  DURING  THE  REIGN  OF  HENRY  VI.  FROM  THE  AP- 
POINTMENT OF  GEORGE  NEVILLE,  BISHOP  OF  EXETER,  TILL  THE 
DEATH    OF    LORD    CHANCELLOR   FORTESCUE. 

When  the  Great  Seal  was  taken  from  Waynflete  In  1460,     CHAP, 
from  the  7th  to  the  27th  of  July  it  was  in  the  custody  of 
Archbishoii  Bourchier,  but  only  till  it  could  be  intrusted  to  ^  ^  14^0. 
one  in  whom  the   Yorkists    could  place    entire   confidence.    Great  Seal 
This  prelate  had  lately  much  favoured  the  Yorkists,  but  still  of  Arch- 
they  recollected  his  former  vacillation.  bishop 

On  the  25th  of  July  a  new  Chancellor  was  installed,  about   ^ 

•'  ^   '  (jEORGE 

whose  fidelity  and  zeal  no  doubt  could  be  entertained  ;  —  Neville, 
George  Neville,  Bishop  of  Exeter,  the  son  of  the  Earl  of  Exeter, "^ 
Salisbury,  and  brother  of  the  Earl  of  Warwick.*     He  had   Chancellor 
studied  at  Baliol  College,    Oxford,   and    taking  orders,  had   1460' 
such   rapid  preferment,  that  he   was  consecrated   a   bishop 
before  he  was  twenty-five,  and  he  was  made  Lord  Chancellor 
before  he  had  completed  his  thirtieth  year. 

The  parliament  met  on  the  7  th  of  October.  We  are  told  a  pariia- 
that,  in  the  presence  of  the  King  sitting  in  his  chair  of  state,  "^^"*' 
in  the  Painted  Chamber  at  Westminster,  and  of  the  Lords 
and  Commons,  George  Bishop  of  Exeter,  then  Chancellor  of 
England,  made  a  notable  declaration,  taking  for  his  theme, 
"  Congregate  populum  et  sanctificate  ecclesiam."  But  we  are 
not  informed  how  he  prepared  the  two  Houses  for  the  solemn 
claim  to  the  crown  now  to  be  made  by  his  leader,  to  which 
he  was  undoubtedly  privy,  f 

The  Duke  of  York,   on  his  return  from  Ireland,  having  Duj^g  ^f 
entered  the  House  of  Lords,  he  advanced  towards  the  throne,   ^o'-k 
and  being  asked  by  Archbishop  Bourchier  whether  he  had  crown, 
yet  paid  his  respects  to  the  King,  he  replied  "  he  knew  none  to 

*   Rot.  CI.  38  Hen.  6.  m.  7.  |    1  Pari.  Hist.  404. 


368 


KEIGN   OF   HENRY   VI. 


CHAP. 
XXII. 


Right  to 
>  crown 
argued  at 
bar  of 
Lords. 


Judgment 
for  Duke 
of  York 
after  death 
of  King 
Henry. 


whom  he  owed  that  title."  Then,  addressing  the  Peers  from 
the  step  under  the  throne,  he  asserted  his  right  to  sit  there, 
giving  a  long  deduction  of  his  pedigree,  and  exhorting  them 
to  return  into  the  right  path  by  doing  justice  to  the  lineal 
successor.  It  might  have  been  expected  that  he  would  have 
concluded  the  ceremony  by  taking  his  seat  on  the  throne, 
which  stood  empty  behind  him  ;  but  he  immediately  left  the 
House,  and  the  Peers  took  the  matter  into  consideration  with 
as  much  tranquillity  as  if  it  had  been  a  claim  to  a  dormant 
barony.  They  resolved  that  the  Duke's  title  to  the  crown 
should  be  argued  by  counsel  at  the  bar,  and  they  ordered  that 
notice  should  be  given  to  the  King  that  he  likewise  might  be 
heard.  The  King  recommended  that  the  Judges,  the  King's 
Serjeants,  and  the  Attorney  General  should  be  called  in  and 
consulted.  They  were  summoned,  and  attended  accordingly ; 
but  the  question  being  propounded  to  them,  they  well  con- 
sidering the  danger  in  meddling  with  this  high  affair,  utterly 
refused  to  be  concerned  in  it. 

Nevertheless  counsel  were  heard  at  the  bar  for  the  Duke ; 
the  matter  was  debated  several  successive  days,  and  an  order 
Avas  made  that  every  Peer  might  freely  and  indifferently 
speak  his  mind  without  dread  of  impeachment.  Objections 
to  the  claim  were  started  by  several  Lords,  founded  on  former 
entails  of  the  crown  by  parliament,  and  on  the  oaths  of  fealty 
sworn  to  the  House  of  Lancaster ;  while  answers  were  given 
derived  from  the  indefeasibility  of  hereditary  right,  and  the 
violence  by  which  the  House  of  Lancaster  had  obtained  and 
kept  possession  of  the  crown.* 

The  Chancellor,  by  order  of  the  House,  pronounced  judg- 
ment, "  that  Richard  Plantagenet  had  made  out  his  claim, 
and  that  his  title  was  certain  and  indefeasible ;  but  that  in 
consideration  that  Henry  had  enjoyed  the  crown  without 
dispute  or  controversy  during  the  course  of  thirty-eight  years, 
he  should  continue  to  possess  the  title  and  dignity  during  the 
remainder  of  his  life  ;  that  the  administration  of  the  govern- 
ment, meanwhile,  should  remain  with  Richard,  and  that  he 
should  be  acknowledo;ed   the   true  and  lawful   heir  of  the 


*   1  Pari.  Hist.  405. 


GEORGE    NEVILLE,    CHANCELLOR.  3611 

monarchy."     This   sentence    was,   by  order   of  the  House,     CHAP, 
communicated  to  the  King  by  the  Chancellor,  who  explained 


to  him  the  Duke's  pedigree  and  title  ;  and  thereupon  the 
King  acquiesced  in  the  sentence.  All  this  was  confirmed  by 
the  full  consent  of  parliament,  and  an  act  was  published 
declaring-  the  Duke  of  York  to  be  right  heir  on  a  demise  of 
the  crown.* 

But  Margaret  refused  to  be  a  party  to  this  treaty,  and  was  Battle  of 
again  at  the  head  of  a   formidable   army.     The  battle    of  ^g^^'^^^^''^' 
Wakefield  was  fought,  in  which  Richard  Plantagenet  fell,   i46o. 
without  ever  having  been  seated  on  that  throne  to  which  he   R^jJ^grd 
was  entitled  by  his  birth,  and  which  had  repeatedly  seemed  Plantage- 
within  his  reach.     Here  bravely  fighting  by  the  side  of  his  ^f  y^,^  ^ 
leader  was  taken  prisoner,  overpowered  by  numbers,  the  Ex- 
chancellor,    the    Earl   of   Salisbury.     He    was   immediately  Execution 
tried   by  martial   law   and   beheaded.     His   head   remained  ghajj^'ji 
stuck  over  one  of  the  gates  of  York  till  it  was  replaced  by  the  Earl  of 
that  of  a  Lancastrian  leader  after  the  battle  of  Mortimer's   ^eb.  2^^' 

Cross.  1461. 

For  the  dignity  of  the  Great  Seal  I  ought  to  give  some 
account  of  the  illustrious  progeny  of  Lord  Chancellor  Salis- 
bury. His  sons  were  Richard  Earl  of  Warwick,  "  the  King-  His  chil- 
maker,"  John  Marquis  of  Montagu,  Sir  Thomas,  a  great 
military  leader,  and  George,  the  Bishop,  made  Chancellor  in 
his  father's  lifetime.     His  daugliters  were,  Joan,  married  to 

*   The  entry  of  this  proceeding  on  the  Parliament  Roll  is  very  curious. 

"  Mernorand'  that  on  the  xvl  day  of  Octobr',  the  ixth  daye  of  this  present 
parlement,  the  counseill  of  the  right  high  and  mighty  Prynce  Richard  Due 
of  York  brought  into  the  parlement  chambre  a  wryting  conteignyng  the  clayme 
and  title  of  the  right  that  the  said  Due  pretended  unto  the  corones  of  Englond 
and  of  Fraunce,  and  lordship  of  Irelond,  and  the  same  wryting  delyvered  to  the 
Right  Reverent  Fader  in  God,  George  Bishop  of  Excestre,  Chanceller  of 
Englond,  desiryng  hym  that  the  same  wryting  might  be  opened  to  the  Lordes 
spiritualx  and  temporal x  assembled  in  this  present  parlement,  and  that  the  seid 
Due  myght  have  brief  and  expedient  answere  therof :  Whereupon  the  seid 
Chauneeller  opened  and  shewed  the  seid  desire  to  the  Lords  spiritualx  and 
temporalx,  askyng  the  question  of  theym,  whither  they  wold  the  seid  writyng 
shuld  be  openly  radde  before  theym  or  noo.  To  the  which  question  it  was 
answered  and  agreed  by  all  the  seid  Lords  :  Inasmuch  as  every  persone  high 
and  lowe  suying  to  this  high  court  of  parlement,  of  right  must  be  herd,  and  liis 
desire  and  petition  understaude,  that  tlie  seid  writyng  shuld  be  radde  and  herd, 
not  to  be  answered  without  the  Kyng's  commaundment,  for  so  moche  as  the 
matter  is  so  high  and  of  soo  grete  wyght  and  poyse.  Which  writyng  there 
than  was  radde  the  tenour  whereof  foloweth  in  these  wordes,"  &c. 

Then  follow  all  the  proceedings  down  to  the  King's  confirmation  of  the 
Concord. 

VOL.  T.  B  B 


dr?n. 


370 


REIGN   OF    HENRY   VI. 


CHAP. 
XXII. 


Feb.  17. 
1461. 
Quisere, 
Whether 
Sir  John 
Fortescue 
■was  ever 
Chancellor 
in  Eng- 
land? 


Supposed 
to  have 
been  only 
Chancellor 
in  partibus. 


the  Earl  of  Arundel ;  Cicily,  to  Henry  Beauchamp  Earl  of 
Warwick;  Alice,  to  Henry  Lord  Fitzhugh  of  Ravenfroth; 
Eleanor,  to  Thomas  Stanley,  the  first  Earl  of  Derby  of  that 
name ;  and  Katherine,  to  John  de '  Vere  Earl  of  Oxford, 
and  afterwards  to  Lord  Hastings,  chamberlain  to  King 
Edward  IV. 

There  is  no  entry  in  the  Records  respecting  the  Great  Seal 
from  the  25th  of  July,  1460,  when  George  Neville  was 
created  Chancellor  nominally  to  Henry  YL,  but  really  under 
the  house  of  York,  till  the  10th  of  March,  1461,  when  he 
took  the  oaths  to  the  new  King,  and,  according  to  Dugdale, 
he  continued  Chancellor  all  the  while;  but  it  is  impossible 
that  he  should  have  been  allowed  to  exercise  the  duties  of  the 
office  during  the  whole  of  this  stormy  interval,  as  for  a 
portion  of  it  Margaret  and  the  Lancastrians  were  in  pos- 
session of  the  metropolis,  and  had  a  complete  ascendancy 
over  the  kingdom,  although  it  does  not  appear  by  the  Rolls 
or  any  contemporary  writer  that  any  other  Chancellor  was 
appointed. 

If  the  celebrated  Sir  John  Fortescue,  author  of  the  admi- 
rable treatise — "De  Laudibus  Legum  Angliae,"  ever  was 
de  facto  Chancellor  of  England,  and  in  the  exercise  of  the 
duties  of  the  office,  it  must  have  been  now,  after  the  second 
battle  of  St.  Alban's,  and  at  the  very  conclusion  of  the  reign 
of  Henry  YI. 

Fortescue  is  generally  by  his  biographers  mentioned  as 
having  been  Chancellor  to  this  Sovereign.  In  the  introduc- 
tion to  his  great  work,  after  describing  the  imprisonment  of 
Henry  YL,  and  the  exile  of  Prince  Edward  his  son,  he 
says,  "  Miles  quidam  grandjevus,  pr^dicti  Regis  Anglic 
Cancellarius,  qui  etiam  sub  hac  clade  exulabat,  principem 
sic  affiitur;"  and  throughout  the  dialogue  he  always  de- 
nominates himself  "  Cancellarius." 

I  suspect  that  he  only  had  the  titular  office  of  Chancellor 
in  partibus  —  when  he  accompanied  the  young  Prince  his  pupil 
as  an  exile  to  foreign  climes,  and  that  he  never  exercised 
the  duties  of  the  office  in  England^;  but  under  these  cir- 

*  Spelman,  in  his  list  of  Chief  Justices,  under  head  Jo.  Forteseu,  writes, 
"  Notior  in  ore  omnium  nomine  Cancellarii  quam  Justiciarii,  diu  taraen  functus 


SIR  JOHN   FORTESCUE,   CHANCELLOR.  37 

cumstances  I  am  called  upon  to  offer  a  sketch  of  his  history, —     CHAP, 
and  it  is  dehghtful,  amidst  intriguing  Churchmen  and  warlike   * 


Barons  who  held  the  Great  Seal  in  this  age,  to  present  to 
the  reader  a  lawyer,  not  only  of  deep  professional  learning, 
but  cultivated  by  the  study  of  classical  antiquity,  and  not 
only  of  brilliant  talents,  but  the  ardent  and  enlightened  lover 
of  liberty, — to  whose  explanation  and  praises  of  our  free 
constitution  we  are  in  no  small  degree  indebted  for  the  re- 
sistance to  oppressive  rule  which  has  distinguished  the  people 
of  England. 

Sir  John  Fortescue  was  of  an  ancient  and  distinguished  His  family, 
family,  being  descended  in  the  direct  male  line  from  Richard 
Fortescue,  who  came  over  with  the  Conqueror.  The  family 
was  seated  first  at  Winston,  and  then  at  Wear  Giifard  in 
Devonshire,  which  still  belongs  to  them.*  He  was  educated 
at  Exeter  College,  Oxford,  and  called  to  the  bar  at  Lincoln's 
Inn.  Unfortunately  there  is  no  further  memorial  of  his 
early  career,  and  we  are  not  informed  of  the  course  of  study 
by  which  he  acquired  so  much  professional  and  general  know- 
ledge, and  reached  such  eminence. 

In  1441  he  was  called  to  the  degree  of  the  coif,  and  was  His  rise  at 
made  a  King's  Serjeant,  and  the  year  following  he  was  raised  *  ^ 
to  the  office  of  Chief  Justice  of  the  King's  Bench,  the  duties   Chief  Jus- 
of  which  he  discharged  with  extraordinary  ability.     In  the 
struggle  for  the  Crown  he  steadily  adhered  to  the  House  of 
Lancaster  while  any  hope  seemed  to  remain  for  that  cause, — 
being  of  opinion  that  Richard  II.  was  properly  dethroned  for 
his  misgovernment ;  —  that  parliament  then  having  the  power 
to  confer  the  crown  upon  another  branch  of  the  royal  family, 
hereditary  right  was  superseded  by  the  will  of  the  nation, 

est  hoc  munere ;  illo  vix  aliquando.  Constitui  enim  videtur  Cancellarius,  iion 
nisi  a  victo  et  exulante  apud  Scotos  Rcge,  Hen.  6.,  nee  referri  igitur  in  archiva 
regia  ejus  institutio,  sed  cognosci  maxime  e  libelli  sui  ipsius  inscriptione."  — 
Glossarium  Justiciarius.  And  under  Spelman's  Series  Cancellariorum,  he  says, 
"  Jo.  Fortescue  Justiciarius  Banci  Regii  exulante  Hen.  6.  in  Scotia  videtur 
ejus  constitui  Cancellarius  eoque  usus  titulo  ;  sed  nulla  de  eo  mcntio  in  Rott. 
patentibus.  Quidam  vero  contendunt  cum  non  fuisse  Cancellarium  Regis  sed 
filii  ejus  primogeniti ;  contrarium  vero  manifeste  patet  lib.  suo  de  L.  L.  Ang. 
in  introductione,  ubi  sic  de  se  ait,  Quidcm  Miles  granda;vus,"  &c. 

*   I  have  been  favoured  with  a  sight  of  the  pedigree  by  Earl  Fortescue,  and 
it  is  perfect  in  all  its  links. 

B  B    2 


372 


KEIGN   OF   HENRY   VI. 


CHAP. 
XXII. 


While 
Chief  Jus- 
tice fights 
in  battle  of 
Towton. 

March, 
1461. 


Attainted 
by  act  of 
parliament. 


Goes  into 
exile. 

>.D.  1463. 


Writes 
*'  De  Lau- 
dibus." 


—  and  that  the  parliamentary  title  of  the  House  of  Lancaster 
was  to  be  preferred  to  the  legitimist  claim  of  the  House  of 
York. 

Although  advanced  In  years,  and  long  clothed  with  the 
ermine,  he  seems,  according  to  the  fashion  of  the  age,  to  have 
accompanied  his  party  in  their  headlong  campaigns,  and  to 
have  mixed  in  the  moody  fight.  By  the  side  of  Morton, 
afterwards  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  and  Lord  Chancellor, 
he  displayed  undaunted  valour  at  Towton,  where  a  great  part 
of  his  associates  were  put  to  the  sword,  and  the  crown  was 
fixed  on  the  brow  of  Edward  IV.  Still  he  refused  to  send 
In  his  adhesion  to  the  new  Sovereign,  and  having  vainly  tried 
to  strike  another  blow  in  the  county  of  Durham,  he  was 
attainted  for  treason  by  act  of  parliament  with  other  Lancas- 
trian leaders. 

After  the  fatal  adventures  which  reduced  the  Queen  and 
her  son  to  the  society  of  robbers  in  a  forest,  he  accompanied 
the  exiled  family  Into  Scotland,  where  It  is  said  by  some  that 
the  title  of  Chancellor  was  conferred  upon  him.  While  there 
he  wrote  a  treatise  to  support,  on  principles  of  constitutional 
law,  the  claim  of  the  House  of  Lancaster  to  the  crown.  Ed- 
ward being  firmly  seated  on  the  throne,  and  King  Henry  a 
prisoner  in  the  Tower,  he  embarked  with  Margaret  and 
her  son  for  Holland,  and  continued  several  years  In  exile 
with  them.  Intrusted  with  the  education  of  the  young  Prince. 
He  conceived  that  he  was  pursuing  a  judicious  course  for 
securing  the  future  happiness  of  the  English  nation  in  forming 
the  character  of  the  heir-apparent  to  the  throne,  and  ac- 
quainting him  with  the  duties  of  a  patriot  king  —  a  task 
which  in  later  times  even  Hampden  did  not  look  upon  as 
derogatory  to  his  talents  or  Incompatible  with  his  indepen- 
dence.* 

With  this  view  Fortescue  now  employed  himself  In  the 
composition  of  his  book  "  De  Laudibus,"  for  the  Instruction 
of  his  royal  pupil,  in  which  he  fully  explains  the  principles 
of  the  English  constitution  and  English  jurisprudence,  and 


*  Preface  to  Amos's  translation  of  the  "  De  Laudibus." 


SIR   JOHN   FORTESCUE,    CHANCELLOR. 


373 


points  out  the  amendments  to  be  introduced  into  them  by 
the  Prince  on  recovering  the  throne.* 

He  afterwards  accompanied  the  Queen  back  to  England, 
but  the  cause  of  the  House  of  Lancaster  appearing  at  last 
utterly  desperate,  and  parliament  and  the  nation  having  re- 
cognised the  title  of  the  new  dynasty,  he  expressed  his  wil- 
lingness to  submit  himself  to  the  reigning  monarch. 

Edward,  with  some  malice,  required  that  as  a  condition 
of  his  pardon  he  must  write  another  treatise  upon  the  dis- 
puted question  of  the  succession,  in  support  of  the  claim  of 
the  House  of  York  against  the  House  of  Lancaster.  The  old 
lawyer  complied,  showing  that  he  could  support  either  side 
with  equal  ability ;  and  afterwards,  in  a  new  petition,  assured 
the  King  "  that  he  had  so  clearly  disproved  all  the  arguments 
that  had  been  made  against  his  right  and  title,  that  now  there 
remained  no  colour  or  show  of  reason  to  the  hurt  thereof,  and 
that  the  same  stood  the  more  clear  and  open  on  occasion  of 
the  writings  hitherto  made  against  them."f 

The  pardon  was  then  agreed  to,  and  expedited  in  due  form. 
As  he  had  been  attainted  by  act  of  parliament,  it  was  neces- 
sary that  the  attainder  should  be  reversed  by  the  same  autho- 
rity. He  accordingly  presented  a  petition  for  his  restoration 
in  blood,  to  which  the  Commons,  the  Lords,  and  the  King 
assented,  and  which,  according  to  the  forms  then  prevailing, 
thus  became  a  statute.  | 


CHAP. 
XXIL 


Submits  to 
Edw.  IV. 


Writes  in 
favour  of 
title  of 
House  of 
York. 


He  is  par- 
doned. 


*  So  minute  is  he  in  liis  law  reforms,  that  he  even  recommends  new  orna- 
ments for  the  robes  of  the  judges.  —  Ch.  .51. 

t  Rot.  Pari.  vi.  26.  69.  He  tried  to  ride  off  on  a  point  of  fact.  In  his  first 
work  he  maintained  that  Philippa,  daughter  of  Lionel  Duke  of  Clarence, 
through  whom  the  House  of  York  claimed,  had  never  been  acknowledged  by 
her  father  ;  in  the  second,  that  her  legitimacy  had  been  cleared  up  beyond  all 
controversy.  —  See  Ling.  v.  217.  n. 

:|:  By  the  favour  of  Earl  Fortescue,  his  lineal  representative,  an  exemplifica- 
tion of  it  under  tlie  Great  Seal  of  Edward  IV.  now  lies  before  me,  and  I 
copy  it  for  the  curious  in  historical  antiquities. 

"  Edwardus  dei  gra.  Rex  Anglie,  Francie,  et  Dominus  Hibnie  Omibz  ad 
quos  psentes  Ire  prvint,  saltm.  Inspeximz  quandam  petioem  in  parliamento  nro 
apud  Westm.  sexto  die  Octobr.  Anno  regni  nri  duodecimo  sumonito  et  tento 
et  p.  diusas  progacoes  vsqz  ad  et  in  sextum  diem  Octobr.  Anno  regni  nri 
tciodecimo  continuato  et  tunc  tento  nob.  in  eodem  parliamento  dco  sexto  die 
Octobr.  dco  Anno  regni  nri  triodecimo  p.  Johem  Fortescu  Militem  exhibi- 
tam  in  hec  vba :  To  the  kyng  oure  soureyne  lord,  In  the  moost  humble  wise 
sheweth  vnto  yo''  most  noble  grace,  your  humble  subget  and  true  liegeman, 
John  Fortescue,  knyght,  which  is  and  eid.  shalbe  duryng  his  lyf  yo'  true  and 

B  B   3 


Exempli- 
fication of 
reversal  of 
the  at- 
tainder of 
Lord 

Chancellor 
Fortescue. 


374  REIGN   OF    HENRY   VI. 

CHAP,  He  retired  to  Ebrington,   in  Gloucestershire,   an   estate 

which   he   had   purchased  before  his  exile,  and  which  now 
Retires  to    gi^cs  the  title  of  viscount  to  his  descendants. 

Ebrington, 

feithfull  subget  and  liegeman,  soureigne  lord  by  the  gee  of  God.  Howe  be 
it  the  same  John  is  not  of  power,  ne  hauoir  to  doo  your  highnes  so  goode  suice 
as  his  hert  and  wille  wold  doo,  for  so  moche  as  in  your  parlement  holden  at 
Westm.  the  iiijth  day  of  Novembr,  the  first  yere  of  your  moost  noble  reigno, 
it  was  ordeyned,  demed,  and  declared  by  auctorite  of  the  same  parlement,  that 
the  seid  John,  by  the  name  of  John  Fortescu,  knyght,  among  other  psones 
shuld  stond  and  be  conuicted  and  attaynted  of  high  treason,  and  forfeit  to  you, 
soureyn  lord  and  your  heires,  all  the  castelles,  manes,  lordshippes,  londes, 
tentes,  rentes,  suices,  fees,  advousons,  hereditamentes,  and  possessions,  with 
their  appurtenances,  which  he  had  of  estate  of  inheritance,  or  any  other  to  his 
vse  had  the  xxx  day  of  Decembr  next  afore  the  first  yere  of  your  moost  noble 
reigne,  or  into  which  he  or  any  other  psone  or  psones,  feoffes  to  the  vse  or 
behofe  of  the  same  John,  had  the  same  xxx  day  lawfull  cause  of  entre  within 
Englond,  Irelond,  Wales,  or  Cales,  or  the  marches  thereof,  as  more  at  large  is 
conteyned  within  the  same  acte  or  actes,  pleas  it  your  highnes,  forasmoch  as 
your  seid  suppliaunt  is  as  repentaunt  and  sorowfull  as  any  creature  may  be,  of 
all  that  which  he  hath  doon  and  comitted  to  the  displeasure  of  your  highnes, 
contrie  to  his  duetie  and  leigeaunce,  and  is  and  pseuantly  shalbe  to  you, 
soueigne  lord,  true,  feithfull,  and  humble  subget  and  liegeman,  in  wllle,  worde, 
and  dede,  of  your  moost  habundant  grce,  by  thaduis  and  assent  of  the  lordes 
spiel!  and  temporell,  and  the  coens  in  this  your  psent  parlement  assembled, 
and  by  auctorite  of  the  same,  to  enacte,  ordeyne,  and  stablish  that  the  seid  acte 
and  all  actes  of  atteyndre  or  forfeiture  made  ayenst  the  same  John  and  his  feof- 
fes, to  the  vse  of  the  same  John,  in  your  seid  parlement  holden  at  Westm.  the 
seid  iiijth  day  of  Novembr  as  ayenst  them  and  euery  of  them,  by  what  name  or 
names  the  same  John  be  named  or  called  in  the  same  acte  or  actes,  of,  in,  or  by 
reason  of  the  pmisses,  be  vtterly  voide  and  of  noon  ePecte  ne  force  :  And  that  the 
same  John  nor  his  heires  in  no  wise  be  purdiced  or  hurte  by  the  same  acte  or 
actes  made  ayenst  the  same  John  :  And  that  by  thie  same  auctorite  your  seid  sup- 
pliaunt and  his  heires  have  possede,  joy,  and  inherite  all  man'  of  possessions  and 
hereditamentes  in  like  man""  and  fourme,  and  in  as  ample  and  large  wise  as  the 
seid  John  shuld  haue  done  if  the  same  acte  or  actes  neu""  had  be  made  ayenst  the 
same  John  :  And  that  the  seid  John  and  his  heires  haue,  hold,  joy,  and  inherit 
all  castelles,  manes,  lordshippes,  londes,  tentes,  rentes,  suices,  fees,  advousons,  and 
all  otiier  hereditaments  and  possessions,  with  their  appurtenances,  which  come  or 
ought  to  haue  come  to  yo"'  handes  by  reason  of  the  same  acte  or  actes  made 
ayenst  the  same  John  and  feoffes  to  his  vse  :  And  vnto  theym  and  euy  of  theym 
to  entre,  and  theym  to  haue,  joy,  and  possede  in  like  man^  fourme,  and  con- 
dicion,  as  the  same  John  shuld  have  had  or  doon  if  the  same  acte  or  actes  neu'' 
had  been  made  ayenst  the  seid  John  and  his  seid  feoffes,  to  his  vse,  withoute 
suying  theym  or  any  of  theym  oute  of  your  handes  by  peticion,  lyne,  or  other- 
wise, by  the  course  of  your  lawes.  And  that  all  Ires  pattentes  made  by  your 
highnes  to  the  seid  John,  or  to  any  psone  or  psones  of  any  of  the  pmisses  be 
voide  and  of  noon  effecte,  sauing  to  euy  persone  such  title,  right,  and  lawfull 
entre  as  they  or  any  of  theym  had  at  the  tyme  of  the  seid  acte  or  actes  made 
ayenst  the  same  John,  or  any  tyme  sith  other  then  by  means  and  vtue  of  oure 
Ires  patentes  made  sith  the  iiijth  day  of  March,  the  first  yere  of  your  reigne,  or 
any  tyme  sith  :  And  that  no  psone  or  psones  be  empeched  nor  hurt  of  or  for 
takyng  of  any  issues  or  pfittes,  nor  of  any  offenses  doon  in  or  of  any  of  the 
pmisses  afore  the  iijth  of  the  moneth  of  Aprill,  the  xiij  yere  of  your  reigne,  or 
at  any  tyme  sith  the  seid  iiijth  day  of  IMarcJie  by  the  seid  John  or  any  feoffes 
to  his  vse  by  wey  of  accion  or  otherwise.  Provided  alway,  that  no  psone  nor 
psones,  atteynted,  nor  their  heires,  take,  haue,  or  enjoy  any  avauntage  by  this 
psent  acte,  but  oonly  the  seid  John  and  his  heires  in  the  pn-ises.      And  also  the 


SIR   JOHN   FORTESCUE,    CHANCELLOR. 


375 


Here  he  quietly  spent  the  remainder  of  his  days,  and  here 
he  died,  leaving  a  great  and  venerable  name  to  his  posterity 
and  his  country. 

He  was  buried  in  the  parish  church  at  Ebrington,  where  a 
monument,  with  the  following  inscription,  was  erected  to  his 
memory :  — 

"  In  felicem  et  immortalera  memoriara 

Clarissimi  viri  Dili  Johannis  P'ortiscuti  militis  grandaevi, 

Angliae  Judicis  primarii  et  processu  temporis  sub  Henrico  VI. 

Rege  et  Edwardo  principi  summi  Cancellarii  Consiliarii  Regis 

Prudentissiini,  Legum  Angliae  peritissimi,  necnon  earundem 

Hyperaspistis  fortissimi,  qui  corporis  exuvias  lastam 

Resurrectionem  expectantes  liic  deposuit." 

In  1677  this  monument  was  repaired  by  Robert  Fortescue, 
Esq.,  the  then  representative  of  the  family,  who  added  to  it 
these  quaint  verses ;  — 

"  Angligenas  intra  cancellos  Juris  et  Equi 

Qui  tenuit,  cineres  jam  tenet  urna  viri. 
Lux  viva  ille  fuit  patrite,  lux  splendida  legis. 

Forte  bonis  Scutum,  sontibus  et  scutica. 
Clarus  erat  titulis,  clarus  majoribus,  arte 

Clarus,  virtute  ast  clarior  emicuit. 
Jam  micat  in  tenebris,  veluti  carbunculus  orbis, 

Nam  virtus  radios  non  dare  tanta  nequit. 
Vivit  adhuc  Fortescutus  laudatus  in  a;vum 

Vivet  et  In  legum  laudibus  ille  suis.  "* 


CHAP. 

xxn. 

Death. 


Epitaph. 


feofFes  to  the  use  of  the  seid  John,  oonly  for  and  in  the  pmisses  which  the  same 
feoft'es  had  to  the  vse  of  the  seid  John,  the  seid  xxx  day  or  any  tyme  sitb.  And 
your  seid  suppliaunt  shall  pray  to  God  for  the  pseruacion  of  your  raoost  roiall 
astate,  consideryng  soueigne  lord  that  your  seid  suppliaunt  louyth  so  and  teii- 
drith  the  goode  of  your  moost  noble  estate,  that  he  late  by  large  and  clere 
writyng  delyued  vnto  your  highness  hath  so  declared  all  the  maf'  which  were 
writen  in  Scotland  and  elles  where  ayen  your  right  or  title,  which  writynges 
haue  in  any  wise  comen  vnto  his  knowledge,  or  that  he  at  any  tyme  hath  be 
pryue  vnto  theym :  And  also  hath  so  clerely  disproued  all  the  argumentes  that  haue 
be  made  ayen  the  same  right  and  title,  that  nowe  there  reniayneth  no  colour  or  mat' 
of  argument  to  the  hurt  or  infayme  of  the  same  right  and  title  by  reason  of  any  such 
writyng.  but  the  same  right  and  title  stonden  nowe  the  more  clere  and  open  by  that 
any  such  writynges  haue  be  made  ayen  hem.  Inspeximus  eciam  quendam  assensum 
cidem  peticoi  p  coitates  regni  nri  Angl.  in  dco  parliamento  existen  scm.  et 
in  dca  peticoe  specificat.  in  hue  verba  a  cest  bille  les  coenz  sont  essenxuz. 
Inspeximus  insup.  quandam  responsionem  eidem  peticoi  p  nos  de  acusamento 
et  ^assessu  dnoq.  spualiu.  et  temporaliu.  in  dco  parliamento  similit.  existen. 
ac  Coitates  pdce  necnon  auctoritate  eiusdem  parliamenti  ftam  et  indorso  eius- 
dem  peticois  insertam  in  hec  verba  soix  fait  come  il  est  desire.  Nos  autem 
tenores  peticois  assensus  et  responsionis  predie.  ad  requisicoem  pfate  Johis 
duximus  exemplificand.  p  psentes.  In  cuius  rei  testimoniu.  has  Iras  nras  fieri 
fecimus  patentes.  Teste  me  ipo  apud  Westm.  quartodecimo  die  Februaij 
Anno  regni  nri  quarto  decimo.  Gunthokt. 

T-,    -  f  JoiIEM   GUNTHOIIP,  "I    ^.. 

Ex"  p.  -{  n-  .  T  J-  Cticos. 

'     (_  Ihomam  Jvo.  J 

*   I  insert  the  following  re-lease  of  the  manor  of  Ebrington  as  a  curious  spe- 

B  B    4 


376 


KEIGN   OP   HENRY  VI. 


CHAP. 

XXII. 


His  cele- 
brated 
judgment 
on  parlia- 
mentary 
privilege. 


Thorpe's 
case. 


As  a  common-law  judge  he  is  highly  extolled  by  Lord 
Coke,  and  he  seems  to  have  been  one  of  the  most  learned  and 
upright  men  who  ever  sat  in  the  Court  of  King's  Bench. 

He  laid  the  foundation  of  parliamentary  privilege,  to  which 
our  liberties  are  mainly  to  be  ascribed.  He  had  the  sagacity 
to  see,  that  if  questions  concerning  the  privileges  of  parliament 
were  to  be  determined  by  the  common-law  judges  appointed 
and  removable  by  the  Crown,  these  privileges  must  soon  be 
extinguished,  and  pure  despotism  must  be  established.  He 
perceived  that  the  Houses  of  parliament  alone  were  com- 
petent to  decide  upon  their  own  privileges,  and  that  this 
power  must  be  conceded  to  them,  even  in  analogy  to  the 
practice  of  the  Court  of  Chancery  and  other  inferior  tribunals. 
Accordingly,  in  Thorpe^s  case,  he  expressed  an  opinion  which, 
from  the  end  of  the  reign  of  King  Henry  VI.  till  the  com- 
mencement of  the  reign  of  Queen  Victoria,  was  received  with 
profound  deference  and  veneration. 

Thorpe,  a  Baron  of  the  Exchequer,  and  Speaker  of  the 


cimen  of  conveyancing,  and  of  the  English  language  in  the  reign  of  Henry  VI, 
See  145  I 
Re-lease  of  To  alle  men  to  whom  this  wrytyng  shal  come,  Robt.  Corbet,  knyght,  sende 
Manor  of  gi^etyng  in  oure  Lord.  For  asmuch  as  I  have  solde  to  Sir  John  Fortescu, 
Ebrington.  I'nyght,  in  fee  symple,  the  reuersion  of  the  Manour  of  Ebryghton,  in  the  Counte 
of  Gloucestre,  with  the  apptenaunces,  to  be  had  after  the  decesse  of  Joyes,  late 
the  Wif  of  John  Grevyle,  Esquier,  for  Cli  pounds,  to  be  payed  to  me  in  certayn 
fourme  betwene  vs,  accorded  by  reason  of  which  sale  I  have  by  my  dede  enrolled 
and  subscribed  with  myne  owne  hande,  graunted  the  same  reuersion  to  the  said 
Sir  John,  and  other  named  with  hym,  to  his  vse  in  fee  by  vertu  of  which  the  said 
Joyes  hath  attourncd  to  the  said  Sir  John ;  and  also  I  have  delyuered  to  the 
same  Sir  John  alle  the  evydences  whiche  euer  come  to  myne  handes  concernyng 
the  said  Manour ;  I  wol  and  desire  as  welle  the  foresaid  Joyes  the  abbot  of 
Wynchecombe,  and  alle  other  personnes  in  whos  handes  the  said  Sir  John  or  his 
heyres  can  wete  or  aspye  any  of  the  forsaid  evydences  to  be  kepte,  to  delyuer 
the  same  evydences  to  ham,  for  the  right  and  title  of  the  reuersion  of  the  said 
Manour  is  now  clerely,  trewly,  and  lawefully  in  the  said  Sir  John,  his  cofeoftees 
and  theyre  heyres,  and  from  me  and  myne  heyres  for  euer  moore,  and  the  said 
Manour,  nor  the  reuersion  therof,  was  neuer  tayled  to  me,  nor  none  of  myne 
Auncestres,  but  alway  in  vs  hathe  he  possessed  in  fee  symple,  as  far  as  euer  I 
coude  knowe,  by  any  evydence  or  by  any  manner,  sayyng  by  my  trouthe.  Wher- 
fore  I  charge  Robt.  my  sone  and  myne  heyre,  his  issue,  and  alle  thos  that  shal  be 
myne  heyres  herafter,  vppon  my  blessyng,  that  they  neuer  vexe,  implede,  ne  greve 
the  forsaid  Sir  John,  his  said  cofeoffees,  theyre  heyres,  nor  assignees,  for  the  for- 
said Manour  ;  and  if  they  do,  knowyng  this  my  prohibicion,  I  wote  wel  they  shal 
haue  the  curse  of  God,  for  theyre  wronge  and  owr  trouthe,  and  also  they  shal 
haue  my  curse,  Witnysyng  this  my  wrytyng  vnder  my  scale,  and  subscribed  with 
myne  owne  hande,  Wreten  the  v  day  of  decembr,  the  yere  of  the  reigne  of 
Kyng  Herry  \i^°  after  the  conqueste  xxxv*'. 

(L. S.)  Sir  RoBERD  Corbet,  Knyth. 


SIR  JOHN   FORTESCUE,    CHANCELLOR. 


377 


House  of  Commons,  being  a  Lancastrian,  had  seized  some     CHAP. 

harness  and   military  accoutrements  which  belonged  to  the   '_ 

Duke  of  York,  who  brought  an  action  of  trespass  against 
him  in  the  Court  of  Exchequer  to  recover  their  value.  The 
plaintiff  had  a  verdict,  with  large  damages,  for  which  the 
defendant,  during  a  recess  of  parliament,  was  arrested  and 
imprisoned  in  the  Fleet.  When  parliament  re-assembled,  the 
Commons  were  without  a  Speaker ;  and  the  question  arose 
whether  Thorpe,  as  a  member  of  the  Lower  House  and 
Speaker,  was  not  now  entitled  to  be  discharged  ? 

The  Commons  had  a  conference  on  the  subject  with  the 
Lords,  who  called  in  the  Judges,  and  asked  their  opinion. 
"  The  said  Lords,  spiritual  and  temporal,  not  intending  to 
impeach  or  hurt  the  liberties  and  privileges  of  them  that 
were  coming  for  the  commerce  of  this  land  to  this  present 
parliament,  but  legally  after  the  course  of  law  to  administer 
justice,  and  to  have  knowledge  what  the  law  will  weigh  in 
that  behalf,  opened  and  declared  to  the  Justices  the  premises, 
and  asked  of  them  whether  the  said  Thomas  Thorpe  ought  to 
be  delivered  from  prison  by,  for,  and  in  virtue  of  the  privilege 
of  parliament  or  no  ?  "  "  To  the  whole  question,"  says  the 
report,  "  the  Chief  Justice  Fortescue,  in  the  name  of  all  the 
Justices,  after  sad  communication  and  mature  deliberation 
had  amongst  them,  answered  and  said :  that  they  ought  not 
to  answer  to  that  question ;  for  it  hath  not  been  used  afore- 
time that  the  Justices  should  in  anywise  determine  the  privi- 
lege of  this  high  court  of  parliament ;  for  it  is  so  high  and 
so  mighty  in  its  nature,  that  it  may  make  law ;  and  that  that 
is  law,  it  may  make  no  law ;  and  the  determination  and 
knowledge  of  that  privilege  belongeth  to  the  Lords  of  the 
parliament  and  not  to  the  Justices."  * 

In  consequence  of  this  decision  the  two  Houses  of  parlia- 
ment were  for  many  ages  allowed  to  be  the  exclusive  judges 
of  their  own  privileges ;  liberty  of  speech  and  freedom  of 
inquiry  were  vindicated  by  them ;  the  prerogatives  of  the 
Crown  were  restrained  and  defined ;  and  England  was  saved 
from  sharing  the  fate  of  the  monarchies  on  the  Continent  of 

*  Thorpe's  Case,  31  Hen.  6.  a,  d,  1452.  1:5  Rep.  63.  1  Hatsell,  29, 
Lord  Campbell's  Speeches,  22.5. 


378 


REIGN   OF  HENRY  VI. 


CHAP. 
XXII. 

Equity 
lawyer. 


His  lite- 
rary merits. 


His  cha- 
racter. 


His  de- 
scendants 


Europe,  In  which  popular  assemblies  were  crushed  by  the  un- 
resisted encroachments  of  the  executive  government. 

What  acquaintance  Fortescue  had  with  equity  we  have  no 
means  of  knowing ;  but  it  is  clear  that  he  was  not  a  mere 
technical  lawyer,  and  that  he  was  familiar  with  the  general 
principles  of  jurisprudence. 

As  a  writer,  his  style  is  not  inelegant,  though  not  free  from 
the  barbarisms  of  the  schools;  and  he  displays  sentiments 
upon  liberty  and  good  government  which  are  very  remark- 
able, considering  the  fierce  and  lawless  period  when  he 
flourished.  His  principal  treatise  has  been  celebrated,  not 
only  by  lawyers,  but  such  writers  as  Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  and 
not  only  by  Englishmen,  but  by  foreign  nations.  "  We 
cannot,"  says  Chancellor  Kent,  in  commenting  upon  it,  "  but 
pause  and  admire  a  system  of  jurisprudence  which  in  so  un- 
cultivated a  period  of  society  contained  such  singular  and 
Invaluable  provisions  in  favour  of  life,  liberty,  and  property, 
as  those  to  which  Fortescue  referred.  They  were  unpre- 
cedented in  all  Greek  and  Roman  antiquity,  and  being  pre- 
served In  some  tolerable  degree  of  freshness  and  vigour  amidst 
the  profound  ignorance  and  licentious  spirit  of  the  feudal  ages, 
they  justly  entitle  the  common  law  to  a  share  of  that  constant 
and  usual  eulogy  which  the  English  lawyers  have  always  libe- 
rally bestowed  upon  their  municipal  institutions."  * 

Notwithstanding  his  tardy  submission  to  the  House  of 
York,  he  is  to  be  praised  for  his  consistency  as  a  politician. 
Unlike  the  Earl  of  Warwick  and  others,  who  were  constantly 
changing  sides  according  to  Interest  or  caprice,  he  steadily 
adhered  to  the  House  of  Lancaster  till  it  had  no  true  repre- 
sentative, and  the  national  will  had  been  strongly  expressed 
In  favour  of  the  legitimate  heir.  We  must,  indeed,  regret  the 
tyranny  of  Edward,  who  would  not  generously  pardon  him 
on  account  of  his  fidelity  to  his  former  master ;  but  his  com- 
pliance with  the  arbitrary  condition  Imposed  upon  him  should 
be  treated  with  lenity  by  those  who  have  never  been  exposed 
to  such  perils. 

Lord  Coke  rejoiced  that  his  descendants  were  flourishing  in 
the  reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth ;  and  I,  rejoicing  that  they  still 

*   Kent's  Commentaries. 


STATE   OF   THE   LAW.  379 

flourish  in  the  reign  of  Queen  Victoria,  may  be  permitted  to     CHAP, 
express  a  confident  hope  that  they  will  ever  continue,  as  now,      ^^^'• 
to  support  those  liberal  principles  which,   in  the  time  of  the 
Plantagenets,   were  so  powerfully  inculcated  by  their  illils- 
trious  ancestor. 

We  must  here  take  a  short  review  of  the  law  under  End  of  the 
Henry  VI. ;  for  although  after  languishing  ten  years  as  a  l^'^"^  "^ 
prisoner  in  the  Tower,  he  was  again,  for  a  short  time,  placed 
as  a  puppet  on  the  throne,  we  may  consider  that  his  reign 
really  closed  when,  upon  the  military  disasters  of  his  party, 
his  queen  and  son  went  into  exile,  all  his  supporters  were 
either  slain  or  submitted,  and  a  rival  sovereign  was  proclaimed 
and  recognised. 

After  the  marriage  of  the  King's  mother,  Catherine  of  Law 
France,  with  a  Welsh  gentleman,  Owen  ap  Tudor,  whereby  ^^^"0  ^ 
the  royal  family  was    supposed  to  be  much  disparaged,   a   Dowager 
statute  was  passed*  enacting,  that  to  marry  a  Queen  Dowager  wfthout  the 
without  the  licence  of  the  King,  should  be  an  offence  punish-  consent  of 
able  by  forfeiture  of  lands  and  goods.     Some  doubted  whether  ing  S-' 
this  statute  had  the  full  force  of  law,  because  the  prelates,  ""^^sn- 
asserting  a  doctrine  still  cherished  by  some  of  their  successors, 
that  "  it  belongs  to  the  Church  alone  to  regulate  all  matters 
respecting  marriage,"  assented  to  it  "  only  as  far  forth  as  the 
same  swerved  not  from  the  laAv  of  God  and  of  the  Church, 
and  so  as  the  same  imported  no  deadly  sin ;  "  but  Lord  Coke 
clearly  holds  it  to  be  an  act  of  parliament  f,  and  it  continues 
law  to  the  present  day.| 

The  only  other  statute  of  permanent  importance,  passed 
under  Henry  VI.,  was  that  for  regulating  the  qualification  of 
the  electors  of  knights  of  the  shire.  § 

The  Chancellors  of  this  reign,  particularly  Cardinal  Beau-   Equitable 
fort,  the  Earl  of  Salisbury,  Archbishop  Bourchier,  and  Bishop  if'chan-''" 
Waynflete,  were  men  of  great  note,  and  had  much  influence  eery  during 
upon  the  historical  events  of  their  age.     Under  them,  assisted  Hl?"  VI. 
by  Jolm  Frank,  Master  of  the  Rolls,  the  Court  of  Chancery 

•   AD.  1418,  6  Hen.  G.  f  4  Inst.  34. 

:f  A  vain  attempt  was  made  (as  was  supposed  by  tlie  clergy)  to  do  away  with 
it  by  cutting  off  and  stealing  the  membrane  of  the  parliament  roll  on  which  it 
was  inscribed.     See  5  Ling.  105. 

§  8  Hen.  6.  c.  7. 


380 


EEIGN   OF   HENRY  VI. 


CHAP. 
XXII. 


Rude  state 
of  Equity. 


grew  into  new  consideration.  The  doctrine  of  uses  was 
now  established,  and  it  was  determined  that  they  might  be 
enforced  without  going  to  parliament.  So  low  down  as 
the  7th  of  Henry  VI.,  this  kind  of  property  was  so  little  re- 
garded, that  we  find  it  stated  by  one  of  the  judges  as  "  a  thing 
not  allowed  by  law,  and  entirely  void,  if  a  man  make  a  feoff- 
ment with  a  proviso  that  he  himself  should  take  the  profits  * ; " 
but  in  the  37th  year  of  the  same  reign,  in  the  time  of  Lord 
Chancellor  Waynflete,  a  feoffor  "  to  such  uses  as  he  should 
direct,"  having  sold  the  land  and  directed  the  feoffees  to 
convey  to  the  purchaser,  it  was  agreed  by  all  the  judges  in 
the  Exchequer,  when  consulted  upon  the  subject,  that  the 
intention  of  the  feoffor  being  declared  in  writing,  the  feoffees 
were  bound  to  fulfil  it ;  and  they  intimated  an  opinion,  that 
where  a  testator  devised  that  his  feoffees  should  make  an  estate 
for  life  to  one,  remainder  to  another,  the  remainder-man 
should  have  a  remedy  in  Chancery,  to  compel  a  conveyance 
to  himself,  even  during  the  continuance  of  the  life  interest.f 
Very  soon  after,  the  distinction  between  the  legal  and 
equitable  estate  was  fully  settled  on  the  principles,  and  in  the 
language  which  ever  since  have  been  applied  to  it4 

On  other  points.  Equity  remained  rather  in  a  rude  plight. 
For  example,  —  in  a  subsequent  case  which  came  before  Lord 
Chancellor  Waynflete,  the  plaintiff  having  given  a  bond  in 
payment  of  certain  debts  which  he  had  purchased,  filed  his 
bill  to  be  relieved  from  it,  on  the  ground  that  there  was  no 
consideration  for  the  bond,  as  he  could  not  maintain  an  action 
to  recover  the  debts  in  his  own  name.  This  case  being  ad- 
journed into  the  Exchequer  Chamber,  the  Judges,  instead  of 
suggesting  that  an  action  might  be  brought  for  the  benefit  of 
the  purchaser,  in  the  name  of  the  original  creditor,  held,  that 
the  bond  was  without  consideration,  and  advised  a  decree 
tliat  it  should  be  cancelled,  which  the  Chancellor  pronounced. 
An  action  was,  nevertheless,  brought  upon  the  bond  in  the 
Common  Pleas,  which  prevailed,  —  that  Court  holding  that 
the  only  power  the  Chancellor  had  of  enforcing  his  decrees, 
was  by  inflicting  imprisonment  on  the  contumacious  party,  who 


*  Y.  B.  7  Hen.  6.  436. 
t  See  Y.  B.  4  Ed.  4.  3. 


t  Bro.  Ab.  Garde,  5. 


STATE   OP   THE    LAW.  381 

might  still  prosecute  his  legal  right  in  a  court  of  law,  notwith-  CHAP, 
standing  the  determination  in  Chancery,  that  the  bond  was 
unconscionable.*  To  remedy  this  defect,  injunctions  were 
speedily  introduced,  raising  a  warfare  between  the  two  sides 
of  Westminster  Hall,  which  was  not  allayed  till  after  the 
famous  battle  between  Lord  Coke  and  Lord  Ellesmere,  in  the 
reign  of  James  I.  Bills  were  now  filed  for  perpetuation  of 
testimony,  the  examination  being  taken  by  commissioners,  and 
certified  into  Chancery.  Possession  was  quieted  by  the  au- 
thority of  the  Court,  and  its  jurisdiction  was  greatly  extended 
for  the  purpose  of  afibrding  relief  against  fraud,  deceit,  and 
force. 

*   Y,  B,  36  Hen,  6.  13. 


382 


REIGN   OF   EDWARD   IV. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 


CHANCELLORS   IN   THE   REIGN  OF   EDWARD   IV. 


CHAP. 
XXIII. 

March  5. 

1461. 

George 

Neville 

again 

Chancellor. 


Nov.  1461. 
A  parlia- 
ment. 

Chancel- 
lor's speech 
on  opening 
session. 


Edward  IV.  having  been  proclaimed  king  on  the  5th  of 
March,  1461,  on  the  10th  of  the  same  month  George  Neville, 
Bishop  of  Exeter,  was  declared  Chancellor.*  He  had  been 
an  active  leader  in  the  tumultuary  proceedings  which  took 
place  in  the  metropolis  during  the  late  crisis.  Without  call- 
ing a  parliament,  first  by  a  great  public  meeting  in  St.  John's 
Fields,  and  then  by  an  assemblage  of  bishops,  peers,  and  other 
persons  of  distinction  at  Baynard's  Castle,  he  had  contrived 
to  give  a  semblance  of  national  consent  to  the  change  of 
dynasty. 

The  new  King,  after  the  decisive  battle  of  Towton,  in 
which  36,000  Englishmen  were  computed  to  have  fallen,  but 
which  firmly  established  his  throne,  having  leisure  to  hold  a 
parliament,  it  met  at  Westminster  in  November,  and  was 
opened  in  a  notable  oration  by  Lord  Chancellor  Neville,  who 
took  for  his  theme  "  Bonas  facite  vias ; "  but  we  are  not  in- 
formed whether  he  exhorted  them  to  make  provision  for  the 
repair  of  the  highways,  greatly  ncjlected  during  the  civ''  war, 
or  to  find  out  ways  and  means  to  restore  the  dilapidated 
finances  of  the  country,  or  what  other  topics  he  dwelt  upon. 
After  a  Speaker  had  been  chosen  by  ;he  Commons,  "who 
addressed  the  King,  commending  him  for  his  extraordi- 
nary courage  and  conduct  against  his  enemies,  —  the 
Chancellor  read  a  long  declaration  of  the  King's  title  to  the 
crown,  —  to  which  was  added  a  recapitulation  of  the  tyran- 


•  Feed.  xi.  473.  A  difficulty  arose  about  having  a  Great  Seal  to  deliver  to 
him.  At  the  commencement  of  a  new  reign,  the  Great  Seal  of  the  preceding 
Sovereign  is  used  for  a  time,  but  tliat  of  Henry  VJ.  was  not  forthcoming,  and 
he  had  been  declared  an  usurper.  A  new  Great  Seal,  with  the  effigies  of  Ed- 
ward IV.,  was  speedily  manufactured,  though  in  a  rude  fashion.  —  1  Hale's 
Pleas  of  the  Crown,  177. 


GEORGE   NEVILLE,    CHANCELLOK.  383 

nous  reign  of  Henry  IV.,  and    his    heinous    murdering  of     CHAP. 
Kichard  11.  *  XX in. 


The  required  acts  of  attainder  and  restitution  being  passed 
against  Lancastrians  and  in  favour  of  Yorkists,  the  King, 
according  to  modern  fashion,  closed  the  session  with  a 
gracious  speech,  dehvered  by  himself  from  the  throne.f 
After  his  Majesty  had  ended  his  speech,  the  record  tells  us 
that  "  the  Lord  Chancellor  stood  up  and  declared,  that  since 
the  whole  business  of  this  parhament  was  not  yet  concluded, 
and  the  approaching  festival  of  Christmas  would  obstruct  it, 
he  therefore,  by  the  King's  command,  prorogued  the  parlia- 
ment to  the  6th  of  May  next  ensuing.  At  the  same  time 
he  told  them  of  certain  proclamations  which  the  King  had 
issued  against  badges,  liveries,  robberies,  and  murders,  and 
which  "  the  Bishops,  Lords,  and  Commons  promised  to 
obey."$ 

Neville  was  made  Archbishop  of  York,   and  continued  to   Acts 
hold  the  office  of  Chancellor  till  the  8th  of  June,  1467 ;  but  ^f^^^^^ 
I  do  not  find  any  transaction  of  much  consequence  in  which  pTiTeT^ 
he  was  afterwards  engaged.     The  parliaments  called  were  ^^°^'' 
chiefly  employed  in  reforming  the  extravagant  fashion  pre- 
vailing among  the  people  of  adorning  their  feet  by  wearing 
pikes  to  their  shoes,   so  long  as  to  encumber  them  in  their 
walking,   unless   tied  up  to  the  knee  with  chains  of  gold, 
silver,  or  silk.     There  was  a  loud  outcry  against  these  enor- 
mities, and  this  appears  to  have  operated  as  a  diversion  in 
favour  of  the  Court  of  Chancery,  which  now  enjoyed  a  long 
respite  from  parliamentary  attack.      Several   statutes  were 
passed,   regulating  the  length  of  pikes  of  shoes,  under  very 
severe    penalties;    but    the    fame  of  reformers  is  generally 
short-lived,  and  I  cannot  affirm  that    the  Lord  Chancellor 
gained  any  distinction    by  bringing    forward  or  supporting 
these  measures. 

In  1463  the  pleasing  and  novel  task  was  assigned  to  Lord 

*  1  Pari.  Hist.  41 9." 

t  A  little  specimen  of  the  language  and  style  may  be  interesting.  "  James 
Stranways  and  ye  that  be  comyn  for  the  common  of  this  my  lond,  for  the  true 
hertes  and  tender  consideracions  that  ye  have  had  unto  the  coronne  of  this 
reame,  the  which  from  us  have  been  long  time  withholde."— 1  Pari.  Hist.  419. 

t   1  Pari.  Hist.  422. 


384 


REIGN   OF    EDWARD    IV. 


CHAP. 

XXIII. 


ChaucclloT 
abroad  on 
an  embassy. 


March, 

1464. 

Edward's 

nipture 

with  the 

Nevilles. 


Neville 
dismissed 
from  office 
of  Chan- 
ccllor. 
A.D.  1467. 


Chancellor  Neville,  of  announcing  to  the  Commons  that,  from 
the  flourishing  state  of  the  royal  revenue,  the  King  released 
to  them  parcel  of  the  grant  of  a  former  session. 

For  several  months  in  the  autumn  of  this  year  he  was 
abroad,  on  an  embassy  to  remonstrate  against  the  countenance 
given  to  Lancastrians  at  foreign  courts ;  and  during  his  ab- 
sence the  Great  Seal  was  in  the  custody  of  Kirkham,  the 
Master  of  the  Rolls.* 

On  the  10th  of  April,  1464,  the  Chancellor  being  about  to 
leave  London  for  Newcastle  on  public  business,  the  Great 
Seal  was  again  intrusted  to  the  Master  of  the  Rolls,  who  was 
directed  by  writ  of  privy  seal  to  keep  it  till  the  14th  of  May, 
and  on  that  day  to  deliver  it  to  Richard  Fryston  and  William 
Moreland,  to  be  conveyed  to  the  Chancellor.  They  accord- 
ingly delivered  it  back  to  the  Chancellor  at  York,  on  his  re- 
turn to  London. 

Things  went  on  very  smoothly  for  several  years,  till  the 
quarrel  of  Edward  IV.  with  the  house  of  Neville,  arising  out 
of  his  marriage  with  the  fair  widow,  the  Lady  Elizabeth  Grey, 
while  the  Earl  of  Warwick,  by  his  authority,  was  employed 
in  negotiating  an  alliance  between  him  and  the  Lady  Bona  of 
Savoy.  The  rupture  was  soon  widened  by  the  new  Queen, 
Avho,  regarding  the  Nevilles  as  her  mortal  enemies,  was  eager 
to  depress  them,  and  to  aggrandise  her  own  kindred. 

In  consequence,  George  Neville  was  dismissed  from  the 
office  of  Lord  Chancellor.  On  the  8th  of  June,  1467,  the 
King  abruptly  demanded  the  Great  Seal  from  him,  and  gave 
it  to  John  de  Audley  to  carry  to  the  palace.  The  next  day 
it  was  delivered  to  the  Master  of  the  Rolls,  without  any 
Chancellor  over  him,  but  with  a  declaration,  "  that  he  was 
not  to  use  it  excej)t  in  the  presence  of  the  Earl  of  Essex, 
Lord  Hastings,  Sir  John  Fagge,  and  Sir  John  Scotte,  or  of 
one  of  them ;  and  after  each  day's  sealing,  it  was  to  be  put 
into  a  bag,  which  was  to  be  sealed  with  those  who  were  pre- 
sent at  the  sealing,  and  the  Master  of  the  Rolls  was  every  day, 
before  night,  to  deliver  tlie  seal  so  enclo'sed  to  one  of  the 


Kot.  CI.  4  Ed.  4. 


ROBERT    STILLINGTON,    CHANCELLOR.  385 

persons  above  mentioned,  and  to  receive  it  again  the  next     chap. 
•  •  •  XXIII 

morning,  to  be  used  in  the  manner  here  recited.* 

The  ruling  party  had  not  determined  who  should  be  the 

new  Chancellor  when  Neville  was  dismissed,  and  an  interval  of 

ten  days  elapsed  before  the  choice  was  made  —  employed  no 

doubt  in  intrigues  among  the  Queen's  friends,  from  whom  he 

was  to  be  selected.     At  last,  on  the  20th  of  June,  it  was  June  20. 

announced  that  Kobert  Stillington,  Bishop  of  Bath  and  J^fj^^^^ 

Wells,  was  appointed  Chancellor,  and  the  Great  Seal  was  Stilling- 

1   T  J  i     !-•       4.  TON,  Chan- 

aelivered  to  nim.j  cellor. 

But  before  entering  on  his  history,  we  must  take  a  final 
leave  of  Ex-chancellor  Neville.     He  now  harboured  the  deep-  Subsequent 
est  resentment  against  Edward,  and  entered  into  all  the  cabals  ^^^^l  "^ 

^  _  Ex-chan- 

of  his  brother  the  "  King-maker,"  who  was  secretly  leagued  cellor 
with  Queen  Margaret  and  the  Lancastrians,  and  wished  to      ^^'  ^' 
unmake  the  king  he  had  made. 

Both  brothers,  however,  attempted  to  conceal  their  wishes 
and  designs,  and  at  times  pretended  great  devotion  for  the 
reigning  Sovereign.  In  1469,  Edward,  in  a  progress  passing 
through  York,  was  invited  by  the  Archbishop,  his  Ex-chan- 
cellor, to  a  great  feast  at  the  archiepiscopal  palace.  He 
accepted  the  invitation ;  but  as  he  sat  at  table  he  perceived 
symptoms  which  suddenly  induced  him  to  suspect  that  the 
Archbishop's  retainers  intended  to  seize  his  person,  or  to 
murder  him.  He  abruptly  left  the  entertainment,  called  for 
his  guards,  and  retreated. 

When  in  the  following  year  the  civil  war  was  openly  re-  a.d.  1470. 
newed,  and  the  Earl  of  Warwick,  by  one  of  the  most  sudden 
revolutions  in  history,  was  complete  master  of  the  kingdom, 
it  is  said  that  Edward  was  for  a  time  in  the  custody  of  the 
Archbishop,  who,  however,  used  him  with  great  respect,  not 
restraining  him  from  the  diversions  of  hunting  and  walking 
abroad,  by  which  means  Edward  made  his  escape,  and  soon 
after  recovered  his  crown.     Upon  the  counter-revolution,  the  a.d.  1471. 

*  Rot.  CI.  7  Ed."  4.  m.  12.  It  had  not  been  unusual  to  impose  such 
restrictions  on  persons  holding  the  seal  without  being  Chancellor,  but  the  Chan- 
cellor always  had  the  unlimited  use  of  it,  upon  his  responsibility  to  the  King 
and  to  Parliament. 

t   Rot.  CI.  7  Ed.  4.  m.  12. 

VOL.  I.  CO 


384 


REIGN   OF   EDWARD    IV. 


CHAP. 

XXIIT. 


A.D.  1472. 


His  death. 


Character 
of  Robert 
Stillington. 

His  origin. 


A.D.  1467. 
His  speech 
at  proroga- 
tion of  par- 
liament. 


Archbishop  was  surprised  in  his  palace  at  Whitehall,  and  sent 
to  the  Tower ;  but  on  account  of  his  sacred  character  was 
soon  after  set  at  liberty,  although  he  had  been  repeatedly 
guilty  of  high  treason,  by  imagining  the  King's  death,  and 
levying  war  against  him  in  his  realm.  Being  detected  in  new 
plots,  about  a  year  after  his  enlargement,  the  King  again 
caused  him  to  be  arrested  on  a  charge  of  high  treason,  seized 
his  plate,  money,  and  furniture,  to  the  value  of  20,000/., 
and  sent  him  over  to  Calais,  then  often  used  as  a  state  prison. 
There  he  was  kept  in  strict  confinement  till  the  year  1476, 
when  on  the  score  of  his  declining  health  he  was  liberated, 
and  he  died  soon  after.  During  the  seven  years  he  held  the 
Great  Seal,  I  do  not  find  any  charge  against  him  of  partiality 
or  corruption  ;  and  his  sudden  changes  in  politics,  and  the  vio- 
lence with  which  he  acted  against  his  opponents,  must  be  con- 
sidered rather  as  characteristic  of  the  age  in  which  he  lived, 
than  bringing  any  great  reproach  upon  his  personal  character. 

Robert  Stillington,  his  successor,  had  the  rare  merit 
of  being  always  true  to  the  party  which  he  originally  es- 
poused. He  appears  to  have  been  of  humble  origin,  but  he 
gained  a  great  name  at  Oxford,  where  with  much  applause 
he  took  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws.  He  was  a  zealous 
legitimist,  and  on  the  succession  of  Edward  IV.  he  was  a 
special  favourite  with  that  Prince,  Avho  successively  made 
him  Archdeacon  of  Taunton,  Bishop  of  Bath  and  Wells, 
Keeper  of  the  Privy  Seal,  and  finally  Lord  Chancellor.  He 
held  this  office  for  six  years,  Avith  the  exception  of  the  few 
months  when  Edward  was  obliged  to  fly  the  kingdom,  and 
the  sceptre  was  again  put  into  the  feeble  hand  of  Henry  VI. 

He  had  been  appointed  during  a  session  of  Parliament. 
This  was  brought  to  a  close  on  the  5th  of  July,  when  it  is 
stated,  that  having  in  the  presence  of  the  King,  Lords,  and 
Commons,  first  answered  certain  petitions  from  the  lower 
House,  he  thanked  them  in  the  King's  name  for  the  Statute 
of  Resumption  which  they  had  passed, — told  them  that 
the  King  had  provided  for  Calais,  and  had  taken  care  for 
Ireland  and  Wales, —[and  assured  them  that  his  Majesty 
desired  there  might  be  a  due  execution  of  the  laws  in  all  his 


ROBERT    STILLINGTON,    CHANCELLOR.  387. 

dominions.     After  which,  in  the  King's  name,  he  prorogued     chap. 
the  parliament.* 


sion. 


At  the  opening  of  the  following  session,  in  May,  1468,  Lord  ^j,  1453 
Chancellor  Stillington,  departing  from  the  custom  of  deli-  ^^^  speech 
vering  a   quaint  discourse  from  a  text   of  Scripture,    with  next  ses- 
infinite  divisions  and  subdivisions, — delivered  a  very  eloquent 
and  statesmanlike  speech,  which  made  a  deep  impression,  if 
we  may  judge  from  the  liberal  supplies  which  were  voted. 
After  some   observations   in    praise    of  the   government    of 
England  by  Kings,  Lords,  and  Commons, 

"  He  put  them  in  mind  in  what  poor  estate  the  King  found  the 
crown  ;  despoiled  of  the  due  inheritance  ;  wasted  in  its  treasures  ; 
the  laws  wrecked  ;  and  the  whole  by  the  usurpation  in  a  manner 
subverted.  Add  to  this  the  loss  of  the  crown  of  France ;  the 
Duchies  of  Normandy,  Gascoigny,  and  Guienne,  the  ancient  patri- 
mony of  the  crown  of  England,  lost  also  ;  and  further  he  found  it 
involved  in  a  war  with  Denmark,  Spain,  Scotland,  Brittany,  and 
other  parts,  and  even  with  their  old  enemy  of  France.  Then,  de- 
scending, he  told  them  that  the  King  had  appeased  all  tumults 
within  the  realm,  and  planted  such  inward  peace  that  law  and  jus- 
tice might  be  extended.  That  the  King  had  made  peace  with 
Scotland ;  that  the  Lord  Wenters  was  negotiating  a  league  with 
Spain  and  Denmark,  so  as  to  open  a  free  commerce  with  those 
countries.  But  what  was  still  the  greatest,  he  had  allied  himself 
to  the  Dukes  of  Burgundy  and  Brittany,  two  most  powerful  princes 
in  such  sort  as  they  had  given  the  King  the  strongest  assurance  of 
acting  vigorously  against  France  for  the  recovering  of  that  king- 
dom and  other  the  King's  patrimonies  ;  of  which,  since  they  made 
little  doubt,  the  King  thought  fit  not  to  omit  such  an  opportunity, 
and  such  a  one  as  never  happened  before.  And  that  his  Majesty 
might  see  this  kingdom  as  glorious  as  any  of  his  predecessors  did, 
he  was  ready  to  adventure  his  own  person  in  so  just  a  cause. 
Lastly,  he  told  them  that  the  King  had  called  this  parliament  to 
make  them  acquainted  with  these  matters,  and  to  desire  their 
advice  and  assistance."! 

The  announcement  of  a  French  war  was  a  certain  mode  of 
opening  the  purse-strings  of  the  nation ;  a  large  subsidy  of 
two  tenths  and  two  fifteenths  was  immediately  granted,  and 
a  renewal  of  tlie  glories  of  Cressy,  Poictiers,  and  Agincourt 
was  confidently  anticipated. 

*   1  Pari.  Hist,  426.  f   ^^'^^-  427. 

c  c  2 


388 


REIGN  OF   EDWARD   IV. 


CHAP. 

XXIII. 

Invasion 
by  Earl  of 
Warwick. 


Sept  1470, 
Henry  VI. 
restored. 


"  The  hun- 
dred days." 
October, 
1470. 


But  these  visions  were  soon  dispelled  by  the  landing  of  the 
Earl  of  Warwick,  now  the  leader  of  the  Lancastrians,  with 
the  avowed  object  of  rescuing  Henry  from  the  Tower,  where 
he  himself  had  imprisoned  him,  and  replacing  him  on  the 
throne  from  which  he  had  pulled  him  down  as  an  usurper. 
"  The  scene  which  ensues,"  says  Hume,  "  resembles  more  the 
fiction  of  a  poem  or  romance  than  an  event  in  true  history." 
It  may  be  compared  to  nothing  more  aptly  than  the  return 
of  Napoleon  from  Elba.  In  eleven  days  from  Warwick's 
landing  at  Dartmouth,  —  without  fighting  a  battle,  Henry  was 
again  set  at  liberty  and  proclaimed  king,  and  Edward  was 
flying  in  disguise  to  find  a  refuge  beyond  the  seas. 

The  Lord  Chancellor  Stillington  certainly  did  not  submit 
to  the  new  government ;  but  I  cannot  find  whether  he  fol- 
lowed Edward  into  exile,  or  where  he  resided  during  "  the 
hundred  days."  Most  of  the  leading  Yorkists  fled  to  the 
Continent,  or  took  to  sanctuary,  like  the  Queen  —  who,  shut 
up  in  Westminster  Abbey,  while  assailed  by  the  cries  of  the 
Lancastrians,  was  delivered  of  her  son,  afterwards  Edward  V., 
murdered  by  his  inhuman  uncle.  Stillington  probably  relied 
for  safety  on  his  sacred  character,  and  retired  to  his  see. 

A  new  Chancellor  must  have  been  appointed,  as  a  par- 
liament was  called  and  the  government  was  regularly  con- 
ducted in  Henry's  name,  this  being  now  styled  "the  49th 
year  "  of  his  reign ;  but  there  is  no  trace  of  the  name  of  any 
one  who  was  intrusted  with  the  Great  Seal  till  after  the 
restoration  of  Edward  IV. 

It  is  chiefly  on  the  public  records  that  we  ought  to  rely  for 
the  events  of  those  times,  and  as  soon  as  Edward  was  again  on 
the  throne,  the  records  of  all  the  transactions  which  had  taken 
place  during  his  exile  were  vacated  and  destroyed.  "  There 
18  no  part  of  English  history  since  the  Conquest  so  uncertain, 
so  little  authentic  or  consistent,  as  that  of  the  wars  between 
the  two  Roses ;  and  it  is  remarkable  that  this  profound  dark- 
ness falls  upon  us  just  on  the  eve  of  the  restoration  of  letters, 
and  when  the  art  of  printing  was  already  known  in  Europe. 
All  that  we  can  distinguish  with  certainty  through  the  deep 
cloud  which  covers  that  period,  is  a  scene  of  horror  and  blood- 


ROBERT    STILLINGTON,    CHANCELLOR.  389 

shed,  savage  manners,  arbitrary  executions,  and  treacherous,  CHAP, 
dishonourable  conduct  in  all  parties."* 

Thus  we  shall  never  know  who  was  the  Chancellor  that  Doubtful 

stated  the  causes  for  calling,  in  the  name  of  Henry  VI.,  the  ^|'°  ^*,^ 

1-1  .  ^  T*.T  Chancellor 

parliament  which  met  at  Westminster  on  the  26th  of  Novem-  onrestora- 
ber,    1470, — when  Edward  TV.  was  declared  a  traitor  and  V^"  °*^  ttt 

'  ^  Henry  VL 

usurper  of  the  Crown,  —  all  his  lands  and  goods  were  con- 
fiscated, —  all  the  statutes  made  by  him  were  repealed,  — 
all  his  principal  adherents  were  attainted,  — and  sentence  of 
death  was  passed  on  the  accomplished  Tiptoft,  Earl  of  Wor- 
cester, though,  struck  with  the  first  rays  of  true  science,  he 
had  been  zealous  by  his  exhortation  and  example  to  pro- 
pagate the  love  of  polite  learning  among  his  unpolished  coun- 
trymen, f  The  strong  probability  is,  that  George  Neville, 
King-maker  Warwick's  brother,  at  this  time  had  the  Great 
Seal  restored  to  him,  and  took  the  oaths  as  Chancellor  to 
King  Henry  VI. 

But  Edward  soon  returned  to  recover  his  lost  authority,   a.d.  1471. 
and  to  wreak  vengeance  on  his  enemies ;  the  battles  of  Barnet   iv"^^J_ 
and  Tewkesbury  were  fought ;    the  Earl  of  Warwick  fell ;   stored. 
Edward  the  Prince  of  Wales  was  assassinated ;  and  the  un- 
happy Henry,  "after  life's  fitful  fever  slept  well," — whether  Death  of 
relieved  from  his  sufferings  by  the  pitying  hand  of  nature,  or      ^^'^ 
by  the  "  weeping  sword  "  of  the  inhuman  Gloucester. 

When  King  Edward  had  gone  through  the  ceremony  of  Stlllington 
being  re-crowned,  we  find   Stillington  in  possession  of  the   (fhancellor 
Seal  as  Chancellor.     There  is  no  entry  in  the  records  of  its 
being  again  delivered  to  him,  and  he  was  probably  considered 
as  holding  it  under  his  original  appointment. 

A  parliament  was  soon  afterwards  called,  which  was  opened 
and  prorogued  by  a  speech  from  the  Chancellor,  but  at  which 
nothing  memorable  occurred.  The  late  parliament  held  in 
the  name  of  Henry  VI.  was  not  then  even  recognised  so  far 
as  that  its  acts  were  repealed,  and  the  course  was  adopted  as 
preferable  of  obliterating  all  rolls  recording  its  proceedings. 
Had   things  so  remained,  it  would  have  been  difficult   for 

*   Hume.  t   1  Pari.  Hist.  428. 

c  c  3  , 


380  REIGN  OP  HENRY  VI. 

CHAP.  "TCw  into  new  consideration.  The  doctrine  of  uses  was 
^^''*  now  established,  and  it  was  determined  that  they  might  be 
enforced  without  going  to  parliament.  So  low  down  as 
the  7th  of  Henry  VI.,  this  kind  of  property  was  so  little  re- 
garded, that  we  find  it  stated  by  one  of  the  judges  as  "  a  thing 
not  allowed  by  law,  and  entirely  void,  if  a  man  make  a  feoff- 
ment with  a  proviso  that  he  himself  should  take  the  profits  * ; " 
but  in  the  37th  year  of  the  same  reign,  in  the  time  of  Lord 
Chancellor  Waynflete,  a  feoffor  "  to  such  uses  as  he  should 
direct,"  having  sold  the  land  and  directed  the  feoffees  to 
convey  to  the  purchaser,  it  was  agreed  by  all  the  judges  in 
the  Exchequer,  when  consulted  upon  the  subject,  that  the 
intention  of  the  feoffor  being  declared  in  writing,  the  feofiees 
were  bound  to  fulfil  it ;  and  they  intimated  an  opinion,  that 
where  a  testator  devised  that  his  feoffees  should  make  an  estate 
for  life  to  one,  remainder  to  another,  the  remainder-man 
should  have  a  remedy  in  Chancery,  to  compel  a  conveyance 
to  himself,  even  during  the  continuance  of  the  life  interest,  f 
Very  soon  after,  the  distinction  between  the  legal  and 
equitable  estate  was  fully  settled  on  the  principles,  and  in  the 
language  which  ever  since  have  been  applied  to  it.:}: 
Rude  state  On  Other  points.  Equity  remained  rather  in  a  rude  plight. 
q"«  y-  Pqj,  example,  —  in  a  subsequent  case  which  came  before  Lord 
Chancellor  Waynflete,  the  plaintiff  having  given  a  bond  in 
payment  of  certain  debts  which  he  had  purchased,  filed  his 
bill  to  be  relieved  from  it,  on  the  ground  that  there  was  no 
consideration  for  the  bond,  as  he  could  not  maintain  an  action 
to  recover  the  debts  in  his  own  name.  This  case  being  ad- 
journed into  the  Exchequer  Chamber,  the  Judges,  instead  of 
suggesting  that  an  action  might  be  brought  for  the  benefit  of 
the  purchaser,  in  the  name  of  the  original  creditor,  held,  that 
the  bond  was  without  consideration,  and  advised  a  decree 
that  it  should  be  cancelled,  which  the  Chancellor  pronounced. 
An  action  was,  nevertheless,  brought  upon  the  bond  in  the 
Common  Pleas,  which  prevailed,  —  that  Court  holding  that 
the  only  power  the  Chancellor  had  of  enforcing  his  decrees, 
was  by  inflicting  imprisonment  on  the  contumacious  party,  who 

*  Y.  B.  7  Hen.  6.  436.  -j-  Bro.  Ab.  Garde,  5. 

X  See  Y.  B.  4  Ed.  4.  3. 


STATE   OF   THE    LAW.  381 

might  still  prosecute  his  legal  right  in  a  court  of  law,  notwlth-  chap. 
standing  the  determination  in  Chancery,  that  the  bond  was 
unconscionable.*  To  remedy  this  defect,  injunctions  were 
speedily  introduced,  raising  a  warfare  between  the  two  sides 
of  Westminster  Hall,  which  was  not  allayed  till  after  the 
famous  battle  between  Lord  Coke  and  Lord  EUesmere,  in  the 
reign  of  James  I.  Bills  were  now  filed  for  perpetuation  of 
testimony,  the  examination  being  taken  by  commissioners,  and 
certified  into  Chancery.  Possession  was  quieted  by  the  au- 
thority of  the  Court,  and  its  jurisdiction  was  greatly  extended 
for  the  purpose  of  affording  relief  against  fraud,  deceit,  and 
force. 

♦  Y.  B.  36  Hen.  6.  13. 


392 


EEIGN   OF   EDWARD   IV. 


CHAP. 

XXIII. 

His  rise. 


His  incom- 
petency. 


He  is  dis- 
missed. 


He  had  risen  by  merit  from  obscurity.  He  studied  at 
Cambridge,  where  he  gained  high  distinction  for  his  pro- 
ficiency in  literature,  law,  and  divinity.  While  still  a  young 
man  he  was  elected  head  of  his  house  and  Chancellor  of  that 
University.  In  1457  he  was  made  Bishop  of  Durham,  while 
Henry  VI.  was  nominally  King,  but  under  the  influence  of 
the  Yorkists,  to  whom  he  continued  steadily  attached.  It 
seems  strange  to  us  that  an  individual,  who  for  sixteen  years 
had  been  occupied  in  superintending  a  remote  diocese,  should 
in  his  old  age  be  selected  to  fill  the  office  of  Lord  Chancellor, 
now  become  one  of  great  importance  in  the  administration  of 
justice ;  but  there  were,  no  doubt,  political  reasons  for  the 
appointment,  and  the  interests  of  the  suitors  were  not  much 
regarded.  It  is  possible  that  the  Bishop  might  have  been 
thought  capable  of  silencing  a  noisy  opponent  in  parliament, 
or  that  he  was  of  that  moderate,  decent,  unalarming  character, 
which  so  often  leads  to  promotion. 

His  appointment  turned  out  a  great  failure.  He  was 
equally  inefficient  in  the  Court  of  Chancery  and  in  parlia- 
ment. Except  that  he  did  not  take  bribes,  he  had  every  bad 
quality  of  a  judge,  and  heavy  complaints  arose  from  his  va- 
cillation and  delays.  While  he  presided  on  the  woolsack  in 
the  House  of  Lords,  he  never  ventured  to  open  his  mouth, 
unless  in  the  formal  addresses  which  he  delivered  by  the 
King's  command  at  the  commencement  and  close  of  the 
session,  and  these  were  so  bad  as  to  cause  general  dissatis- 
faction. On  the  1st  of  February,  1474,  he  summoned  the 
Commons  to  the  Upper  House,  and  told  them  "  that  they 
were  then  assembled  to  consult  which  way  the  King  might 
proceed  in  the  wars ;  but  because  his  Majesty  had  yet  heard 
nothing  from  his  brother,  the  Duke  of  Burgundy,  relating 
to  that  affivir,  whereon  much  depended,  it  was  the  King's 
command  that  this  parliament  should  be  prorogued  to  the 
9th  of  May  ensuing."* 

When  the  two  Houses  again  met,  his  incompetency  became 
more  glaring,  and  it  was  found  that  he  had  not  the  requisite 
skill,  by  eloquence  or  management,  to  carry  the  measures  of 


*   I  Pari.  Hist   432. 


THOMAS   ROTHERAM,    CHANCELLOR.  393 

the  Court,  or  to  obtain  the  supplies.     He  was  accordingly     CHAP. 

•  XXIII 

dismissed  from  the  office  of  Chancellor.  To  console  him,  he 
was  soon  after  translated  from  Durham  to  York.  He  died 
after  having  quietly  presided  over  this  province  between 
three  and  four  years,  during  which  time,  abandoning  politics, 
he  exclusively  confined  himself  to  his  spiritual  duties.* 

There  is  no  record  of  the  delivery  of  the  Great  Seal   to  a.  d.  1475. 
RoTHERAM,  his  distinguished  successor ;  but  we  know  from   Bbhop'^of^* 
the  Privy  Seal  Bills  extant,  that  he  was  Chancellor  in  the   Lincoln, 
end  of  February,  1475.  f     Although  he  held  the  Great  Seal 
only  for  a  short  time  on  this  occasion,  it  was  afterwards  re- 
stored to  him,  and  he  acted  a  most  conspicuous  part  in  the 
troubles  which  ensued  on  the  death  of  Edward  lY. 

He  owed  his  elevation  to  his  own  merits.  His  family  name 
was  Scot,  unillustrated  in  England  at  that  time,  and  instead  of 
it,  he  assumed  the  name  of  the  town  in  the  West  Riding  of 
Yorkshire  in  which  he  was  born.  |  He  studied  at  King's 
College,  Cambridge,  and  was  one  of  the  earliest  fellows  on 
this  royal  foundation  which  has  since  produced  so  many  dis- 
tinguished men.  §  He  was  afterwards  Master  of  Pembroke 
Hall,  and  Chancellor  of  this  University.  For  his  learning 
and  piety  he  was  at  an  early  age  selected  to  be  chaplain  to 
Vere,  thirteenth  Earl  of  Oxford,  and  he  was  then  taken  into 
the  service  of  Edward  IV.  Being  a  steady  Yorkist,  he  was 
made  Bishop  of  Rochester  in  1467,  and  translated  to  Lin- 
coln in  1471.  To  finish  the  notice  of  his  ecclesiastical  dig- 
nities, I  may  mention  here  that,  in  1480,  he  became  Arch- 
bishop of  York,  and  that  he  received  a  red  hat  from  the 
Pope  with  the  title  of  Cardinal  St^  Cicili^. 

Soon  after  his  elevation  to  the  office  of  Chancellor  he  was  a  parlia- 
ment, June 


*  Privy  Seal  Bills,  14  Ed.  4.  f  L.  C.  56. 

X  We  are  not  to  suppose  from  this  that  he  was  ashamed  of  his  descent. 
Edward  I.,  to  introduce  surnames,  still  rare,  and  to  give  variety  to  them,  had 
directed  that  people  might  take  as  a  name  the  place  of  their  birth.  Even 
princes  of  the  blood  were  called  by  the  place  of  their  birth,  as  "  Harry  of  Mon- 
mouth," "John  of  Gaunt,"  "  Thomas  of  Woodstock,"  &c.  Priests  being  mortal 
g<BcuL),  very  frequently  relinquished  their  family  names  on  their  ordination. 

§  Three  Chancellors,  —  Rotheram,  Goodrich,  and  Camden,  and  many  most 
eminent  lawyers,  —  as  Chief  Justice  Sir  James  Mansfield,  Chief  Justice  Sir 
Vicary  Gibbs,  Mr.  Justice  Patteson,  Mr.  Justice  Dampier,  and  his  son,  the 
present  Judge  of  the  Stannary  Court. 

II    Fuller's  Worthies,  214.      Godwin  Willis,  42.      Wood's  Ath,  i.  147. 


6.  1475. 


394  REIGN    OF    EDWARD    IV. 

rilAP.     called  to  open  a  session  of  parliament  after  a  prorogation, 
^^^^^'     and  by  holding  out  the  prospect  of  a  French  war  he  con- 


trived to  obtain   supplies   of  unexampled  amount.     In  the 
beginning  of  the  following  year  he  passed  a  great  number  of 
A  D.  1476.    bills  of  attainder  and  restitution,  with  a  view  to  the  perma- 
nent depression  of  the  Lancastrians.     On  the  14th  of  March, 
by  the  King's  command,   he   returned  thanks  to  the  three 
estates,  and  dissolved  the  parliament,  which  had  lasted  near 
Length  of    tvvo  ycars  and  a  half.*     Since  the  beginning  of  parliaments 
parliaments  ^^  q^q  jjg^^j  enjoyed  an  existence  nearly  so  long.     Formerly 
times.  there  was  a  new  parliament  every  session,  and  the  session  did 

not  last  many  days.      But  as  the  power  of  the  House   of 
Commons  increased,  it  was  found  of  great  importance  to  have 
a  majority  attached  to  the  ruling  faction,   and  disposed  to 
grant  liberal  supplies.    When  such  a  House  was  elected  there 
was  a  reluctance  to  part  with  it,  and  prorogations  were  gra- 
dually substituted  for  dissolutions ;  but  the  keeping  of  the 
same  parliament  in  existence  above  a  year  was  considered  a 
great  innovation.     At  common  law,  however,  the  demise  of 
the  Crown  was  the  only  limit  to  the  duration  of  parliaments, 
—  which  accounts  for  the  first    parliament  of   Charles  II. 
having  lasted  eighteen  years,  and  there  being  sometimes  no 
dissolution  of  the  Irish  parliament  during  a  long  reign. 
Characters        The  history  of  Croyland  points  it  out  as  something  very 
Omncdlors  remarkable,  that  during  this  parliament  of  Edward  IV.  no 
who  pre-      less   than   three  several  Lord  Chancellors  presided.     "The 
parTiamc^n"!  ^''st,"  adds  that  authority,  "  was  Eobert  Stillington,  Bishop 
of  Bath,  who  did  nothing  but  by  the  advice  of  his  disciple, 
John  Alcock,  Bishop  of  Worcester ;  the  next  was  Lawrence 
Booth,  Bishop  of  Durham,  who  tired  himself  with  doing  just 
nothing  at  all ;  and  the  third  was  Thomas  Kotheram,  Bishop 
of  Lmcoln,  who  did  all,  and  brought  every  thing  to  a  happy 
conclusion." 
i^K  '^'"         ^Itl^ough  Rotheram  had  given  such  satisfaction  as  Chan- 
Chancellor   cellor,— on  the  27th  of  April,  1476,  John  Alcock,  who  had 
been  formerly  keeper  of  the  Great  Seal  under  Stillington, 
was  sworn  in  Chancellor,  and  held  the  office  till  the  28th  of 

*   1  Pari.  Hist.  433. 


a  short 
time. 


THOMAS   EOTHERAM,    CHANCELLOR.  395 

September  following,  when  Rotheram  was  reinstated  in  it.*     chap. 
We  have  no  certain  information  respecting  the  cause  of  this 


ment. 


discontinuance,  or  how  he  employed  himself  in  the  interval;  ^^  1475 
but  there  is  a  strong  probability  that  he  accompanied   the    Kotheram 
King  in  his  inglorious    expedition   to    claim   the    crown    of 
France,  which  ended  in  the  peace  of  Pecquigni,  and  that  the 
negotiations  with  the  Duke  of  Burgundy  and  Louis  XL  were 
chiefly  intrusted  to  him. 

He  continued  Chancellor  and  chief  adviser  of  the  Crown 
during  the  remainder  of  this  reign.  Edward,  immersed  in 
pleasure  and  indulging  in  indolence,  unless  excited  by  some 
great  peril,  when  he  could  display  signal  energy  as  well  as 
courage, — threw  upon  his  minister  all  the  common  cares  of 
government. 

A  parliament  met  at  Westminster  in  January,  1477,  when  a.d.  1477. 
Lord  Chancellor  Rotheram,  in  the  presence  of  the  King,  jor'sTp^eech 
Lords  and  Commons,  in  the  Painted  Chamber,  declared  the  to  pariia- 
cause  of  the  summons  from  this  text,  "  Dominus  regit  me  et 
nihil  mihi  deerit;"  upon  Avhich  he  largely  treated  of  the 
obedience  which  subjects  owe  to  their  Prince,  and  showed, 
by  many  examples  out  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament,  what 
grievous  plagues  had  happened  to  the  rebellious  and  dis- 
obedient, particularly  that  saying  of  St.  Paul,  Non  sine  causa 
Rex  gladium  portat.  He  added,  that  "the  Majesty  of  the 
King  was  upheld  by  the  hand  and  counsel  of  God,  by  which 
he  was  advanced  to  the  throne  of  his  ancestors."  f 

Lord  Chancellor  Rotheram  now  found  it  convenient  to  pass 
an  act  repealing  all  the  statutes,  and  nullifying  all  the  pro- 
ceedings of  the  parliament  which  sat  during  the  100  days, 
"  alleged  to  have  been  held  in  the  49th  year  of  Hen.  VI., 
but  which,"  it  was  said,  "  was  truly  the  9th  of  Ed.  IV."  He 
then  obtained  great  popularity  by  an  act  showing  the  dislike 
to  Irishmen,  which  still  lingers  in  England,  and  which,  with   statute 

little  mitio-ation,  was  long-  handed  down  from  generation  to  ^S^'"** 

^  .         ^        ,  °  Irishmen, 

generation, — "  to  oblige  all  Irishmen  born,  or  coming  of  Irish 

parents,  Avho  reside  in  England,  either  to  repair  to  and  remain 

in  Ireland,  or  else  to  pay  yearly  a  certain  sum  there  rated 

*  Privy  Seal  Bills,  15  Ed.  4.  \  I  Pari.  Hist.  434. 


396 


REIGN   OF   EDWARD   IV. 


CHAP 

xxiir. 


January, 
1477.  Dis- 
putes be- 
tween King 
and  Clar- 
ence. 


Feb.  1478. 


"  Statute 
of  Ker- 
queue."  f 


A.D.  1483. 
Death  of 
Edward 
IV. 


for  the  defence  of  the  same."  We  fear  this  was  not  meant 
as  an  absentee  tax  for  the  benefit  of  Ireland,  but  was,  in  re- 
ality, an  oppressive  levy  on  obnoxious  aliens,  such  as  was 
imposed  on  the  Jews  till  they  were  finally  banished  from  the 
realm. 

Now  began  the  fatal  dissensions  in  the  royal  family  which 
led  to  the  destruction  of  the  House  of  York,  and  the  extinc- 
tion of  the  name  of  Plantagenet.  There  is  reason  to  think 
that  the  Chancellor  did  all  that  was  possible  to  heal  the  dis- 
pute between  the  King  and  his  brother,  the  Duke  of  Clarence. 
When  the  trial  for  treason  came  on  in  the  House  of  Lords, 
the  Duke  of  Buckingham  presided  as  Lord  Steward,  and  the 
King  appearing  personally  as  accuser,  the  field  was  left  to 
the  two  brothers ;  "  no  one  charging  Clarence  but  the  King, 
and  no  one  answering  the  King  but  Clarence."*  According 
to  the  universal  usage,  the  Bill  of  Attainder  passed  both 
Houses  unanimously ;  but  the  Chancellor,  as  a  churchman, 
could  not  vote  in  this  affair  of  blood.  We  may  suppose  that 
it  was  at  the  merciful  suggestion  of  "  the  Keeper  of  his  con- 
science," that  the  King  was  so  far  softened  as  to  give  his 
brother  the  choice  of  the  mode  of  dying,  and  consented  to 
his  being  drowned  in  a  butt  of  his  favourite  malmsey. 

On  the  20th  of  January,  1482,  the  Chancellor  opened 
Edward's  last  parliament  with  a  speech  from  the  text, 
Dominus  illuminatio  mea  et  salus  mea ;  but  we  are  not  told 
on  what  topics  he  enlarged ;  and  nothing  was  brought  for- 
ward during  the  session  except  a  code  or  consolidation  of  the 
laws  touching  "excess  of  apparel,"  with  a  new  enactment, 
"  that  none  under  the  degree  of  a  Lord  shall  wear  any  mantle, 
unless  it  be  of  such  a  length  that  a  man  standing  upright, 
il  lui  voilera  la  queue %;'''  —  so  that,  instead  of  appearing  in 
flowing  robes,  and  with  a  long  train,  the  privilege  of  the  no- 
bility now  was  to  show  the  contour  of  their  person  to  the 
multitude. 

In  «  Cotton's  Abridgement "  Is  to  be  found  a  list  of  the 
peers  summoned  to  attend  another  parliament  at  Westminster 


I  Pari.  Hist.  435. 


t  This  word  is  of  the  same  etymology  as  «  AercAe/,"— head-covering 
I    Iranslated  m  the  statute-book,  "  it  shall  cover  his  buttocks."  22  I 


Ed.  4.  c.  1. 


THOMAS   ROTHERAM,    CHANCELLOR.         '  397 

In  the  beginning  of  the  following  year ;  but  there  are  no  pro-     chap. 
ceedings  of  such  a  parliament  on  record,  and,  If  summoned,  it  ^ 


was  probably  prevented  from  meeting  by  the  last  sickness 
and  death  of  the  King,  which  happened  on  the  9th  of  April, 
1483,  in  the  forty-second  year  of  his  age  and  the  twenty- 
third  of  his  reign. 

There  are  to  be  found  in  the  Year  Books  and  Abridge-  Decision  of 
ments  various  cases  decided  by  the  Chancellors  of  Edward  IV.,  ceUw  Ro"" 
showing  that  their  equitable  jurisdiction  still  required  much  theram.  . 
to  be  Improved  and  strengthened.  Lord  Chancellor  Rotheram 
was  considered  the  greatest  equity  lawyer  of  the  age.  While 
he  held  the  Great  Seal,  a  bill  was  filed  by  a  person  who  had 
entered  into  a  statute  merchant  (that  is,  had  acknowledged 
before  the  mayor  of  a  town  that  he  owed  a  sum  of  money), 
who  had  paid  the  debt  without  taking  a  written  discharge, 
and  who  was  afterwards  sued  at  law  for  the  amount.  The 
question  was,  whether  he  should  have  relief?  The  Chan- 
cellor, having  great  doubt,  called  in  the  assistance  of  the 
Judges  in  the  Exchequer  Chamber,  —  where,  after  much  ar- 
gument, he  pronounced  that  a  statute  merchant,  being  matter 
of  record,  no  relief  could  be  given,  though  it  would  have 
been  otherwise  in  the  case  of  a  bond.  And  he  decreed 
accordingly.  * 

But  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  he  proceeded  warily.    Attempts 
and  that  he  stood  in  awe  of  the  common-law  Judges :  for  o*" ^ommon- 

o       '  law  Judges 

they  appear  to  have  formed  a  combination  against  him.  In  against  in- 
the  same  year  in  which  the  last  case  was  decided,  he  had  J""''^'°"*- 
granted  an  injunction  after  verdict  in  a  case  depending  in 
the  Court  of  King's  Bench,  on  the  ground  that  the  verdict 
had  been  fraudulently  obtained.  Hussey,  the  Lord  Chief 
Justice,  who  had  probably  presided  at  the  trial,  was  very  in- 
dignant, and  asked  the  counsel  for  the  plaintiff  "  if  they  would 
pray  judgment  according  to  the  verdict?"  and  they  declared 
their  dread  of  infringing  the  injunction.  One  of  the  puisne 
Judges  argued,  that  "  though  the  party  himself  against  whom 
the  injunction  was  directed  might  be  bound  by  it,  his  counsel 
or  attorney  might  pray  judgment  with  safety."     But  this  dis- 

*  Y.  B.  22  Ed.  4.  6. 


398  REIGN   OP   EDWARD   IV. 

CHAP,  tinction  being  over-ruled,  the  Lord  Chief  Justice  said  "they 
^''''^'  had  talked  over  the  matter  among  themselves,  and  they  saw 
no  mischief  that  could  ensue  to  the  party  if  he  prayed  judg- 
ment, for  the  pecuniary  penalty  mentioned  in  the  injunction 
was  not  leviable  by  law,  so  that  there  remained  nothing  but 
imprisonment ; "  and  as  to  that  he  said,  "  If  the  Chancellor 
commits  any  one  to  the  Fleet,  apply  to  us  for  a  habeas 
corpus,  and  upon  the  return  to  it  we  will  discharge  the  pri- 
soner, and  we  will  do  all  to  assist  you."  To  avoid  the  im- 
pending collision,  another  puisne  Judge  said  "  he  would  go  to 
the  Chancellor,  and  ask  him  to  dissolve  the  injunction ; "  but 
they  all  stoutly  declared  that  "  if  the  injunction  were  con- 
tinued, they  would  nothingtheless  give  judgment  and  award 
execution," — taking  much  credit  to  themselves  for  their 
moderation  in  refusing  damages  for  the  loss  occasioned  by 
the  proceedings  in  Chancery.* 
Jurisdic  Yet  the  equitable  jurisdiction  of  the  Court  of  Chancery 

bHshedover  ^^7  ^^  Considered   as  making  its  greatest  advance  in  this 
trusts.  reign.     The  point  was  now  settled,  that  there  being  a  feoff- 

ment to  uses,  the  cestui  que  use,  or  person  beneficially  en- 
titled, could  maintain  no  action  at  law,  the  Judges  saying 
that  he  had  neither  jits  in  re  nor  jus  ad  rem,  and  that  their 
forms  could  not  be  moulded  so  as  to  afford  him  any  effectual 
relief,  either  as  to  the  land  or  the  profits.  The  Chancellors, 
therefore,  with  general  applause,  declared  that  they  would 
proceed  by  subpoena  against  the  feoffee  to  compel  him  to 
perform  a  duty  Avhich  in  conscience  was  binding  upon  him, 
and  gradually  extended  the  remedy  against  his  heir  and 
against  his  alienee  with  notice  of  the  trust,  although  they 
held,  as  their  successors  have  done,  that  the  purchaser  of  the 
legal  estate  for  valuable  consideration  without  notice  might 
retain  the  land  for  his  own  benefit,  f  They  therefore  now 
freely  made  decrees  requiring  the  trustee  to  convey  accord- 
ing to  the  directions  of  the  person  beneficially  interested ; 
and  the  most  important  branch  of  the  equitable  jurisdiction 
of  the  Court  over  trusts  was  firmly  and  irrevocably  esta- 
blished. 

•  Y.  B.  22  Ed.  4.  .<?7. 

t  See  Bro.  Feoff,  al.  Uses,  pi.  45.     Saunders  on  Uses,  p.  20. 


STATE   OF   THE   LAW. 


399 


A  written  statement  of  the  supposed  grievance  being  re-     CHAP, 
quired  to  be  filed  before  the  issuing  of  the  subpoena,    with  '_ 


security  to  pay  damages  and  costs, — bills  now  acquired  form, 
and  the  distinction  arose  between  the  proceeding  by  bill  and 
by  petition.  The  same  regularity  was  observed  in  the  sub- 
sequent stages  of  the  suit.  Whereas  formerly  the  defendant 
was  generally  examined  viva  voce  when  he  appeared  in  obe- 
dience to  the  subpoena,  the  practice  now  was  to  put  in  a 
written  answer,  commencing  with  a  protestation  against  the 
truth  or  sufficiency  of  the  matters  contained  in  the  bill, 
stating  the  facts  relied  upon  by  the  defendant,  and  con- 
cluding with  a  prayer  that  he  may  be  dismissed,  with  his 
costs. 

There  were  likewise,  for  the  purpose  of  introducing  new  Equity 
facts,  special  replications  and  rejoinders,  which  continued  till  ^  ^^'i"'? 
the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  but  which  have  been  rendered  unne- 
cessary by  the  more  modern  practice  of  amending  the  bill 
and  answer.  Pleas  and  demurrers  now  appear.  Although 
the  pleadings  were  in  English,  the  decrees  on  the  bill  con- 
tinued to  be  In  Latin  down  to  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII.  * 
Bills  to  perpetuate  testimony,  to  set  out  metes  and  bounds, 
and  for  injunctions  against  proceedings  at  law,  and  to  stay 
waste,  became  frequent,  f 

The  common-law  Judges  at  this  time  Avere  very  bold  men, 
having  of  their  own  authority  repealed  the  statute  De  Donis, 
passed  in  the  reign  of  Edward  I.,  which  authorised  the 
perpetual  entail  of  land,  —  by  deciding.  In  Taltarum's  case  %, 
that  the  entail  might  be  barred  through  a  fictitious  proceed- 
ing in  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  called  a  "  Common  Reco- 
very;"—  the  estate  being  adjudged  to  a  sham  claimant, — a 
sham  equivalent  being  given  to  those  who  ought  to  succeed  to 
it, — and  the  tenant  In  tail  being  enabled  to  dispose  of  it  as  he 
pleased,  in  spite  of  the  will  of  the  donor.  One  of  these 
judges  was  Littleton,  the  author  of  the  Treatise  on  Tenures, 


♦  They  were  now  sometimes  expressed  to  be  "  habita  deliberatione  cum  jus- 
ticiariis  et  aliis  de  dicti  Domini  Regis  coneilio  peritis  ad  hoc  evocatis  et  ibidem 
tunc  prajsentibus." 

t  See  Calendar,  and  Reports  of  Record  Commissioners,  Temp.  Ed.  4. 

t  12  Ed.  4. 


400  REIGN   OF   EDWARD   IV. 

CHAP,     a  work  of  higher  authority  than  any  other  in    the   law  of 
^^'^  '     England.     Fortescue  is  the  only  individual  in  the   list   of 
Chancellors  who  wrote  in  this  reign,  and  his  Dialogue  "  De 
Laudibus  "  was  not  published  till  long  after.* 

In  the  old  "  Abridgements  of  the  Law"  there  are  various 
decisions  of  Edward  IV. 's  Chancellors  referred  to  under  the 
heads  "Conscience,"  "Subpoena,"  and  "Injunctions,"  —  the 
only  prior  ones  being  a  few  in  the  time  of  Henry  VI. ;  but 
they  show  equity  to  have  been  still  in  the  rudest  state,  with- 
out systematic  rules  or  principles.  ' 

•  The  general  principles  on  which  the  equity  jurisdiction  of  the  Court  of 
Chancery  was  exercised  in  the  time  of  Edward  IV.,  may  be  favourably  judged 
from  the  instructions  to  Kirkeham  when  made  Master  of  the  Rolls.  "  The 
King  willed  and  commanded  there  and  thanne,  that  all  manere  maters,  to  be 
examyned  and  discussed  in  the  Court  of  Chauncery,  should  be  directed  and  de- 
termined accordyng  to  equite  and  conscience,  and  to  the  old  cours  and  laudable 
custume  of  the  same  Court,  so  that  if  in  any  such  maters  any  difEcuitie  or  ques- 
tion of  lawe  happen  to  ryse,  that  he  herein  take  th'  advis  and  counsel  of  sume 
of  the  Kynge's  Justices ;  so  that  right  and  justice  may  be  duely  ministered  to 
every  man."'  This  document,  which  must  have  been  framed  under  the  directions 
of  Lord  Chancellor  Neville,  shows  that  there  was  then  a  great  anxiety  to  keep 
equity  in  subjection  to  the  common  law ;  that  it  was  usual  to  call  in  the  assist- 
ance of  the  common-law  Judges  when  any  point  of  difficulty  arose  in  the  Court 
of  Chancery  ;  and  that  this  privilege  then  belonged  to  the  Master  of  the  Rolls, 
as  well  as  to  the  Lord  Chancellor  himself. 


'  CI.  Rol.  7  Ed.  4. 


JOHN   RUSSELL,   CHANCELLOR.  401 


.  CHAPTER  XXIV. 

CHANCELLORS   DURING   THE   REIGNS   OF   EDWARD   V.    AND 
RICHARD  III. 

Before  Edward  IV.  was  laid  in  his  ffrave,  disputes  beojan     chap. 
between  the  Queen's  family  and  the  Duke  of  Gloucester,  her 
brother-in-law,  who  from  the  first  claimed  the  office  of  Pro-  ^    -j  9 
tector,  and  soon  resolved  at  all  hazards  to  seize  the  crown,   i^ss.  Dis- 
Lord  Chancellor  Rotheram  sided  with  the  Queen,  and  when  tween  the 
with  her  daughters    and    her   younger   son   she   had   taken   ^^^^  of 

.      .  .  .  Gloucester 

sanctuary  within  the  precincts  of  the  Abbey  at  Westminster,  and  the 
where  on  a  former  distress  during  the  short  restoration  of  Q"o<2"- 
Henry  VI.  she  had  been  delivered  of  the  Prince  of  Wales, 
he  interfered  in  his  sacred  character  of  Archbishop  to  prevent 
her  and  the  objects  of  her  affection  from  being  forcibly  laid 
hold  of  by   Richard,  who  contended  that  the    ecclesiastical 
privilege  of  sanctuary  did  not  apply  to  them,  as  it  was  ori- 
ginally intended  only  to  give  protection    to   unhappy  men 
persecuted  for  their    debts  or  crimes.     A  messenger  came 
from  Richard  to  Rotheram,  to  assure  him  "  that  there  was  no 
sort  of  danger  to  the  Queen,  the  young  King,  or  the .  royal 
issue,  and  that  all  should  be  well ; "  to  which  he  replied,  — 
*'  Be  it  as  well  as  it  will,  I  assure  him  it  will  never  be  as 
well  as  we  have  seen  it."     Being  at  a  loss  how  to  dispose  of  Rotheram 
the  Great  Seal,  which  he  no  longer  had  a  right  to  use,  he  the  Great 
went  to  the  Queen  and  unadvisedly  delivered  it  up  to  her,   Seal. 
who  certainly  could  have  no  right  to  receive  it ;  —  but  re- 
penting his  mistake,  he  soon   sent   for  it  back,  and  it  was 
restored  to  him. 

Rotheram  has  escaped  all  suspicion  of  being  knowingly 
implicated  in  the  criminal  projects  of  Richard ;  but  he  was 
unfortunately  made  the  instrument  of  materially  aiding  them. 
The  Queen  still  resisted  all  the  importunities  and  threats 

VOL.  I.  D  D 


402  REIGN   OF   EDWARD   V. 

CHAP,     used  to  get  possession  from  her  of  the  infant  Duke  of  York, 
^       '     observing   "tliat,   by  living  in  sanctuary,  he  was  not  only 


A.D.  1483.    secure  himself,  but  gave  security  to  his  brother,  the  King, 

whose  life  no  one  would  dare  to  aim  at,  while  his  successor 

and  avenger  remained  in  safety." 

Prevails  on       Richard,  with  his  usual  art  and  deceit,  applied  himself  to 

Queen  to     Rothcram  and  another  Ex-chancellor,  Archbishop  Bourchier, 

part  with  '   ^      ,  ^    ^  , 

her  younger  and  contrived  to  persuade  them  that  his  intentions  were  fair, 
"*"*  and  that  his  only  object  in  obtaining  the  release  of  the  young 

Prince  was,  that  he  might  keep  the  King,  his  brother,  com- 
pany, and  walk  at  his  coronation.  These  holy  men  at  last 
prevailed  with  the  Queen  to  give  a  most  reluctant  assent. 
Taking  the  child  by  the  hand,  and  addressing  Rotheram,  she 
said :  —  "  My  Lord  Archbishop,  here  he  is ;  for  my  own  part 
I  can  never  deliver  him ;  but  if  you  will  needs  have  him,  take 
him :  I  will  require  him  at  your  hands."  She  was  here  struck 
with  a  kind  of  presage  of  his  future  fate ;  she  tenderly  em- 
braced him,  she  bedewed  him  with  her  tears,  and  bade  him 
an  eternal  adieu. 
John  Rus-  Rotheram  appears  soon  after  to  have  surrendered  the 
ceiio'r  to  Great  Seal  into  the  hands  of  the  Protector.  There  is  no 
Edward  V.  rccord  of  the  transfer  or  delivery  of  it  during  the  reign  of 
Edward  V.  But  we  know  that  while  the  young  King  still 
lived  and  his  name  was  used  as  sovereign,  John  Russell 
was  appointed  to  the  office,  and  must  have  sworn  fidelity  to 
that  Sovereign.  Sir  Thomas  More,  after  giving  an  account  of 
Richard  taking  upon  himself  the  office  of  Protector,  says :  — 
"  At  whiche  counsayle  also  the  Archebischoppe  of  York, 
Chauncellore  of  Englande,  whiche  had  delivered  uppe  the 
Greate  Scale  to  the  Queene,  was  therefore  greatly  reproved, 
and  the  Scale  taken  from  hyme,  and  delivered  to  Doctour 
Russell,  Byschoppe  of  Lincolne."  *  Moreover,  there  is  an 
original  letter  extant  in  the  Tower  of  London,  addressed  in 
the  name  of  Edward  V.  to  "  John  Bishop  of  Lincoln,  our 
Chancellor,"  and  dated  « the  seconde  daie  of  Juyn,  in  the  furste 
yere  of  oure  reigne."  And  Spelman  f  says,  though  without 
citing  his  authority,  — "  Hie  mortuo  rege  Edwardo  IV.  si- 

•   Sir  T.  More's  Hist.  Ric.  3.  p.  46.  f  Glos.  111. 


JOHN   RUSSELL,    CHANCELLOR.  403 

glllum  tradldit  (Thomas  Rotheram)  Reglnae  Matrl,  de  qua     CHAP, 
receptum  lo.  Russell  datur,  vivente  adhuc  Edwardo  V."  ' 


But  before  entering  on  the  life  of  the  new  Chancellor,  we  pinai  his- 
must  conclude  our  account  of  the  two  Archbishops,  who  for  ^°'y  of  Ex- 

1  /•I'l  ^11  1  iTi  chancellor 

the  rest  oi  their  days  confined  themselves  to  the  dischai'ge  Archbishop 
of  their  ecclesiastical  functions.  Bourchier  performed  the  Bourchier, 
marriage  ceremony  between  Henry  VII.  and  Elizabeth  of 
York,  by  which  the  red  and  white  roses  were  united;  but 
his  great  glory  is,  that  he  was  one  of  the  chief  persons  by 
whose  means  the  art  of  printing  was  introduced  into  England, 
and  that  he  was  a  zealous  and  enlightened  patron  of  reviving 
learning.  He  died  at  his  palace  of  Knowle,  near  Sevenoaks, 
on  the  30th  of  March,  1486,  and  was  buried  at  Canterbury, 
where  his  tomb  still  remains  on  the  north  side  of  the  choir, 
near  the  high  altar. 

Rotheram  did  not  take  any  active  part  in  the  struggles  and  Ro- 
which  ensued,  but  he  was  so  strongly  suspected  by  Richard  III.  ***^''*'"- 
that  he  was  detained  in  prison  till  near  the  end  of  this  reign, 
when  the  Lady  Anne  had  been  made  away  with.  He  was 
then  liberated  on  account  of  his  great  influence  over  the 
Queen  Dowager,  that  he  might  persuade  her  to  agree  to  a 
marriage  between  her  daughter  Elizabeth  and  the  murderer 
of  her  sons  —  which  would  have  taken  place  if  Richmond 
had  been  repulsed.  After  the  battle  of  Bosworth,  the  Ex- 
chancellor  quietly  submitted  to  the  new  government,  but 
he  was  looked  upon  with  no  favour  by  Henry  VIL,  who  to 
the  last  retained  his  Lancastrian  prejudices,  and  was  desirous 
to  depress  all  the  partisans  of  the  House  of  York.  He  died 
of  the  plague,  at  Cawood,  in  the  year  1500,  aged  76,  and 
was  buried  in  his  own  cathedral.*  He  was  founder  of 
Lincoln  College,  Oxford,  and  showed  his  affection  to  the 
place  of  his  nativity  by  building  a  college  there,  with  three 
schools  for  gi-ammar,  writing,  and  music. 

The  Protector  was  wading  through  slaughter  to  a  throne 
when  he  appointed  John  Russell  to  the  office  of  Chancellor 
to  the  young  King  whom  he  had  doomed  to  destruction. 
Yet  this  Prelate,  though  he  did  not  altogether  escape  sus- 

*  In  1735  his  vault  was  opened,  and  a  head  of  good  sculpture  in  wood  was 
found,  supposed  to  be  a  resemblance  of  him. — Will.  York.  156.  180. 

D  D  2 


404 

CHAP. 
XXIV. 

Character 
of  Lord 
Chancellor 
Russell. 


His  origin 
and  rise. 


His  con- 
duct on  the 
usurpation 
of  Richard 
III. 


BEION  OF   EDWARD  V. 

picion,  appears  to  have  been  unstained  by  the  crimes  of  his 
patron ;  and  he  is  celebrated  by  most  of  the  chroniclers  of 
that  period  for  uncommon  learning,  piety,  and  wisdom.  He 
was  probably  selected  by  Kichard  as  a  man  who,  from  his 
mild  disposition,  would  not  be  dangerous  to  him,  and  whose 
character  might  bring  some  credit  to  his  cause. 

I  do  not  find  any  distinct  account  of  this  John  Russell's 
parentage.  He  was  most  likely  of  the  Bedford  family,  who, 
liaving  held  a  respectable  but  not  brilliant  position  in  the 
West  of  England  since  the  Conquest,  were  now  rising  into 
eminence.*  He  was  born  in  the  parish  of  St.  Peter,  in  the 
suburbs  of  the  city  of  Winchester,  in  the  beginning  of  the 
reign  of  Henry  Vl.f  Having  studied  some  years  at  the 
school  recently  established  by  William  of  Wickham  in  the 
place  of  his  birth,  he  was  removed  to  the  University  of 
Oxford.  Here  he  made  particular  proficiency  in  the  canon 
law,  and  took  the  degree  of  Doctor  in  this  faculty.  In  1449 
he  was  elected  a  fellow  of  New  College,  and  residing  there 
he  still  increased  his  academical  reputation.  X  He  was  made 
a  prebendary  of  Salisbury,  and  Archdeacon  of  Berkshire,  — 
when  he  removed  to  Court,  and  was  much  noticed  by 
Edward  IV.  In  1476  he  was  consecrated  Bishop  of  Rochester, 
and  in  1480  he  was  translated  to  the  see  of  Lincoln.  He 
was  a  man  of  very  bland  manners,  and  as  he  rose  in  the 
world,  made  himself  still  very  acceptable  to  those  above  him, 
and  popular  with  all  ranks.  He  was  left  by  Edward  IV. 
one  of  his  executors,  and  his  appointment  as  Chancellor  to 
the  infant  Sovereign  was  generally  approved  of. 

We  are  not  informed  how  the  new  Chancellor  employed 
himself  in  the  short  interval  during  which  the  government 
was  allowed  to  be  carried  on  in  the  name  of  Edward  V. ;  but 
as  he  is  not  mentioned  in  connection  with  the  scenes  of  open 
violence  which  ensued,  and  no   serious  charge  of  treachery 


•  John  Russell,  a  lineal  ancestor  of  the  present  Duke,  was  Speaker  of  the 
House  of  Commons  in  the  second  parliament  of  Hen.  VI.,  which  met  in  1432. 
Wiffl-n,  in  his  "  History  of  the  House  of  Russell,"  does  not  mention  the  Chan- 
cellor,—  perhaps  from  a  shyness  to  acknowledge  him  on  account  of  his  connec- 
tion with  Richard  III.,  and  the  suspicion  under  which  he  unjustly  laboured  of 
having  betrayed  two  sovereigns  to  whom  he  had  sworn  allegiance. 

t  Wood,  Hist,  et  Ant.  Oxon.  413.  %  Ibid.  413,  414. 


JOHN   RUSSELL,    CHANCELLOR.  405 

was  urged  against  him  when  the  Lancastrians  triumphed,  we     CHAP, 
are  bound  to  believe  that  the  usurpation  was  planned  and 


effected  without  his  privity,  though,  like  most  others  in 
the  kingdom,  he  was  not  unwilling  to  recognise  the  usurper. 
We  must  remember  that  the  revolution  proceeded  on  the 
ground  that  Richard  was  the  right  heir ;  —  that  the  two 
young  Princes,  though  set  aside,  still  survived  when  he  gave 
in  his  adhesion ;  —  and  that  there  is  great  reason  to  think 
that  Edward  actually  walked  at  the  coronation  of  his  cruel 
uncle.* 

Two  days  after  the  ridiculous  farce  acted  at  Guildhall,  June  28. 
under  the  management  of  Buckingham,  which  Shakspeare    ^^^^^^^  ^g. 
has  made  so  familiar  to  us,  John  Russell  had  the  Great  Seal  appointed 
again  delivered  to  him,  as   Chancellor  to  Richard  III.,  and  ^.y  Richard 
he  swore  allegiance  to  the  new  King.     The  ceremony  took  HI- 
place  at  Baynard's  Castle,  in  Thames  Street,  the  residence 
of  the  Duchess  of  York,  where  the  usurper  first  kept  his 
Court.     The  record  tells  us,  "  that  the  Chancellor  having 
there  received  the  Great  Seal  from  the  King,  carried  it  to 
his  inn  called  the  Old  Temple,  In  the  parish  of  St.  Andrew, 
Holborn,  and  that  on  the  20th  of  June  following  he  sat  here, 
assisted  by  Morton    the    Master    of  the  Rolls,    and    three 
Masters  in  Chancery."  f     We  have  no  further  account  of  the 
exercise  of  his  judicial  functions. 

Richard  was  soon  obliged  to  take  the  field  that  he  might 
put  down  the  insurrection  of  the  Duke  of  Buckingham.  The 
Chancellor  was  then  confined  to  his  bed  In  London  by  a 
severe  fit  of  sickness.  When  Richard  reached  Lincoln  at 
the  head  of  his  army,  he  sent  to  the  Chancellor  the  fol- 
lowing letter,  the  original  of  which  is  still  preserved  in  the 
Tower :  — 

"  By  the  King,  ^  a.d.  1483. 

"  Right  Reverend  Fadre  in  God,  and  right  trusty  and  well-    j^j^j^^^j  to 
beloved.  We  grete  you  well,  and  in  our  hertiest  wyse  thank  you   the  Chan- 
for  the  manyfold  Presentes  that  your  servantes  in  your  behalve   cellor. 
have  presented  unto  us  at  this  oure  being  here  :  which  we  assure 

*   So  far  Horace  Walpole,  I  think,  succeeds,  although  he  fails  cgregiously  in 
making  Richard  both  handsome  and  virtuous, 
t   Rot.  CI.  1  Ric.  3.  n.  100. 

D  D   3 


406 


REIGN   OF   RICHARD   III. 


CHAP. 
XXIV. 

A.D.  1483. 


you  we  toke  and  accepted  with  good  herte :  and  so  we  have  cause. 
And  whereas  we,  by  Goddes  grace,  intend  briefly  to  avaunce  us 
towards  our  rebel  and  traitor,  the  Due  of  Buckingham,  to  resist 
and  withstand  his  malicious  purpose,  as  lately  by  oure  other  letters 
We  certifyed  you  oure  mynde  more  at  large  :  For  which  cause  it 
behoveth  us  to  have  our  Grete  Sele  here,  We  being  enfourmed 
that  for  such  infirmities  and  diseases  as  ye  susteyne  ne  may  in 
your  person  to  your  ease  conveniently  come  unto  us  with  the 
same  :  Wherefore  we  wil,  and  natheless  charge  you  that  forthwith 
upon  the  sight  of  thies,  ye  saufly  do  the  same  oure  Grete  Sele  to 
be  sent  unto  us  ;  and  such  of  the  office  of  our  Chauncery  as  by  your 
wisedome  shall  be  thought  necessary,  receiving  these  oure  letters 
for  youre  sufficient  discharge  in  that  behalve.  Geven  undre  oure 
signet  at  oure  cite  of  Lincolne  the  xii  day  of  Octobre." 

The  letter,  so  far,  is  in  the  handwriting  of  a  secretary. 
Then  follows  this  most  curious  postscript  in  the  handwriting 
of  Richard  himself :  — 
Postscript.  "  "VVe  wolde  most  gladly  ye  came  your  selflP,  yf  that  you  may, 
and  yf  ye  may  not,  we  pray  you  not  to  fayle,  but  to  accomplyshe  in 
al  dillygence  our  sayde  commaundemente,  to  send  oure  Seale  incon- 
tinent upon  the  syght  hereof  as  we  truste  you  with  such  as  ye 
truste  and  the  officers  parteyning  to  attende  with  hyt ;  praying 
you  to  ascerteyn  us  of  your  News  ther.  Here,  loved  be  God,  is 
al  wel  and  trewly  determyned,  and  for  to  resiste  the  malyse  of  him 
that  had  best  cause  to  be  trew,  the  Due  of  Bokyngam,  the  most 
untrew  creature  lyvynge.  Whom,  with  God's  grace,  we  shall  not 
be  long  til  that  we  wyll  be  in  that  parties  and  subdew  his  malys. 
Wee  assure  you  there  was  never  falsre  traitor  purvayde  for, 
as  this  Berrerr  Gloucestre  shall  shew  you."* 

The  Great  Seal  was  accordingly  sent  to  the  King,  who  re- 
tained it  in  his  own  custody  till  the  26th  of  November,  when 
having  returned  in  triumph  to  London,  he  restored  it  to  Lord 
Chancellor  Russell.f 

There  had  as  yet  been  no  parliament  since  the  death  of 
Edward  IV.,  but  one  was  now  summoned  by  writs  under  the 
Great  Seal.  The  two  Houses  met  in  January,  1484,  and  the 
King  being  seated  on  the  throne,  the  Lord  Chancellor  ad- 
dressed them,  and  as  soon  as  a  Speaker  was  chosen,  proposed 
a  bill,  whereby  it  was  "  declared,  pronounced,  decreed,  con- 


A.D.  1484, 
A  parlia- 
ment 


See  Kennet,  i.  532.  n. 


t   Rot.  01.  1  Ric.  3.  n.  101. 


JOHN   RUSSELL,    CHANCELLOR. 


407 


firmed,  and  established,  that  our  Lord  Richard  III.  is  the     ^^^^*- 
true  and  undoubted  King  of  this  realm,  as  well  by  right  of  '_ 


consanguinity  and  heritage,  as  by  lawful  election  and  coro-  a.d.  i484. 
nation," 

The  issue  of  Edward  IV.  being  bastardised,  and  the  Earl  Excellent 
of  Richmond  and  all  the  Lancastrian  leaders  attainted,  the  enacted, 
parliament,  at  the  suggestion  of  the  government,  set  to  work 
in  good  earnest  to  reform  the  law  and  to  improve  the  in- 
stitutions of  the  country.  This  policy,  prompted  by  the 
King's  consciousness  of  his  bad  title  to  the  crown  and  his 
desire  to  obtain  popularity,  was  warmly  promoted  by  the 
Chancellor, 

From  the  destruction  and  obliteration  of  records  which 
followed  upon  the  change  of  dynasty,  we  have  very  imperfect 
details  of  the  proceedings  of  this  parliament ;  but  looking  to 
the  result  of  its  deliberations  as  exhibited  in  the  Statute 
Book,  we  have  no  difficulty  in  pronouncing  it  the  most  me- 
ritorious national  council  for  protecting  the  liberty  of  the 
subject  and  putting  down  abuses  in  the  administration  of 
justice,  which  had  sat  since  the  time  of  Edward  I. 

I  will  fondly  believe,  though  I  can  produce  no  direct 
evidence  to  prove  the  fact,  that  to  "  John  Russell  "  the 
nation  was  indebted  for  the  Act  entitled — "  The  Subjects  of  Act  against 
this  Realm  not  to  be  charged  with  Benevolence,"  the  object  lences." 
of  which  was  to  put  down  the  practice  introduced  in  some 
late  reigns  of  levying  taxes  under  the  name  of  "  Benevolence," 
without  the  authority  of  parliament.  The  language  employed 
would  not  be  unworthy  of  that  great  statesman  bearing  the 
same  name,  who  in  our  own  time  framed  and  introduced 
Bills  "  to  abolish  the  Test  Act,"  and  "  to  reform  the  Repre- 
sentation of  the  People  in  Parliament : " 

''  Remembering  how  the  Commons,  by  new  and  unlawful  inno- 
vations against  the  laws  of  this  realm,  have  been  put  to  great 
thraldom  and  exactions,  and  in  especial  by  a  new  imposition  called 
Benevolence,  be  it  ordained  that  the  Commonalty  of  this  realm 
from  henceforth  in  no  wise  be  charged  therewith,  and  that  such 
exactions  aforetime  taken  shall  be  for  no  example  to  make  the  like 
hereafter,  but  shall  be  damned  and  annulled  for  ever."* 

*  Stat.  1  Ric.  3.  c,  2. 
D  D  4 


408 


REIGN   OF   RICHARD   III. 


CHAP. 
XXIV. 

Chancellor 
regulates 
treaty  with 
Scotland, 
Sept.  148^. 


When  the  session  of  parliament  was  over,  the  Chancellor 
was  employed  to  negotiate  a  peace  with  Scotland.  At  Not- 
tingham he  met  commissioners  from  the  Scottish  King,  and  it 
was  agreed,  that  to  consolidate  the  amity  between  the  two 
countries,  Anne  de  la  Pole,  the  niece  of  King  Richard  and 
sister  of  the  Earl  of  Lincoln,  declared  to  be  heir  presumptive 
to  the  crown,  should  be  married  to  the  eldest  son  of  James  III. 
The  parties  were  then  infants,  and  this  marriage  did  not 
take  place ;  but  afterwards  another  English  Princess,  eldest 
daughter  of  Henry  VII.,  did  become  the  bride  of  James  IV., 
and  was  the  means  of  uniting  the  whole  island  under  one 
sovereign.  * 

The  Chancellor  was  next  employed  in  a  negotiation  of  a 
more  difficult  and  delicate  nature.     Jane  Shore,  celebrated 

*  Hall  gives  a  detailed  account  of  this  negotiation :  "  At  which  tyme  came 
thether  for  the  Kynge  of  England,  John,  Byshop  of  Lincoln,  Chauncellor  of 
England,"  &c. —  Chro.  p.  398. 

We  have  a  still  more  curious  statement  respecting  it  in  Lesly's  History  of 
Scotland,  lately  published  by  the  Banatyne  Club  :  —  "  Ther  wes  no  peace  kepit 
on  the  bourdouris  of  Scotland  and  Ingland ;  but  divers  incursionis  and  raides 
wer  made  on  ather  syde,  with  greyt  spoiles  and  prayes  of  guidis  brocht  furth  of 
Ingland  all  the  nixt  winter,  sua  that  thair  wes  greit  appeirance  of  weir  to  ensue 
betwix  thame.  Innocentius  Octavus,  than  Pope,  hering  thairof,  send  ane  legat 
callit  James  Bischop  of  Imola,  to  baith  the  Kinges  for  ane  treaty  of  peace  to  be 
maid  amangis  thame;  at  quhilk  tyme  Kinge  Richard,  considering  his  awin  un- 
quiet state  within  his  realme,  be  civill  sedicione  attempted  aganis  him  be  his 
nobles,  thoucht  it  wes  the  neirast  way  to  appease  the  same  be  contracting  of 
peace  with  the  King  of  Scotland  his  nierast  nychtbour ;  and  thairfoir  be  per- 
suatione  of  the  same  legat,  Commissionaris  were  appointit,  wha  met  at  Nutting- 
hame,  the  sevint  of  September :  Quha  were  for  Scotland  Coline  Erie  of  Ar- 
gyle.  Lord  Campbell  and  Lome,  the  Lord  Chancellar  of  Scotland,  &c.  :  For 
Ingland  wer  appointit  Johne  Bishop  of  Lincolne,  Chancellar  of  Ingland,  &c. 
Thir  Commissioneris  did  sex  tymis  meit,  and  efter  lang  debaitting,  demanding, 
and  denying,  in  the  end  of  September  thay  fully  concludit,  and  maid  a  deter- 
minacione,  le  the  quliilkis  there  was  ane  perfytte  amitye  and  inviolable  peace 
contractit  betwix  the  realmes  of  Scotland  and  Ingland  for  thre  yeiris,  to  begine 
at  the  sonc  rysinge,  the  29  day  of  September,  1484,  and  to  indure  to  the  sone 
setting  the  29  September,  1487,"  &c.  —  Les.  Hist.  p.  52.  —  In  Rymer  we  find 
the  warrant  addressed  to  Lord  Chancellor  Russell  for  a  safe  conduct  under 
Great  Seal  to  the  Scottish  ambassadors  :  —  "  Memorandum  quod  vicesimo  nono 
Die  Novembris  anno  Regni  Regis  Ricardi  Tertii  primo,  ista  Billa  liberata  fuit 
Domino  Cancellario  Anglia;  apud  Westmonasterium  exequenda  : 
"  R.  R. 
"  Rex  universis  et  singulis  Admirallis  salutem.  Sciatis,"  &c.  The  safe  con- 
duct was  to  be  under  condition  that  the  ambassadors  should  attempt  nothing  to 
the  prejudice  of  the  King  of  England,  and  contained  a  declaration  "  quod  ipse 
SIC  attemptans  pro  eo  juxta  ejus  demerita  puniatur." — Rym.  F.  xii.  207.  The 
full  powers  to  the  Scottish  ambassadors  are  also  given,  and  show  that  the  head 
of  my  clan  was  then  Chancellor  of  Scotland  :  «  Confisi  ad  plenum  de  fidelitate 
prudontia,  legalitatc,  scientia,  et  probitate  nobilis  et  potentis  Domini  Colini 
Lomitis  de  Ergde,  Domini  Campbell  et  Lome,  Cancellarii  nostri,"  &c.  — Rym. 
!•.  xxu.  234.  ^ 


JOHN   RUSSELL,    CHANCELLOE.  409 

for  her  beauty,  her  frailties,  and  her  amiable  qualities,  —  after     chap. 
the  death  of  her  lover,  Edward  IV.,  having  tried  to  support 
the  title  of  his  children  to  the  throne,  and  having  put  her- 
self under  the  protection  of  Hastings  —  on  the  fall  of  that 
nobleman,  Richard  was  resolved  to  be  revenged  of  her,  and, 
complaining  that  she  had  conspired  against  him,  caused  her 
to  be  prosecuted  in  the  ecclesiastical  court  for  adultery  and 
witchcraft,  —  her  husband,  the  goldsmith  of  Lombard  Street, 
being  induced  to  join  in  the  prosecution  and  to  sue  for  a 
divorce.     She  had  been  found  guilty,  sentenced  to  penance, 
and  imprisoned  in  Ludgate.     While  there  she  was  considered 
a  state  prisoner,  and,  according  to  a  custom  which  was  acted 
upon  in  many  succeeding    reigns,    the  law   officers    of  the 
Crown  were  sent  to  interrogate  her,  for  the  purpose  of  obtain- 
ing information  respecting  the  movements  of  the  Lancastrians, 
with  whom  she  was  now  suspected  to  be  in  correspondence. 
It  so  happened  that  Sir  Thomas  Lynom,  the  Solicitor  General, 
after  two  or   three  private  interviews,  was  so  smitten  with 
her  "  pretty  foot,  cherry  lip,  bonny  eye,  and  passing  pleasing 
tongue,"  that  he  actually   offered    her  his  hand.       Kichard 
hearing  of  this  extraordinary  courtship,  and  thinking  it  in- 
decent that  his    Solicitor   General    should   marry  a  woman 
whose  immodesty  had  been   made    so   notorious,  wrote    the 
following  letter  to  the  Lord  Chancellor,  for  the  purpose  of 
breaking   oif  the    match,    yet    (good    naturedly,    so    as    to 
furnish   an   argument   for    Horace    Walpole   to   prove    that 
the    supposed    bloody    tyrant    was    a   very    worthy    fellow) 
—  with  the  intention  that,  if  Mr.  Solicitor  was  incurable,  he 
might  be  put  in  the  way  of  making  Mrs.  Shore  Lady  Lynom 
with  as  little  discredit  as  possible  : 
"  By  the  King. 
"  Right  reverend  fadre  in  God,  &c.     Signifying  unto  you,  that 
it  is  shewed   unto   us,  that  our   servaunt   and   soUicitor,  Thomas 
Lynom,  merveillously  blinded  and  abused  with  the  late  (wife)  of 
Williaim  Shore^  now  living  in  Ludgate  by  oure  commandment, 
hatli  made  contract  of  matrymony  with  hir  (as  it  is  said)  and  in- 
tendith,  to  our  full  grate  merveile,  to  proceed  to  th'  effect  of  the 
same.     We  for  many  causes  wold  be  sory  tliat  liec  soo  shulde  be 
disposed.     Pray  you  therefore  to   send  for   him,  and  in   that  ye 
goodly  may,  exhorte  and  stirre  hyra  to  tlie  contrarye.     And  if  ye 


410 


EEIGN   OP   RICHARD   III. 


CHAP. 
XXIV. 


A.D.  1485. 


Removed 
from  his 
office. 


finde  him  utterly  set  for  to  marye  hur,  and  noon  otherwise  will  be 
aduertised,  then  if  it  stand  with  the  law  of  the  churche*,  We  be 
content  (the  tyme  of  marriage  deferred  to  our  comyng  next  to 
London)  that  upon  sufficient  suertie  founde  of  hure  good  abering, 
ye  doo  send  for  hure  Keeper  and  discharge  him  of  our  said  com- 
mandment by  warrant  of  these,  committing  hur  to  the  rule  and 
guiding  of  hure  fadre  or  any  othre  by  your  discretion  in  the  mene 
season.     Geven,  8fc. 

"  To  the  right  reverend  fadre  in  God  &c.  the  Bishop  of  Lincoln 
our  Chauncellour."f 

The  particulars  of  the  conference  between  the  two  legal 
dignitaries  are  no  where  mentioned;  but  the  Chancellor 
must  have  succeeded  in  persuading  the  Solicitor  General  of 
the  imprudence  of  a  match  which  the  world  would  censure, 
and  which  might  hurt  his  advancement ;  for  we  know  that 
the  unfortunate  lady  never  was  married  again,  and  that  she 
died  in  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII.,  still  bearing  the  name  of 
Jane  Shore.  | 

John  Russell  continued  Chancellor  tiU  the  29  th  of  July, 
1485,  having  the  Great  Seal  always  in  his  own  custody, 
except  from  the  19th  of  October  to  the  26th  of  November, 
1483,  on  the  occasion  I  have  referred  to. 

We  have  no  information  as  to  the  cause  of  the  good 
Bishop's  dismissal  from  the  office  of  Chancellor.  There  was 
no  party  crisis  or  change  of  measures  at  the  time,  and  there 
was  no  rival  for  the  office  who  was  to  be  preferred  to  him.  It 
is  possible  that  Richard,  marching  to  meet  the  Earl  of 
Richmond,  acted  as  he  had  done  in  his  expedition  against 
Buckingham,  and  desired  to  take  the  Great  Seal  into  the 
field  with  him,  intending  to  restore  it  to  the  former  keeper 
of  his  conscience  when  he  returned  victorious ;  but,  on  the 
other  hand,  it  has  been  supposed  that  Richard  suspected 
the  Chancellor  of  being  in  correspondence   with  the  Earl 

*  The  doubt  was  whether,  notwithstanding  the  divorce,  a  second  valid  mar- 
riage could  be  contracted. 

t  Harl.  MS.  Brit.  Mus.  433.  fol.  340.  b.  Walpole's  Hist.  Doubts,  118., 
where  there  is  a  wrong  reference  to  the  King's  letter,  which  I  have  corrected 
after  examining  the  31 S. 

t  She  was  seen  by  Sir  Thomas  More,  poor,  decrepid,  and  shrivelled,  without 
the  least  traces  of  that  beauty  which  once  commanded  the  admiration  of  a  King 
and  all  his  court.  The  story  of  her  dying  of  hunger  in  a  ditch,  supposed,  after 
her,  to  be  called  5Aoreditch,  is  a  fable. 


JOHN   RUSSELL,    CHANCELLOR.  411 

of  Richmond,  and  that  he  meditated  a  dreadful  revenge  upon     CHAP. 

XXIV 

him  when  he  had  vanquished  his  enemy. 


Ex-chancellor  Russell  retired  to  his  palace  at  Buckden,   jjj^  ^^^^^_ 
where  he  heard  of  the  Battle  of  Bosworth  and  the  acces-  quent  his- 
sion  of  Henry  VII.     He  mixed  no   more  In  politics,  and 
spent  the  remainder  of  his  days  in  the  care  of  his  diocese 
and    superintending    the    discipline    of   the    University    of 
Oxford. 

He  is  celebrated  as  the  first  perpetual  Chancellor  of  that   First  per- 
learned  body.     Hitherto  the  office  had  been  held  only  for  a   Q^ancellor 
year,  and  frequently  by  some  resident  member  of  no  very  of  Oxford, 
high  rank.     In  1483  when  Russell  was  appointed  Chancellor 
of  England,  —  on  account  of  the  inconvenience  arising  from 
annual  elections,  and  the  great  confidence  reposed  in  him,  he 
was  elected  Chancellor  of  the  University  for  life. 

Tired  of  the  dignity,  he  resigned  it  in  1487 ;  but  great 
confusion  being  likely  to  arise  from  this  step,  "  the  Academi- 
cians earnestly  desired  him  to  take  upon  him  the  office  again, 
which  he  promising  they  proceeded  to  election."  *  A  keen 
contest  took  place,  Peter  Courtenay,  Bishop  of  Winchester, 
being  put  up  against  him ;  but  he  was  re-elected,  and  held 
the  office  till  his  death,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  Lord 
Chancellor  Cardinal  Morton.  In  1488  he  published  cer- 
tain "  Aulary  Statutes  for  the  Government  of  the  University," 
which  were  supposed  to  have  made  it  a  model  for  all  uni- 
versities. 

He  died  January  30.  1494,  and  was  buried  in  his  cathedral,   His  death, 
at  the  upper  end  on  the  south  side,  in  a  chapel  where  he 
had   founded    a    chantry,  under   an    altar   tomb,    with   this 
Inscription :  — 

"  Qui  sum  quae  mihi  Sors  fuerat  narrabo,  Johannes  His  epi- 

Russel  sum  dictus  servans  nomen  genitoris.  taph. 

Urbs  Ventana  parit,  studium  fuit  Oxoniense  : 
Doctorem  juris,  me  Sarisburia  donat 
Archidiacono  ;  legatum  mittit  in  orbem 
Rex,  et  privatum  mandat  deferre  Sigillum  ; 
Cancellarii  Regni  tunc  denique  functus 
Officio,  cupii  dissolvi,  vivere  Christo. 


•   Fast.  Ox.  64. 


412  REIGN  OF   RICHARD  III. 

CHAl\  Ecclesiasquc  duas  suscepi  Pontificales 

XXIV.  UofFa  Sacrum  primo,  I^incolnia  condit  in  unum 

Anno  milleno ;   C.  quater  quater  atque  viceno 
Bis  septem  junctis  vitalia  Lumina  claudo."* 

But  the  most  valuable  memorial  to  his  fame  is  the  character 
given  of  him  by  Sir  Thomas  More,  —  "  A  wyse  mane  &  a 
good,  &  of  much  experyence,  &  one  of  the  best  learned 
menne  undoubtedly  that  Englande  hadde  in  hys  time."  f 

He  left  behind  him  considerable  reputation  as  an  author, 
his  two  greatest  works  being  *'  A  Commentary  on  the  Can- 
ticles," and  a  treatise  "  De  Potestate  summi  Pontificis  et  Im- 
peratoris."  Had  they  been  written  a  few  years  later  we 
should  have  been  able  to  pass  judgment  upon  them;  but 
they  never  were  printed,  and  they  have  not  come  down  to  us. 
He  appears  to  have  been  a  great  encourager  of  reviving 
learning  |,  but  he  is  more  loudly  extolled  for  his  "  re-edifica- 
tion of  the  episcopal  palace  at  Buckden."  § 

No  other  Chancellor  was  appointed  by  Richard  during  the 
short  remainder  of  his  reign.  The  invasion  of  the  Earl  of 
Disposal  of  Richmond  was  now  impending.  The  discontented  were 
at  end  of  flocking  to  him,  as  a  deliverer,  from  all  parts  of  the  kingdom  ; 
ir^r  °!\  ^^^  there  was  a  general  feeling  among  the  people,  that  the 
III.  man  stained  with  so  many  crimes  ought  not  longer  to  be  per- 

mitted to  occupy  the  throne  which  he  had  usurped.  The 
Great  Seal  was  given  by  Richard  into  the  temporary  keeping 
of  Thomas  Barrowe,  Master  of  the  Rolls  ||,  for  the  despatch 
of  necessary  business,  and  it  probably  remained  with  him  till 
the  conclusion  of  the  reign,  although  some  accounts  represent 

*   Willis's  Cathedrals,  Bishops  of  Lincoln,  vol.  iii.  pp.  7.  59. 

t  Life  of  Ilic.  3.  p.  r>29. 

t  On  a  manuscript  of  Mathew  Paris  (Royal  MSS.  14.  C.  vii.)  now  in  the 
British  Museum,  there  is  an  inscription  in  Latin,  dated  June  1.  1488,  in  the 
handwriting  and  with  the  signature  of  John  Russell,  Bishop  of  Lincoln,  in  which 
whosoever  siiall  obliterate  or  destroy  the  Bishop's  memorandum  respecting  the 
ownership  of  the  volume  is  solemnly  declared  to  be  accursed.  —  Warton's  Dis- 
sertation on  Introduction  of  Learning  into  England,  p.  111.  It  appears  from  an 
inscription  in  the  author's  own  hand,  to  l.ave  been  a  presentation  copy  from 
himself,  probably  to  some  church  or  monastery.  —  Sketches  of  the  History  of 
Literature  and  Learning  in  England,  vol.  ii.  168.  Knight's  Weekly  Volume, 
No.  XVIII. 

§  God.  de  Prffis.  Line.  Although  Lord  Chancellor  Russell  has  considerable 
historical  interest,  he  is  not  mentioned  l)y  modern  historians,  and  many  of  my 
welUinfurmed  readers  may  never  have  heard  of  his  existence.  I  consider  him  one 
of  the  "  Cancellarian  mummies"  I  have  dug  up  and  exhibited  to  the  public. 

II   Hot.  CI.  3  Ric.  3.  n.  1.      Rym.  F.  xii.  272. 


STATE   OF   THE   LAW.  413 

that  Richard  carried  it  with  him  when  he  marched  aj^ainst  CHAP. 

.  XXIV. 
Richmond,  and  had  it  in  his  tent  at  Bosworth  Field,  —  in 


which  case  it  must  at  once  have  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the 
victor,  and,  next  to  the  crown  worn  by  Richard  in  the  fight, 
have  been  his  earliest  emblem  of  royalty.* 

We  do  not  find  any  equity  decisions  In  these  two  short  Legal  pro- 
reigns,  although,  amidst  arms,  the  laws  seem  to  have  been  ^^,^j*|["^^ 
regularly  administered ;  and  there  have  been  handed  down  to  reigns  of 
us  Reports  in  the  Year   Books,  beginning   "De  Termino  ancTmch- 
Trinitatis  Anno  primo  Edwardi  Quinti."     Lord  Chancellor  aid  IIL 
Russell  appears  to  have  been  perplexed  by  the  cases  which 
came  before  him  respecting  uses ;  and,  to  obviate  the  necessity 
for  a  Bill  in  Chancery,  it  was  enacted  that  the  person  entitled  ' 
to  direct  the  trustee  to  convey  should  himself  be  entitled  to 
execute  a  conveyance  to  carry  the   estate  f;  but  this  new 
expedient  to  remedy  the  inconvenience  of  uses  only  produced 
the  additional  confusion  which  must  necessarily  follow  when 
two  persons  have  an  equal  legal  right  to  dispose  of  the  same 
land,  and  the  deduction  of  title,  by  tracing  the  legal  estate, 
on  which  the  security  of  tenure  in  England  depends,  became 
impossible. 

•  See  Nicholls'  Lit.  Anec.  vi.  47.  Walpole's  Hist.  Doubts.  Antiq.  Bish. 
Rochester.  Harl.  MSS.  No.  2578.  Buck's  Life  of  Richard  III.  in  Kcnnet, 
vol.  i. 

f  1  Ric.  3.  c.  L  It  is  remarkable  that  this  is  the  first  statute  in  the  English 
language,  the  statutes  hitherto  having  been  all  in  Latin  or  French,  and  it  was 
taken  as  a  precedent,  for  all  statutes  afterwards  are  in  English.  It  is  curious 
that  in  this  reign,  which  we  regard  with  so  much  horror,  laws  were  given  to  the 
people  of  England,  for  the  first  time  since  the  Conquest,  in  their  own  language, 

and  acts  of  parliament  were  for  the  first  time  printed Macpherson's  Annah  of 

Commerce,  i.  704.  But  it  would  appear  that  they  were  still  entered  on  the  par- 
liament roll  in  French.  —  Tomlin's  Ed.  of  Statutes,  p.  638. 


414  KEIGN   OF    HENRY   VII. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

CHANCELLORS  AND  LORD  KEEPERS  FROM  THE  ACCESSION  OP 
HENRY  Vll.  TILL  THE  APPOINTMENT  OF  ARCHBISHOP  WARHAM 
AS   LORD   KEEPER. 

CHAP.     King  Henry  VII.,  returning  from  Bosworth  Field,  appointed 
^^^'      for  his  first  Chancellor  John  Alcock,  now  Bishop  of  Wor- 


j^g^     cester*,  who  for  a  few  months,  while  Bishop  of  Rochester, 
Alcock,       had  filled  the  office  under  Edward  IV.,  and  an  account  of 
Worcester,    whom   I   havc   rcservcd   for   this   place.      He  was  born  at 
first  Chan-    Beverley,  in  the  county  of  York,  of  no  distinguished  family. 
Hen.  VII.    and  raised  himself  entirely  by  his  own  merits.     He  studied  at 
Cambridge,  where  he  obtained  great  distinction,  particularly 
for  his  knowledge  of  the  civil  and  canon  law.    He  was  patron- 
ised by  Lord  Chancellor  Stillington,  —  was  extremely  useful 
to  him,  —  and,  as  his  deputy,  performed  most  of  the  duties 
belonging  to  the  Great  Seal.     In  1471,  as  a  reward  for  his 
services,  he  was  made  Bishop  of  Rochester  and  Master  of  the 
Rolls.     He  contrived  to  ingratiate  himself  equally  with  Lord 
Chancellor  Rotheram,  through  whose  interest  he  was  trans- 
lated to  Worcester,  and  intrusted,  for  a  short  time,  with  the 
Great  Seal,  under  the  title  of  Chancellor. 

Now  was  the  triumph  of  his  powers  of  insinuation  and 
versatility;  having  been  brought  forward  and  employed  by 
the  House  of  York,  and  never  having  had  any  open  rupture 
with  Richard,  he  at  once  gained  the  confidence  of  Henry, 
who  hardly  ever  favoured  any  one  who  had  not  fought  with 
the  Lancastrians  in  the  field,  or  had  been  engaged  in  plots  to 
promote  their  ascendancy. 

There  is  no  record  of  the  day  of  the  delivery  of  the  Seal  to 
him;  but  in  the  Parliament  Roll  of  the  1st  of  Henry  VIL  it 

•    Rot.  Pari.  1  Hen.  7.  p.  1. 


JOHN    ALCOCK,    CHANCELLOR.  415 

is  stated,  that  "on  the  7th  of  November,  in  the  first  year  of     CHAP. 

.  .  XXV. 

the  King's  reign,  the  Reverend  Lord  and  Father  in  God   ' 

John  Alcock,  Bishop  of  Worcester,  Cancellarius  Magnus  ^.d.  i485. 

Anglic,  declared  the  cause  of  summoning  parliament." 

Great  reliance  must  have  been  placed  on  his  learning  and  Difficult 
experience  for  settling  the  delicate  points  which  were  to  be  tionalq^Jes- 
brought  forward.  One  of  these  was  the  effect  of  the  at-  tions 
tainder,  by  a  parliament  of  Richard,  of  a  great  number  of  the 
temporal  Peers  now  summoned.  Could  they,  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  session,  take  their  seats  in  the  House  of 
Lords?  The  Chancellor  asked  the  opinion  of  the  Judges, 
who  held  that  they  ought  not  to  sit  till  their  attainder  had 
been  reversed,  —  thereby  recognising  the  principle  that  "  any 
statute  passed  by  a  parliament  under  a  King  de  facto  is 
ever  after  to  be  taken  for  law  till  repealed."  But  a  more 
puzzling  question  arose  as  to  the  eifect  of  the  attainder  of 
Henry  himself,  as  Earl  of  Richmond  ;  for  how  could  this  be 
reversed  without  an  exercise  of  the  prerogative  in  giving  the 
royal  assent?  and  could  the  royal  assent  be  given  till  the 
outlawry  was  reversed  ?  The  Chancellor  again  consulted  the 
Judges,  and  they  cut  the  knot  by  unanimously  resolving, 
"that  the  descent  of  the  Crown  of  itself  takes  away  all 
defects,  and  stops  in  blood  by  reason  of  attainder,"*  which 
has  ever  since  been  received  as  a  maxim  of  constitutional 
law;  and  no  doubt  was  relied  upon  by  the  Jacobites,  who 
attempted  to  restore  the  Princes  of  the  House  of  Stuart, 
attainted  under  King  William,  Queen  Anne,  and  George  I. 

The  Chancellor  gave  great  satisfaction  to  his  wary  master  Nov.  1485. 
by  the  dexterity  with  which  he  met  such  difficulties,  and  he   ^^^'^^ 
was   translated  to  the  rich  see  of  Ely  as  a  reward  for  his  Ely. 
services ;   but  there  does  not  seem  to  have  been  any  intention 
to  employ  him  after  the  new  government  was  fairly  started ; 
and  the  King  reserved  his  real  confidence  for  John  Morton, 
who  had  been  in  exile  with  him,  who  had  been  attainted  for 
adhering  to  him,  who  had  mainly  contributed  to  his  elevation, 
and  whom  he  resolved  to  make  his  chief  adviser  for  the  rest  Alcock 
of  his  reign.      The  exact  date  of  the  transfer  of  the  Great  ';«''"o^'^J 

o  from  oince 

of  Chan- 
cellor. 
*   Pari.  Roll.  1  Hen.  7.      1  Pari.  Hist.  450. 


416 


EEIGN   OP   HENRY   VII. 


CHAP. 
XXV. 


Death  of 
£x-chan- 
collor  A\- 
cock. 


Cardinal 

IMoRTOX, 

Chancellor. 


His  birth 
and  educa- 
tion. 


Seal  to  him  is  unknown,  as  it  is  not  recorded  in  the  Close 
Roll ;  but  it  is  supposed  to  have  happened  in  August,  1487, 
and  was  certainly  before  November  in  that  year,  when  there 
were  bills  addressed  to  him  as  Chancellor,  which  are  still 
extant.* 

Bishop  Alcock,  the  Ex-chancellor,  lived  in  the  enjoyment  of 
his  new  diocese  till  the  1st  of  October,  1500;  when,  accord- 
ing to  a  quaint  authority  I  have  consulted,  "  he  was  translated 
from  this  to  another  life."  He  had  in  his  latter  days  a  great 
character  for  piety,  abstinence,  and  other  religious  mortifica- 
tions. He  built  a  chapel  at  Beverley,  founded  a  chantry  to 
pray  for  the  souls  of  his  parents,"  and  turned  St.  E-udegunda's 
old  nunnery  at  Cambridge,  founded  by  Malcolm,  King  of 
Scots,  into  the  flourishing  foundation  of  Jesus'  College. 

In  the  two  first  reigns  of  the  House  of  Tudor,  the  Great 
Seal  may  be  considered  in  its  greatest  splendour;  for  the 
Chancellor  was  generally  the  first  minister  of  the  Crown, 
and  by  his  advice  the  Lord  Treasurer,  and  the  other  high 
officers  of  state,  were  appointed.  Henry,  whose  darling  ob- 
ject was  to  depress  the  powerful  barons  hitherto  so  formidable 
to  his  predecessors,  was  determined  to  rule  by  men  more  de- 
pendent on  him  than  the  nobility,  who  enjoyed,  by  hereditary 
right,  possessions  and  jurisdictions  dangerous  to  royal  au- 
thority. The  new  Chancellor  was,  in  all  respects,  such  a 
man  as  the  King  wished  for  his  minister. 

John  Morton  was  born  in  the  year  1410,  at  Bere,  in 
Dorsetshire,  of  a  private  gentleman's  family.  He  received 
his  earliest  education  at  the  Abbey  of  Cerne,  from  whence 
he  was  removed  to  Ballol  College,  Oxford,  where  he  devoted 
himself  to  the  study  of  the  civil  and  canon  law,  and  took 
with  great  distinction  the  degree  of  LL.D.  He  then  went 
to  London,  at  all  times  the  best  field  for  talents  and  energy, 
and  practised  as  an  advocate  in  Doctors'  Commons.  In  the 
Court  of  Arches,  and  the  other  ecclesiastical  Courts,  there 
was  then  much  business,  producing  both  fame  and  profit; 
and  success  at  the  civil  law  bar  frequently  led  to  promotion 
both   in   church  and  state.      Morton  was  soon  the  decided 


See  Philpot,  p.  68.      Rot.  Pari.  3  Hen.  7. 


CAHDINAL    MORTON,    CHANCELLOR.  417 

leader;  and  he  rose  to  such  distinction  by  his  learning  and     CHAP. 

eloquence,    that   he  gained   the   good    opinion    of  Cardinal  ' 

Bourchier,   Archbishop   of   Canterbury,    who   recommended 

him  to  Henry  YI.     He  was  sworn  of  the  Privy  Council  by 

that  Sovereign,  was  made  Prebendary  of  Salisbury,  and  had 

the  valuable  living  of  Blakesworth  bestowed  upon  him. 

In  the  struggles  which  ensued  between  the  rival  families,   A  Lancas- 

he  adhered  with  the  most  unshaken  fidelity  and  unbounded  'gp*"^j.ji"j 

zeal  to  the  Lancastrian  cause,  —  till  Edward  IV.  was  firmly  to  Edward 

•  1 V 

seated  on  the  throne,  —  when  he  thought  it  not  inconsistent 

with  the  duties  of  a  good  citizen  to  submit  to  the  ruling 
powers,  without  renouncing  his  former  attachments.  He 
petitioned  for  pardon  at  the  same  time  as  Fortescue.  Ed- 
ward was  so  much  struck  with  his  honourable  conduct,  that 
Avithout  requiring  from  him  any  unbecoming  concessions, 
he  continued  him  a  Privy  Councillor,  appointed  him  Master 
of  the  Rolls*,  conferred  upon  him  great  ecclesiastical  prefer- 
ment crowned  with  the  Bishopric  of  Ely,  —  and,  by  his  last 
will,  made  him  one  of  his  executors.  Some  of  the  biogra- 
phers of  Morton  state,  that  he  was  likewise  Lord  Chancellor 
to  Edward  IV.,  but  this  is  a  mistake.  In  the  year  1473, 
during  the  illness  of  Lord  Chancellor  Stillington,  he  for  a 
short  time  was  intrusted  with  the  custody  of  the  Great  Seal, 
and  no  douLt  did  the  duties  of  the  office,  but  he  then  only 
acted  as  deputy  to  the  Chancellor. 

Being  executor  of  Edward  IV.,  and  enjoying  the  entire   His  con- 
confidence  of  the   Queen,  he  had  a  sort  of  guardianship  of  Riti,ard 
the  royal  children,  and  Kichard  thought  it  would  be  a  great  HI- 
point  gained  to  corrupt  liim  as  he  had  corrupted  Buckingham 
and  others ;  but  Morton  rejected  all  his  overtures  with  scorn 
and  indignation,  and  thereby  incurred  the  special  hatred  of 
the  usurper. 

On  the  very  day  when  Rivers,  Gray,  and  Vaughan,  the   Strawberry 
Queen's  relations,  were  executed  by  the  orders  of  Richard,    Xowvr  of 
at  Pomfret,  there  was  acted  in  the  Tower  of  London    the   London, 
scene  which  is  so  admirably  and  truly  described  by  our  im- 
mortal dramatist.    Morton,  along  with  Hastings  and  the  other 

•   1473, 
VOL.   I.  E  E 


A.D.  1483. 


41g  REIGN   OF   HENRY   VII. 

CHAP,     councillors,  took  his  place  at  the  council-table,  according  to 
^^^'      the  summons  sent  to  them, — when  Richard,  who  was  capable 
of  committing  the  most  bloody  and  treacherous  murders  with 
the  utmost  coolness  and  indifference,  appearing  among  them 
in  an  easy  and  jovial  humour,  entered  into  familiar  conversa- 
tion with  them  before  proceeding  to  business,  and  compli- 
menting the  Bishop  on  the  good  and  early  strawberries  which 
he  i-aised  in  his  garden  at  Holborn,  he  begged  the  favour  of 
Imprisoned  having  a  dish  of  them.*      A  messenger  was  immediately  de- 
ll I.  '*^""^'   spatched  for  the  fruit,  but  before  he  returned,  Hastings  was 
beheaded,  and  Morton  was  a  close  prisoner  in  the  Tower. 

The  University  of  Oxford  petitioned  King  Richard  for 
Morton's  liberation,  saying,  "  the  bowels  of  our  mother,  the 
University,  like  Rachel  weeping  for  her  children,  are  moved 
with  pity  over  the  lamentable  distress  of  this  her  dearest  son. 
For  if  a  pious  affection  be  praiseworthy,  even  in  an  enemy, 
much  more  is  it  in  our  University,  professing  the  study  of  all 
virtues.  Upon  the  re-admittance  of  so  great  a  prelate  into 
your  favour,  who  is  there  that  will  not  extol  your  divine 
clemency  ?  Thus  gloried  the  Romans  to  have  it  marshalled 
among  their  pi'aises,  that  submissive  wights  they  spared,  hut 
crusht  the  proud  "If 
Escapes  to        Richard  would  have  cared  little  for  these  remonstrances ; 

Continent,      i  i  i  /. 

but  lest  the  confanement  of  a  popular  prelate  in  the  Tower 
might  stir  up  a  mutiny  among  the  Londoners,  he  was  given 
in  ward  to  the  Duke  of  Buckingham,  and  was  shut  up  by 
him  in  the  castle  of  Brecknock.  ^  From  thence,  however,  he 
escaped,  and  after  lying  disguised  for  some  time  in  the  Isle 

•  "  Glo.   My  Lord  of  Ely,  when  I  was  last  in  Holborn 
I  saw  good  strawberries  in  your  garden  there, 
I  do  beseech  you,  send  for  some  of  them. 
"  Ell/.   Marry,  and  will,  my  Lord,  with  all  my  heart. 
*  »  *  * 

Where  is  my  Lord  Protector  ?     I  have  sent 
For  these  strawberries. 

"  Hast.  His  Grace  looks  cheerfully  and  smooth  this  morning : 
Iheres  some  conceit  or  other  likes  liim  well 
When  he  doth  bid  good-morrow  with  such  spirit." 

Kitiff  Richard  HI.  act  iii.  scene  4. 
1   f  *'c-  ^n/  '•  ^"^^^     "  P'*'"''ere  subjectis  et  debellare  superbos." 
amis  n^   bn[^°T'H         ;  ^-^^^  of  Richard  III.  there  is  a  very  long  and  rather 
BuckinJh  "  ""  ^  \fietit.ous  dialogue,  between  Morton  and  the  Duke  of 

Uuckmgham,  upon  the  character  and  conduct  of  the  usurper. 


CAEDINAL   MORTOX,    CHANCELLOK.  419 

of  Ely,  he  contrived  to  pass  beyond  sea  and  joined  the  Earl     CHAP, 
of  Richmond.     He  was  attainted  by  Richard's  parliament, 


which  met  soon  after.      He  assisted  in  planning  Richmond's   ^  ^  2485. 
invasion,  and  is  said  first  to  have  suggested  and  pressed  upon 
him  the  plan  of  putting  an  end  to  the  civil  wars  by  marrying 
Elizabeth,  the  daughter  of  Edward  IV.,  who  had  become  the 
heiress  of  the  House  of  York. 

He  did  not  accompany  Richmond's  expedition,  not  being  Recalled 
of  the  class  of  fighting  bishops,  now  nearly  extinct,  but  re-  yil.^"'^^ 
mained  in  the  Netherlands  to  watch  the  event.  Immediately 
after  the  battle  of  Bosworth,  Henry  recalled  him, —  on  the 
death  of  Cardinal  Bourchier  raised  him  to  the  see  of  Canter- 
bury, —  procured  a  Cardinal's  hat  for  him  from  Pope  Alex- 
ander VI., — and  now  made  him  Lord  Chancellor. 

He  continued  in  this  oflSce,  and  in  the  unabated  favour  and  His  policy 
confidence  of  his  royal  master,  down  to  the  time  of  his  death,  chancellor, 
a  period  of  thirteen  years ;  —  during  which  he  greatly  contri- 
buted to  the  steadiness  of  the  government,  and  the  growing 
prosperity  of  the  country.  Although  he  appeared  merely  to 
execute  the  measures  of  the  King,  he  was  in  reality  the  chief 
author  of  the  system  for  controlling  the  power  of  the  great 
feuflal  barons,  and  he  may  be  considered  the  model,  as  he  was 
the  precursor,  of  Cardinal  Richelieu,  who  in  a  later  age  accom- 
plished the  same  object  still  more  effectually  in  France. 

The  first  parliament  at  which  he  presided  was  that  which  a. p.  1488. 
met  on  the  3d  of  November,   1488.      Lord  Bacon  in  his  to'thTtwo 
"History  of  Henry  VII.,"  gives  a  very  long  account  of  the   Houses  of 
speech  delivered  by  the   Lord  Chancellor  on  this  occasion,   ment. 
The  custom  of  taking  a  text  from  the  Holy  Scriptures  was 
dropped   by  him,   and   he  rather   conformed  to  the   modern 
fashion  of  a  king's  speech,  though  with  more  of  detail  and  of 
reasoning  than  would  now  be  considered  discreet  on  such  an 
occasion.     He  thus  begins :  — 

"  My  Lords  and  Masters,  the  King's  Grace,  our  Sovereign  Lord, 
hath  commanded  me  to  declare  unto  you  the  causes  that  have 
moved  him  at  this  time  to  summon  this  his  parliament,  which  I 
shall  do  in  few  words,  craving  pardon  of  his  Grace,  and  of  you  all, 
if  I  perform  it  not  as  I  Avould.  His  Grace  doth  first  of  all  let  you 
know  that  he  retaineth  in  thankful  memory  the  love  and  loyalty 

E   E    2 


420 


REIGN   OF    HENRY   VII. 


CHAP. 
XXV. 


A.D.  1488, 


Star 

Chamber 

remodelled. 


shown  to  liiin  by  you  at  your  last  meeting  in  establishment  of  his 
royalty ;  freeing  and  discharging  of  his  partakers  and  confiscation 
of  his  traitors  and  rebels ;  more  than  which  could  not  come  from 
subjects  to  their  Sovereign  in  one  action.  This  he  taketh  so  well 
at  your  hands,  as  he  hath  made  it  a  resolution  to  himself  to  com- 
municate with  so  loving  and  well  approved  subjects  in  all  affairs 
that  are  of  public  nature  at  home  or  abroad.  Two,  therefore, 
are  the  causes  of  your  present  assembling ;  the  one  a  foreign  busi- 
ness, the  other  matter  of  government  at  home.  The  French  King 
(as  no  doubt  you  have  heard)  maketh  at  this  present  hot  war  upon 
the  Duke  of  Brittaine." 

He  then  enters  at  great  length  into  the  disputes  between 
these  two  Princes,  and  the  manner  in  which  England  was 
affected  by  them ;  whereupon  the  King  prayed  their  advice, 
whether  he  should  enter  into  an  auxiliary  and  defensive  war 
for  the  Brittons  against  France,  pretty  clearly  intimating  an 
opinion,  that  this  would  be  the  expedient  course,  but  stating 
that  in  all  this  business  the  King  remitted  himself  to  their 
grave  and  mature  advice,  whereupon  he  proposed  to  rely. 
He  next  comes  to  the  government  at  home,  and  states,  that 
no  King  ever  had  greater  cause  for  the  two  contrary  passions 
of  joy  and  sorrow  than  his  Grace, — joy  in  respect  of  the  rare 
and  visible  favours  of  Almighty  God  in  girding  the  imperial 
sword  upon  his  side, — sorrow  for  that  it  hath  not  pleased  God 
to  suffer  him  to  sheathe  it  as  he  greatly  desired,  otherwise  than 
for  the  administration  of  justice,  but  that  he  hath  been  forced 
to  draw  it  so  oft  to  cut  off  traitors  and  disloyal  subjects. 
He  then  enters  into  topics  of  political  economy,  strongly  in- 
culcating the  doctrine  of  protection,  and  above  all  exhorting 
parliament  to  take  order  that  the  country  might  not  be  im- 
poverished by  the  exportation  of  money  for  foreign  manufac- 
tures.    He  concludes  by  urging  liberal  supplies  — 

"  The  rather  for  that  you  know  the  King  is  a  good  husband, 
and  but  a  steward  in  eflPect  for  the  public,  and  that  what  comes 
from  you  is  but  as  moisture  drawn  from  the  earth,  which  gathers 
into  a  cloud  and  falls  back  upon  the  earth  again."* 

On  the  recommendation  of  the  Chancellor,  several  im- 
portant statutes  were  passed  for  suppressing  riots,  and  for 


1  Pari.  Hist.  451. 


CARDINAL   MORTON,    CHANCELLOR.  421 

the  orderly  government  of  the  kingdom.  Lord  Bacon  and  chap. 
Lord  Coke  particularly  celebrate  that  contrived  to  extend 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  Star  Chamber,  which  they  call  "a  ^j,  j^gg 
Court  of  Criminal  Equity,"  and  which,  not  being  governed 
by  any  certain  rules,  they  consider  superior  to  any  other 
Court  to  be  found  in  this  or  any  other  nation.  It  was  cer- 
tainly found  a  very  useful  instrument  of  arbitrary  government 
during  the  whole  continuance  of  the  Tudor  dynasty  ;  but  its 
authority  being  still  stretched  in  opposition  to  a  growing  love 
of  freedom,  it  mainly  led  to  the  unpopularity  of  the  Stuarts, 
and  their  expulsion  from  the  throne.* 

Another  law  of  Morton's,  of  an  extraordinary  nature.  Limitation 
respecting  real  property,  was  well  adapted  to  the  then  ofcl^'ms 
existing  state  of  affairs ;  but  we  must  wonder  that  it 
should  have  been  allowed  to  continue  in  force  down  to  our 
own  times.  From  the  attainders,  forfeitures,  and  acts  of 
violence  which  had  prevailed  during  the  war  of  the  Roses, 
property  had  changed  hands  so  frequently  that  the  title  to  it 
had  become  very  uncertain,  If  it  were  to  be  traced  backwards 
according  to  the  common  rules  of  conveyances  and  pedigree. 
A  power  was  now  given  to  a  person  in  possession  as  owner  of 
the  fee  to  go  through  certain  ceremonies  in  the  Court  of 
Common  Pleas,  and  in  five  years  after  the  time  when  these 
were  concluded,  his  title  was  good  against  all  the  world,  f 
Morton  Introduced  several  acts  showing  a  great  jealousy  of 
foreigners,  and  particularly  one  "  for  avoiding  all  Scottishmen 
out  of  England." 

But  the  most  important  piece  of  legislation  with  which  he  Law  pro- 
was  connected,  was  the  famous  statute  protecting  from  the  ^^'''''"g  ^''ts 

'  .  under  King 

pains  of  treason  all  who  act  under  a  de  facto   King.     On  de facto. 
proofs,  which  even  stagger  inquirers  in  our  times,  a  belief 
had  become  very  prevalent  among  the  people,  that  the  Duke 

*  3  Hen.  7.  c.  1.  I  wish  that  there  had  been  preserved  to  us  the  debates  on 
the  abolition  of  the  Star  Chamber.  I  make  no  doubt  that  its  advocates  ascribed 
to  it  all  the  prosperity  and  greatness  of  the  country,  and  prophesied  from  its 
abolition  the  speedy  and  permanent  prevalence  of  fraud,  anarchy,  and  blood- 
shed in  England. 

f  4  Hen.  7.  c.  24.  This  was  repealed  by  an  act  which  I  had  the  honour  to 
introduce,  establishing  twenty  years  as  the  uniform  period  of  limitation,  which 
before  had  in  some  cases  been  five  years,  and  in  others  might  extend  to  five 
hundred. 

F.  E    3 


422  REIGN    OF    HENRY    VII. 

CHAP,     of  York,  younger  son  of  Edward  IV.,  still  survived,  and  the 
^^^"      apprehension  that,  if  he  were  restored,  those  who  fought  for 


A.D.  1479. 


the  present  King,  whose  title  was  so  defective,  might  be  tried 
for  treason,  or  be  attainted  by  act  of  parliament,  deterred 
many  from  joining  the  royal  standard.  To  meet  this  dif- 
ficulty the  Chancellor,  in  the  parliament  which  assembled  in 
October,  1497,  introduced  and  passed  an  act*,  "that  no 
person  that  did  assist,  in  arms  or  otherwise,  the  King  for  the 
time  being,  should  afterwards  be  impeached  therefor,  or 
attainted  either  by  the  coui'se  of  the  law  or  by  parliament ; 
but  if  any  such  attainder  did  happen  to  be  made,  it  should  be 
void  and  of  none  effect."  *'  The  spirit  of  this  law,"  says  Lord 
Bacon,  "  was  wonderfully  pious  and  noble ;  being  like,  in 
matter  of  war,  unto  the  spirit  of  David  in  matter  of  plague, 
who  said.  If  I  have  sinned,  strike  me;  hut  what  have  these 
sheep  done?  Neither  wanted  this  law  parts  of  prudent  and 
deep  foresight,  for  it  did  the  better  take  away  occasion  for 
the  people  to  busy  themselves  to  pry  into  the  King's  title ; 
for  that  howsoever  it  fell^  their  safety  was  already  provided 
for."  Had  there  been  a  counter-revolution,  the  law  would 
probably  have  been  very  little  regarded,  and  future  par- 
liaments would  not  have  been  bound  by  it.  It  has  never 
been  pleaded  in  a  court  of  justice,  unless  by  the  regicides 
on  the  restoration  of  Charles  II.,  who  in  vain  contended  that 
they  came  within  the  equity  of  it,  having  acted  in  obedience 
to  an  ordinance  of  the  existing  supreme  power  of  the  state. 
However,  it  still  remains  on  the  statute  book,  and  we  shall 
undoubtedly  be  entitled  to  the  benefit  of  it  if  the  Duke  of 
Modena,  the  lineal  heir  of  the  monarchy,  should  be  restored, 
notwithstanding  our  zealous  defence  of  the  throne  of  Queen 
Victoria,  f 
j'Bcneyo-  There  are  no  other  parliamentary  proceedings  of  any 
vo^A.  ""  interest  connected  Avith  this  Chancellor.  His  great  effort 
was  to  extract  subsidies  from  the  Commons,  and  when  he 
could  not  do  this  in  a  sufficient  degree  to  satisfy  the  avarice 
of  his  royal  master,  who  was  now  bent  upon  accumulating 
treasure  as  if  it  had  been  the  chief  end  of  government,  he 

*    1 1  llcn.  7.  c.  1.  I  Hall.  Const.  Hist.  i.  12. 


CAEDINAL   MORTON,   CHANCELLOK.  423 

resorted  to  the  most  culpable  expedients  for  levying  money     chap. 
upon  the  subject.     Notwithstanding  the  law  of  Richard  III. 


so   recently   passed,   forbidding,   in   the   most    express   and  ^  ^  ^^qq^ 
emphatic  language,  any  taxation  without  authority  of  par- 
liament,  and   more   particularly  the    tax   called    "a  Bene- 
volence," —  on  pretence  of  a  French  war,  he  issued  a  com- 
mission for  levying  a  "Benevolence"  on  the  people  according 
to  their  pecuniary  ability ;  —  and  that  none  might  escape,  he 
ingeniously  instructed  the  commissioners  to  employ  a  dilemma 
in  which  every  one  might  be  comprehended :  "  If  the  persons 
applied  to  for  the  benevolence  live  frugally,  tell  them  that 
their  parsimony  must  necessarily  have  enriched  them  ;  if  their 
method  of  living  be  hospitable,  tell  them  they  must  necessarily 
be  opulent  on  account  of  their  great  expenditure."     This   Cardinal 
device  was  by  some  called  "  Chancellor  Morton's  fork,"  and  Jfoir"  ^ 
by  others  his  "  crutch." 

Notwithstanding  some  discontents,  there  was  perfect  in- 
ternal tranquillity  during  the  administration  of  Morton,  with 
the  exception  of  the  rebellion  caused  by  the  imposture  of 
Lambert  Simnel,  which  was  wisely  terminated  by  making  the 
pretended  Plantagenet  a  scullion  in  the  King's  kitchen. 

In  1494,  Morton's  dignities  were  further  increased  by  his 
being  elected  Chancellor  of  the  University  of  Oxford. 

But  he  became  much  broken  by  age  and  infirmities,  and  j ji^  death, 
after  a  lingering  illness  he  died  on  the  13th  of  September, 
1500,  leaving  behind  him,  notwithstanding  some  arbitrary 
acts  of  government,  which  should  be  judged  of  by  the  standard 
of  his  own  age,  a  high  character  for  probity  as  well  as  talents. 
His  munificence  was  great,  and  he  was  personally  untainted 
by  the  vice  of  avarice  which  disgraced  the  Sovereign.  Not 
only  did  he  liberally  expend  money  in  raising  early  straw- 
berries in  Holborn,  but  the  great  cut  or  drain  from  Peter- 
borough to  Wisbech,  now  known  by  the  name  of  Morton's 
Leame,  was  made  entirely  at  his  expense  while  he  was  Bishop 
of  Ely.*  His  literary  attainments  reflect  still  greater  splendour 
upon  him,  and  he  is  to  be  considered  the  author  of  the  first 

*  He  likewise  founded  four  scholarships  in  St.  John's  Hospital,  which  are 
now  enjoyed  by  St.  John's  College,  Cambridge. 

E  E    4 


424  llEIGN   OF   HENRY   VII. 


CH  A  P.     classical  prose  composition  in  our  language,  if  the  supposition 
be  well  founded  that  the  English  Life  of  Richard  III.,  usually 
attributed  to  Sir  Thomas  More,  was  written  by  his  predecessor 
Chancellor  Morton. 
Sir  Thomas       More  had,  when  a  youth,  been  brought  up  in  his  family  as 
ractcr  of  "  '^  P^g^,  and  his  introduction  to  the  Utopia  has  left  us  a  very 
•'''"•  interesting,  though  rather  flattering,  character  of  his  patron. 

"  I  was  then  much  obliged  to  that  reverend  prelate,   John 
Morton,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  Cardinal  and  Chancellor 
of  England,  a  man  who  was  no  less  venerable  for  his  wisdom 
and  virtue  than  for  the  high  reputation  he  bore.     He  was  of 
a  middle  stature,  in  advanced  years,  but  not  broken  by  age : 
his  aspect  begot  reverence  rather  than  fear.     He  sometimes 
took  pleasure  to  try  the  mental  qualities  of  those  who  came 
as  suitors  to  him  on  business,  by  speaking  briskly  though  de- 
corously to  them,  and  thereby  discovered  their  spirit  and  self- 
command;    and  he  was  much  delighted  with   a   display  of 
energy,  so  that  it  did  not  grow  up  to  impudence,  as  bearing 
a  great  resemblance  to  his  own  temperament,  and  best  fitting 
men  for  affairs.     He  spoke  both  gracefully  and  mightily ;  he 
was  eminently  skilled  in  the  law ;  he  had  a  comprehensive 
understanding,  and  a  very  retentive  memory;  and  the  ex- 
cellent talents  with  which  nature  had  furnished   him  were 
improved   by    study    and   discipline.     The    King   depended 
much  on  his  counsels,  and   the    government    seemed  to  be 
chiefly  supported  by  him ;  for  from  his  youth  he  had  been 
constantly  practised  in  affairs,   and   having   passed    through 
many  changes  of  fortune,  he  had,  at  a  heavy  cost,  acquired  a 
great  stock  of  wisdom,  Avhich,  when  so  purchased,  is  found 
most  serviceable."* 
S^-PJ^.  14.  The  day  after  the  death  of  Cardinal  Morton,  the  King  sent 

Henrv  messengers  with  a  warrant  to  Knoll  in  Kent,  where  he  ex- 
Bilhopof  P'''®.^'  ^"^  ^^"'g  *^^  G^reat  Seal  to  him  at  Woodstock,  f  His 
Salisbury,  Majesty  received  it  from  them  there  on  the  19th  of  Sep- 
K^lper.        tcmber,  and  kept  it  in   his    own  custody  till   the    13th    of 

*    Utop.  lib.  i. 

t  riie  seal  is  stated  to  have  been  found  "  apud  Knoll,  infra  Hospicium  dci 
nuper  Cardinal.s,  in  quadam  alta  camera  ibidem  vncat.  Le  Rake  chamber,  in 
quaaam  baga  de  albo  corio  inclusum."— Rot.  CI.  16  Hen  7 


HENRY  DEANE,  LORD  KEEPER.  425 

Oo/tober  following — much  puzzled  as  to  how  he  should  dispose     CHAP, 
of  it.     He  wished  to  pay  the  compliment  to  the  church  of 


having  an  ecclesiastic  for  Chancellor,  and  there  was  no  one 
at  that  time  in  whom  he  could  place  entire  confidence  as  he 
had  done  in  Morton,  the  companion  of  all  his  fortunes.  He 
at  last  fixed  upon  Henry  Deane,  Bishop  of  Salisbury,  as  a 
safe  if  not  very  able  man,  and  to  him  he  delivered  the  Great 
Seal,  but  with  the  title  of  Keeper  only.* 

I  do  not  find  any  trace  of  Deane's  origin,  or  any  account   Distin- 
of  him  till  he  was  at  New  College,  Oxford.     Here  he  was  a  fi^etntel 
diligent  student,  and  before  he  left  the  University  he  took  sity. 
the  degree  of  S.  T.  D. 

In  1493,  he  was  made  Prior  of  Llanthony  Abbey,  in  His  subse- 
Monmouthshlre ;  but  he  resided  very  little  there,  liking  better  ^^^^^  ^^^' 
to  push  his  fortune  at  the  court  of  Henry  VII.  He  con- 
tinued to  make  himself  useful  to  Cardinal  Morton,  by  whose 
interest,  in  September,  1495,  he  was  made  Lord  Chancellor 
of  Ireland.  I  have  not  been  able  to  find  how  his  appoint- 
ment was  received  in  that  country,  or  how  he  conducted 
himself  there ;  but,  more  lucky  than  some  of  his  successors, 
he  held  the  ofiice  for  two  years,  and  only  resigned  it  for  a 
piece  of  preferment  which  brought  him  back  to  this  island, — 
the  Bishopric  of  Bangor.  From  that  see  he  was  translated, 
in  1500,  to  Salisbury.  The  experience  he  had  had  as  Chan- 
cellor in  Ireland,  was  supposed  to  be  the  reason  for  his  new 
elevation. 

Pie  continued  to  hold  the  Great  Seal  of  England  as  keeper  Conduct  as 
during  two   years,  decently  discharging   the    duties    of  his   ^^g  ^.^ 
office,  but  not  rising  in  favour  with  the  King,  nor  gaining 
much  reputation  with  the  public. 

During  this  time  no  parliament  sat.  Instead  of  the  good 
old  custom  of  the  Plantagenets  to  call  these  assemblies 
yearly,  or  oftener  "  if  need  were,"  the  rule  now  laid  down 
was  to  avoid  them,  unless  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining 
money.  The  King  was  at  first  occupied  with  his  inglorious 
French  war,  which,  although  he  did  once  carry  an  army 
across   the    sea,    he    used    as   an  instrument  of  extorting  a 

*   Rot.  CI.  16  Hen,  7. 


426  REIGN   OF   HENRY   VII. 

CHAP,     pecuniary  supply  from  the  King  of  France,  who  was  willing  to 
^^^*      buy  him  off  on  any  terms,  to  be  at  liberty  to  prosecute  his 


expedition  into  Italy,  and  claim  the  crown  of  Naples. 
Negotiates  The  Lord  Keeper  assisted  in  negotiating  the  treaty  with 
bawe^n*^  Scotland,  by  which,  after  near  two  centuries  of  war,  or  of 
the  King  of  truccs  little  better  than  war,  a  perpetual  peace  was  concluded 
the  Prin-  between  the  two  kingdoms,  one  of  the  articles  being  the 
cess  War-  marriage  of  Margaret,  Henry's  eldest  daughter,  with  James, 
the  Scottish  King,  which  in  another  age  brought  about  the 
union  of  the  whole  island  under  the  House  of  Stuart. 

But  the  court  was  soon  thrown  into  mourning  by  the  un- 
timely death  of  Prince  Arthur,  a  few  months  after  the  cele- 
bration of  his  marriao;e  with  Catherine  of  Aragon. 
His  re-  Before  the  question  arose  respecting  Prince  Henry's  mar- 

A.*D.  1502.  riage  with  his  brother's  widow,  Deane  was  removed  from 
his  office  of  Lord  Keeper,  and  he  escaped  the  responsibility 
of  that  inauspicious  measure.  In  January,  1502,  he  was 
advanced  to  the  archiepiscopal  see  of  Canterbury,  and  feeling 
himself  oppressed  by  his  new  duties,  and  his  health  declining, 
he  resigned  the  Great  Seal  on  the  27th  of  July  following.* 
His  death.  He  died  at  Lambeth,  on  the  15th  of  February,  1503,  having 
displayed  a  mediocrity  of  talent  and  of  character,  neither  to 
be  greatly  extolled  or  condemned. 

The  King  seems  again  to  have  been  at  a  loss  how  to  dis- 
pose of  the  Great  Seal,  as  it  was  allowed  to  remain  near  a 
month  in  the  keeping  of  Sir  William  Barons,  the  Master  of 
the  Rolls,  who  was  a  mere  official  drudge,  and  was  restricted 
in  the  use  of  it  to  the  sealing  of  writs,  and  the  despatch  of 
routine  business. 

dir^*  ^r'        ^*  ^^^'  ^°  *^^  ^^^^^  °^  August,  it  was  given  to  William 
Archbishop  Warham,  the  Bishop  of  London f,  well  known  in  English 
^\  ARiiAM.     history,  —  who  retained  it  during  the  rest  of  this  reign  and 
the  early  years  of  the  next,  —  till,  his  influence  being  under- 
mined by  the  arts  of  a  greater  intriguer,  it  was  clutched  from 
him  by  the  hand  of  Wolsey. 

*  Rot.  Cl.  17  Hen.  7.  n.  47. 

t  Tins  ceremony  took  place  at  Fulham,  under  a  warrant  from  the  King  then 
at  Langley,  in  the  forest  of  Wychewoode.— Rot.  Cl.  17  Hen.  7. 


LORD   CHANCELLOK   WARHAM. 


427 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 


LIFE    OF    ARCHBISHOP    WARHAM,    LORD    CHANCELLOR   OF     ENGLAND. 


William  Warham  was  born  at  Okely,  in  Hampshire,  of  a 
small  gentleman's  family  in  that  county.  He  studied  at 
Winchester  school,  and  afterwards  at  New  College,  Oxford, 
of  which  he  was  chosen  fellow  in  1475.  Having  greatly  dis- 
tinguished himself  in  the  study  of  the  civil  and  canon  law,  he 
took  the  degree  of  LL.D.,  and  practised  as  an  advocate  in 
the  Court  of  Arches  in  Doctors'  Commons.  Following  in 
the  footsteps  of  Morton,  he  attracted  the  notice  and  gained 
the  patronage  of  this  prelate,  who  recommended  him  for 
employment  to  Henry  VII.  He  was  accordingly  sent  on  a 
very  delicate  mission  to  the  court  of  Burgundy,  to  remon- 
strate against  the  countenance  there  given  to  Perkin  War- 
beck,  the  pretended  Duke  of  York,  younger  son  of  Ed- 
ward IV.  The  Duchess  of  Burgundy,  sister  of  Edward  IV., 
had  a  deep  dislike  to  Henry  as  a  Lancastrian,  and  having 
formerly  patronised  Lambert  Simnel,  now  professed  to  receive 
Perkin  as  her  nephew,  and  "  the  White  Rose  of  England." 

Hollinshead  gives  us  an  account  of  a  speech  supposed  to 
have  been  delivered  by  the  ambassador  on  his  arrival  at 
Bruges,  in  the  presence  of  the  Duchess  as  well  as  of  the 
Duke ;  but,  from  its  very  uncourtly  terms,  it  must  surely 
be  the  invention  of  the  chronicler.  "  William  Warram 
made  to  them  an  eloquent  oration,  and  in  the  later  end  some- 
Avhat  inveighed  against  the  Ladie  Margaret,  not  sparing  to 
declare  how  she  now,  in  her  later  age,  had  brought  foorth 
(within  the  space  of  a  few  y cares  together)  two  detestable 
monsters,  that  is  to  saie,  Lambert  and  this  same  Perkin  War- 
becke;  and  being  conceived  of  these  two  great  babes,  was 
not  delivered  of  them  in  8  or  9  moneths,  as  nature  requireth, 
but  in  180  months,  for  both  these,  at  the  best,  were  fiftenc 


CHAP. 
XXVI. 

Birth  and 
education. 


Practises 
in  Doctors' 
Commons. 

* 

His  em- 
bassy to 
Duke  of 
Burgundy. 


Speech  to 
Duke  and 
Duchess. 


428 


REIGN   OF   HENRY   VI I. 


CHAP. 
XXVI. 


Made 
IMastcr  of 
Rolls  and 
Bishop  of 
Ix>ndon. 


A.D.  1502. 
Lord 
Keeper 
and  Lord 
Chancellor. 


His  de- 
s|)atch  of 
business  in 
Chancery. 


Opposed 
marriage 
between 
Prince 
Henry  and 
Catherine, 
widow  of 
•\rthur. 


yeeres  of  age  yer  she  would  be  brought  in  bed  of  them,  and 
shew  them  openlie ;  and  when  they  were  newlle  crept  out  of 
hir  wombe,  they  were  no  infants,  but  lustie  yoonglings,  and 
of  age  sufficient  to  bid  battel  to  kings.  These  tawnts  angred 
the  Ladie  Margaret  to  the  hart."* 

Warham  could  not  succeed  in  having  the  Pretender  de- 
livered up  or  dismissed,  but  gained  highly  useful  inform- 
ation respecting  his  history  and  designs ;  and  gave  the  King 
such  satisfaction,  that  on  his  return  he  was  made  Master  of 
the  Rolls  and  Bishop  of  London.  He  continued  at  the  Rolls 
nine  years,  during  which  time  he  had  a  seat  at  the  coun- 
cil-board, and  he  was  looked  forward  to  by  many  as  the 
successor  of  Morton  in  managing  the  civil  affairs  of  the 
kingdom. 

When  he  received  the  Great  Seal  he  held  it  at  first  with 
the  title  only  of  Lord  Keeper ;  and  it  was  not  till  two  years 
afterwards,  when  being  translated  to  Canterbury,  that  he 
was  invested  with  the  full  dignity  of  Lord  Chancellor.  His 
installation  now  took  place  with  extraordinary  pomp,  the 
Duke  of  Buckingham,  the  first  peer  of  the  realm,  acting  as 
steward  of  his  household. 

Notwithstanding  all  the  cares  of  the  primacy,  he  applied 
very  diligently  to  the  discharge  of  his  judicial  duties.  His 
experience  as  an  advocate  must  now  have  been  of  essential 
advantage  to  him ;  and,  besides  being  assisted  by  the  !Masters 
in  Chancery,  he  prudently  continued  the  practice  of  calling  in 
the  assistance  of  the  common-law  Judges  in  all  difficult  cases. 
Thus,  without  the  appointment  of  any  Vice-chancellor  or 
deputy,  he  contrived  to  keep  down  the  arrears  of  causes  in 
his  Court,  and  to  give  general  satisfaction. 

As  a  statesman,  he  gained  great  credit  by  protesting 
against  the  proposed  marriage  between  Prince  Henry  and 
the  Princess  Dowager  of  Wales,  pointing  out  the  objections 
to  the  legality  of  such  a  union,  and  the  serious  difficulties  in 
which  it  might  afterwards  involve  the  affairs  of  the  nation ; 
but  his  advice  was  neglected  on  account  of  the  cupidity  of 
Henry,  who  was  not  only  unwilling  to  refund  that  half  of  the 


*  Hollinsh.  iii.  506. 


STATE    OF    THE    LAW.  429 

lady's  large  dowry  which  he  had  received,  but  was  impatient     CHAP, 
to  have  the  remainino;  half  of  it  In  his  coffers. 


Lord  Chancellor  Warham  was  not  connected  with  any 
parliamentary  proceedings  of  much  importance  during  this 
reign.  Henry,  calling  parliaments  very  rarely,  when  they 
did  meet,  had  introduced  the  custom  of  opening  the  session 
with  a  speech  of  his  own,  instead  of  trusting  to  his  Chancellor, 
and  there  was  nothing  like  free  discussion  in  either  House 
while  he  was  upon  the  throne. 

With  the  assistance  of  Warham,  and  other  such  dexterous   His  pane- 
men  whom  Henry  had  selected  for  his  tools,  he  contrived,  in   y^i^d^iey^the 
the»  latter  part  of  his  reign,  to  render  himself  nearly  absolute.    Attomey- 
Thus,  in  his  last  parliament,  the  Commons  being  desired  by  afterwards 
the  Chancellor  to  choose  a  Speaker,  they  found  themselves   hanged. 
under   the   necessity,    on    his    recommendation,    ot    electing 
Dudley,   the  Attorney  General,  who  was   then  universally 
execrated,  and  who  was  afterwards  hanged,   to  the  great  joy 
of  the  nation.     The  Chancellor  confirmed  the  election  with 
much  commendation  of  the  new  Speaker. 

Perkin  Warbeck  being  taken,  and  the  Earl  of  Warwick, 
the  last  male  of  the  Plantagenet  line,  being  murdered  under 
the  forms  of  law,  there  was  a  gloomy  tranquillity  at  the  con- 
clusion of  this  reign,  Henry  leaving  nothing  to  the  Chan- 
cellor, or  any  of  his  Council,  but  the  discharge  of  the  routine 
duties  of  their  office. 

After  the  death  of  the  Queen,    the    Court   was  a  little  ^.n.  1509. 
amused  by  negotiations  for  a  second  marriage;  but,  on  the   j^^^  'yjj 
22d  of  April,  1509,  the  selfish  tyrant  was  carried  oif  by  a 
sudden  fit  of  illness,  in  the  fifty-second  year  of  his  age,  and 
the  twenty-fourth  of  his  reign ;  and  his  courtiers  and  subjects 
did  not  affect  to  disguise  their  satisfaction  at  the  event. 

Although  no  transfer  of  the  Great  Seal  immediately  fol-  Legislation 
lowed  the  demise   of  the   Crown,   we  must  here    pause    to  "\'"^ 

.  .  reign. 

take  a  short  retrospect  of  jurisprudence  during  this  reign. 
Although  it  be  looked  upon  as  an  era  in  our  annals,  and 
the  commencement  of  modern  history,  it  was  not  marked  by 
any  important  legislative  acts,  or  by  any  change  in  the  con- 
stitution of  our  tribunals,  beyond  the  remoclelling  of  the 
Star  Chamber.* 

*  ;J  Hen.  7.  c.  1. 


430  REIGN   OF   HENRY  VII. 

CHAP.         Henry's  common-law  Judges  were  men  of  ability;  but 
^'^^^^     tlicy  rendered  themselves  most  odious  by  their  rigorous  en- 
J^J]T~~  forcement  of  obsolete  penal  laws,  for  the  purpose  of  swelling 
traiioii  of     the  revenue. 

justiw.  rjy^^  Chancellors  exercised,  without  disturbance,  the  equity 

jurisdic-       jurisdiction  which  had  been  so  much  attacked  in  preceding 
tion.  reigns ;    but   we    cannot    much   admire   their   reasoning   in 

decidinjj  the  cases  which  came  before  them. 

A  judgment  of  Lord  Chancellor  Morton's  may  be  given  as 
a  specimen.  Two  persons  being  appointed  executors,  one  of 
them  released  a  debt  due  to  the  testator  without  the  assent 
of  his  companion,  who  filed  a  bill  in  Chancery,  suggesting, 
that  on  this  account  the  will  could  not  be  performed,  and 
praying  relief  against  the  other  executor  and  the  debtor,  to 
whom  the  release  was  granted.  Objection  was  made  that 
there  was  no  ground  for  interference,  as  one  executor,  by  the 
common  law,  may  release  a  debt.  Archbishop  Morton,  Lord 
Chancellor.  —  "  It  is  against  reason  that  one  executor  should 
have  all  the  goods,  and  give  a  release  by  himself.  I  know 
very  well  that  every  law  should  be  consistent  with  the  law  of 
God ;  and  that  law  forbids  that  an  executor  should  indulge 
any  disposition  he  may  have  to  waste  the  goods  of  the  tes- 
tator; and  if  he  does,  and  does  not  make  amends,  if  he  is 
able,  he  shall  be  damned  in  hell,"  * 

Equity  decisions  at  this  time  depended  upon  each  Chan- 
cellor's peculiar  notions  of  the  law  of  God,  and  the  manner  in 
which  Heaven  would  visit  the  defendant  for  the  acts  com- 
plained of  in  the  Bill ;  and  though  a  rule  is  sometimes  laid 
down  as  to  where  "  a  subpoena  will  lie,"  that  is  to  say,  where 
there  might  be  relief  in  Chancery,  it  was  not  till  long  after 
that  authorities  were  cited  by  Chancellors,  or  that  there  was 
any  steady  reference  by  them  to  "  the  doctrine  of  the  Court." 
In  this  reign  no  attention  was  paid  to  the  improvement  of 
the  laws  or  the  administration  of  justice,  except  with  a  view 
to  extorting  money  from  the  subject  and  amassing  treasure 
m  the  Exchequer,  and  the  Chancellors  were  much  employed 
m  assisting  inferior  agents  to  enforce  dormant  claims  of  the 

•  Y.  B.  4  Hen.  7.  4.  b. 


LORD   CHANCELLOR  WARHAM.  431 

Crown  against  the  owners  of  estates,  and  in  compelling  cor-     chap. 
porations  to  accept  new  charters  for  the  sake  of  fees. 


A  brighter  prospect  was  now  supposed  to  open  on  the   Accession 
nation.      Instead   of  a  monarch  jealous,   severe,   and   ava-  ^J^^^"^^ 
ricious,  who  receded  from  virtue  as  he  advanced  in  years,  a  j^.d,  1509. 
young  prince  of  eighteen  had  succeeded  to  the  throne,  who, 
even  in  the  eyes  of  men  of  sense,  gave  promising  hopes  of  his 
future  conduct,  and  was  possessed  of  qualifications  in  a  high 
degree  to  dazzle  and  captivate  the  multitude.     He  nominally 
took  upon  himself  the   government    without    Protector    or 
Regent,  but  Warham  the  Chancellor  had  the  chief  sway,  till 
it  gradually  waned  under  the  superior  ascendancy  acquired 
by  Wolsey  over  the  youthful  sovereign. 

There  is  no  memorandum  of  the  delivery  of  the  Great  Warham 
Seal  by  Henry  VIII.  to  Warham,  but  there  can  be  no  doubt  Chancellor, 
that  he  continued  Chancellor  from  his  appointment  in  the 
preceding  reign  until  his  resignation  in  the  year  1515.  He 
is  said  to  have  been  now  placed  at  the  head  of  the  Council,  as 
the  least  unpopular  of  the  ministers  of  the  late  King,  by  the 
advice  of  Margaret  Countess  of  Richmond,  who  still  sur- 
vived, and  being  much  celebrated  for  prudence  and  virtue^ 
had  great  influence  over  her  royal  grandson. 

The  Chancellor  in  his  capacity  of  Archbishop  of  Can- 
terbury, placed  the  crown  on  Henry's  head,  and  there  being 
then  no  Prince  of  the  blood,  was  the  first  subject  in  rank  at 
the  ceremony,  uniting  in  himself  the  highest  ecclesiastical 
and  civil  offices  in  the  realm. 

A  great   question   immediately  arose   which    divided   the   Still  op- 
Council,  and  the  Chancellor,  adhering  to  his  original  opinion,  ^?^^^ ,, 
stood    alone  against  all  the  other   members :    this  was  the  marriage 
completion  of  the  Kino-'s  marriao;c  with  Catherine  of  Arairon,  ^T'*''-  ^'^" 
the  widow   of  his  brother.  Prince  Arthur.     The  virtues  of 
the  Princess  and    the  advantages  of  the  match   were  uni- 
versally   admitted  ;    but    Warham,    as    a    churchman,    still 
doubted  its  validity,   and,  as  a  statesman,  foresaw  the  mo- 
mentous  consequences    of   its  being  afterwards  questioned, 
and  therefore  he  now  strongly  remonstrated  against  it,  though 
if  broken  off  a  large  dowry  was  to  be  returned,  and  the  Kino- 
of  Spain,  from  being  a  firm  and  valuable  ally,  might  be  con- 


432  REIGN   OF   HENRY   VI J  I. 

CHAP,     verted  into  a  bitter  and  formidable  enemy.     Had  the  Chan- 
^^^''     ccllor's  ojwnion  prevailed,  England  might  have  remained  a 


Roman  Catholic  country  ;  but  the  Countess  of  Richmond 
took  part  with  the  majority ;  Henry,  not  much  inclined  to 
this  arrangement  of  convenience,  thought  he  was  bound  to 
fulfil  the  promise  given  in  his  father's  lifetime,  and  the 
marriage  took  place  which  produced  our  boasted  Reform- 
ation. 
Improperly  Things  went  on  very  smoothly  with  the  Chancellor  for 
joins  111        gQing  years.     Not  much  to  his  credit,  he  concurred  in  the 

prosecution  J  ' 

of  Kmpson  punishment  of  Empson  and  Dudley,  whose  obnoxious  pro- 

fp",         *     ceedings  he  had  countenanced  in  the  former  reign,  and  for 

which  indeed  he    was   himself  responsible,  as  being  at  the 

head  of  the  administration  of  justice  ;  but  he  did  not  choose 

to  oppose  the  strong  cry   for   their   execution,  and  he  saw 

them  suffer  for  actual  offences  to  which  he  was   privy,   on 

a  pretended  charge  of  treason  of  which  he  must  have  known 

that  they  were  innocent. 

A.I).  1 510.         Parliament  assembling  on  the  21st  of  January,  1510,  and 

ment.  '^       t^e  King  being  on  the  throne,  the  Chancellor  by  his  command 

Chancel-      Opened  the  session  according  to  ancient  fashion  with  a  speech 

io'twT*''''  ^'■^"^   *^^^   text,  — "Deum    timete,    Regem   honorificate."  * 

Houses.        After  various  commentaries  upon  fear  and  honour,  he  said  it 

behoved  Kings  to  govern  wisely,  and  explained  the  duties  of 

the  different  officers  trusted  with  the  affairs  of  the  public. 

The  Judges  rightly  and  duly  administering  justice,  he  said, 

were  the  eyes  of  the  Commonwealth  ;  the  learned  expositors 

of  the  laws  he  styled  tlie  tongues  of  it.     Others  were  the 

messengers  of  the  government,  as  the  sheriffs  and  magistrates 

of  cities  and  counties;  the  former   of  which  who  did  not 

execute  their  offices  rightly,  he  compared  to  Noah's  raven. 

Others  were  the  pillars  of  the  government,  as  juries  of  twelve 

men  are.     "Lastly,"  says  the  reporter,  "cum  magno  audi- 

entium  plausu,  he  went  upon  the  state  of  the  whole  kingdom, 

and  urged  that  it  was  the  real  interest  of  each  separate  body, 

spiritual,  temporal,  and  commonalty,  to  unite  in  supporting 

tiie  Crown  ;  that  justice  which  is  the  queen  of  virtues  may  be 

*  1  Pari.  Hist.  575. 


*  LORD   CHANCELLOR   WARHAM.  433 

auspicious  in  the  nation;  that  both  bishop  and  peer  may  CHAP, 
join  in  reforming  the  errors  of  past  times ;  in  utterly  abo- 
lishing all  iniquitous  laws;  in  moderating  the  rough  and  ^^  j^jg^ 
severe  ones ;  in  enacting  good  and  useful  statutes,  and  when 
made  to  see  that  they  should  be  faithfully,  honestly,  and 
inviolably  observed ;  —  which  if  this  parliament  will  perform, 
then  he  affirmed  that  there  was  no  one  could  doubt  but  that 
God  should  be  feared,  the  King  honoured,  and  for  the  future 
the  Commonwealth  served  with  good  councillors  every  way 
useful  to  the  King  and  kingdom."  * 

The  great  applause  of  the  audience  arose  from  the  belief 
that  the  Chancellor,  in  his  conclusion,  alluded  to  the  harsh 
laws  and  the  harsh  administration  of  them  which  had  charac-  * 
terised  the  late  reign.  In  a  few  days  he  carried  through 
the  House  of  Lords  the  act  for  the  attainder  of  Empson  and 
Dudley,  and  it  passed  nemine  contradicente. 

Lord  Chancellor  Warham  again  opened  the  parliament  His  advice 
which  met  on  the  4th  of  February,  1512,  with  a  speech  in  ^'^  ^*'^''if'j^ 
the  King's  presence  from  this  text,  —  "Justitia  et  pax  os- 
culatae  sunt,"  in  which,  rather  whimsically  for  an  Arch- 
bishop, he  explained  how  war  was  to  be  carried  on  suc- 
cessfully :  "  He  added  further,  what  was  absolutely  necessary 
in  those  that  took  the  field  and  hoped  for  victory,  first,  that 
they  should  walk  in  the  ways  of  the  Lord,  and  in  him  alone 
place  their  dependence  ;  —  that  every  man  should  keep  the 
post  he  was  ordered  to,  —  and  that  each  individual  should  be 
content  with  pay  and  should  avoid  plunder."  On  a  subsequent 
day  the  Lord  Chancellor  went  down  to  the  Commons  and 
made  them  another  speech,  explaining  the  treacherous  pro- 
ceedings of  the  King  of  France,  and  pressing  for  a  supply,  f 

The  last  parliament  in  which  Warham  presided,  was  that   Warham's 
which  met  on  the  5th  of  February,  1514,  when  he  took  for  tf,^the  two^ 
his  text,  —  "  Nunc  Keges  intelligite,  erudimini  qui  judicatis   Houses, 
terram."     Having  dwelt  at  great  length  on  the  duties  of  a 
King,  "  he  added  what  qualities  belonged  also  to  good  coun- 
cillors, viz.  that  they  should  give  such  counsel  as  was  hea- 
venly,   holy,    honourable   to   the   King   and   useful   to   the 

*1   Pari.  Hist.  476.  f   Ibid.  479. 

VOL.  I.  F  F 


434 


REIGN   OF   HENIIY   VIII. 


CHAP. 
XXVI. 


A.D.   1514. 

iMakes  a 
speech  in 
House  of 
Commons. 


Abuse  of 

tlie  Scotch. 


Dispute  as 
to  the  rank 
of  the  Earl 
of  Surrey 
in  the 
House  of 
Ixirds, 
March, 
1515. 


Commonwealth ;  that  they  should  be  speakers  of  truth  and 
not  flatterers  ;  firm  and  not  wavering,  and  neither  covetous 
nor  ambitious."  * 

A  Speaker  being  chosen  and  approved, —  a  few  days  after- 
wards the  Lord  Chancellor,  attended  by  the  Archbishop  of 
York,  the  Bishops  of  Winchester  and  Durham,  the  Earl  of 
Surrey,  Lord  Treasurer,  with  other  Peers,  went  down  to  the 
House  of  Commons,  and  made  another  speech  to  induce  them 
to  grant  a  liberal  supply.  These  visits  appear  to  have  been 
well  taken  by  the  Commons,  instead  of  being  treated  as  a 
breach  of  privilege,  and  they  rescue  the  memory  of  Wolsey 
from  the  imputation  of  having  done  a  violent  and  unpre- 
cedented act  when,  being  Chancellor,  he  paid  a  visit  to  the 
Commons  and  remonstrated  with  them  on  their  tardiness  in 
voting  money  for  the  King's  use, — which  has  been  considered 
by  some  almost  as  great  an  outrage  as  that  committed  by 
Charles,  when  he  burst  into  the  House  to  arrest  the  five 
members  in  their  places.  On  the  present  occasion  Lord 
Chancellor  Warham,  to  take  advantage  of  national  antipathy, 
and  to  stimulate  the  liberality  of  the  Commons,  told  them 
"  that  the  Scotch  had  lately  at  several  times  done  great 
injuries  to  the  King's  subjects,  both  by  land  and  sea,  and 
were  daily  meditating  more  ;  by  which  attempts  His  Majesty, 
being  sufficiently  provoked,  had  determined  to  declare  war 
against  them."  Therefore  he  exhorted  the  Commons  "  dili- 
gently to  consider  these  things,  and  the  King's  necessary 
expenses  in  the  defence  of  the  kingdom."  f 

Soon  after,  he  had  a  matter  of  great  delicacy  to  decide  in 
the  Lords.  Thomas  Earl  of  Surrey,  the  eldest  son  of  the 
Duke  of  Norfolk,  being  called  to  the  Upper  House  in  his 
father's  lifetime,  claimed  there  the  precedence  over  all  Earls, 
to  which  he  was  entitled  out  of  parliament,  a  claim  which  was 
most  resolutely  resisted.  Garter  King  at  Arms  and  the  other 
heralds  were  called  in;  but  they  declared  that,  "though  well 
skilled  in  the  genealogy  of  Peers,  — as  concerning  superiority 
of  scats  in  parliament  they  could  not  determine."  Whereupon, 
the  question  was  referred  to  the  Lord  Chancellor,  who,  after 


1  P-irl.  Hist.  478. 


t   Ibid.  481. 


LORD   CHANCELLOR    WARHAM.  435 

time  taken  to  consider  and  to  negotiate  between  the  parties,  CHAP. 

.  XXVI 

declared  and  decreed,  "  that  the  Earl  of  Surrey,  with  much  ' 


humility  and  discretion,  had  agreed  to  content  himself  with  ^  „_  1515 
liis  place  in  parliament  according  to  his  creation,  and  not 
dignity ;  provided  always,  that  his  place  of  honour  and  dig- 
nity out  of  parUament  should  be  reserved  to  him,  and  that, 
if  hereafter  any  ancient  records  should  be  found  in  the  Tower 
of  London,  or  elsewhere,  proving  the  said  pre-  eminent  place 
in  parliament  to  belong  to  the  said  Earl,  then  the  said  seat 
should  be  restored  unto  him,  notwithstanding  this  present  de- 
cree against  him."  *  We  need  not  wonder  that  great  interest 
was  taken  in  this  controversy,  and  that  no  small  discretion 
was  required  to  bring  it  to  a  peaceable  termination,  when  we 
remember  that  the  claimant  was  warmly  supported  by  his 
father,  who  Avas  lately  returned  from  Flodden  Field,  where, 
by  his  superior  generalship,  the  King  of  Scotland  and  all  the 
prime  nobility  of  that  kingdom  had  bit  the  dust,  and  the 
Scottish  nation  had  sustained  the  most  fatal  defeat  recorded 
in  their  annals. 

This  was  the  last  memorable  act  of  Warham,  as  Chancellor.  Warh 
He  had  for  some  time  been  carrying  on  an  unequal  contest 
which  he  could  support  no  longer.  Wolsey  had  completely  Wolsey 
established  himself  in  the  favour  of  the  King,  was  already 
prime  minister  with  unlimited  power,  and,  having  obtained  a 
cardinal's  hat,  with  the  appointment  of  legate  a  latere  irovo. 
the  Pope,  even  in  ecclesiastical  matters  affected  supremacy. 
Nothing  in  England  was  wanting  to  his  ambition,  except 
the  possession  of  the  Great  Seal.  Warham  had  conducted 
himself  so  unexceptionably,  that  there  was  great  difficulty 
in  forcibly  depriving  him  of  it,  and  Wolsey's  policy  therefore 
was  by  a  series  of  affronts  and  disgusts  to  induce  him  to  re- 
sign it.  When  they  were  together  in  public,  he  assumed 
greater  state  and  splendour ;  he  irregularly  paraded  the  cross 
of  York,  in  the  province  of  Canterbury  ;  he  interfered  with 
the  patronage  and  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Great  Seal ;  and 
he  caused  the  retainers  and  officers  of  the  Chancellor  to  be 
insulted. 


nder- 
mined  by 


*   1   Pari.  Hist.  482. 

F  F    2 


436 


REIGN    OF   HENKY    VIII. 


CHAP. 
XXVI. 


AD.   1515. 

Driven  to 


resign. 


His  cha- 
racter as  a 
judge. 


His  occu- 
patiors  in 
retirement. 


Still  in- 
sulted by 
Wolsey. 


AD.  1518. 
Complains 
to  the 
King. 


Warliam,  conscious  that  it  would  be  vain  to  appeal  to  the 
King,  who  was  weary  of  his  services,  on  the  22d  of  December, 
1515,  resigned  the  Great  Seal  into  his  Majesty's  hands,  and 
the  same  day  it  was  bestowed  on  the  haughty  Cardinal,  who 
now  possessed  greater  power  than  has  ever  belonged  to  any 
subject  in  England. 

Warham  left  behind  him  in  Westminster  Hall  a  high  re- 
putation for  strictly  watching  over  the  administration  of  jus- 
tice. It  was  said  of  him  that  "  in  his  own  Court  no  Chancellor 
ever  discovered  greater  impartiality  or  deeper  penetration  of 
judgment,  and  that  none  of  his  predecessors  who  were  eccle- 
siastics had  equalled  him  in  a  knowledge  of  law  and  equity."* 

He  now  wholly  retired  from  politics,  employing  himself  in 
the  duties  of  his  diocese  and  in  literary  pursuits,  which  he 
soon  found  more  agreeable  than  judicial  drudgery,  or  the 
anxieties  of  office.  He  not  only  resumed  with  ardour  the 
studies  in  which  he  had  once  gained  distinction,  and  which 
he  had  long  been  obliged  to  suspend,  but  he  became  famous 
as  a  patron  of  learning  and  the  learned.  So  much  was  he 
now  respected  and  admired,  that  he  excited  the  envy  of 
Wolsey,  who,  though  himself  in  the  possession  of  supreme 
power,  still  tried  to  vex  and  to  humble  him  by  extended 
usurpation  on  his  metropolitan  jurisdiction  and  increased  in- 
solence when  they  necessarily  met.  Wolsey,  with  legatine 
authority,  acted  as  if  he  had  actually  worn  the  triple  crown, 
and  as  if  the  Pope  were  vested  with  absolute  authority  to 
dispose  of  all  ecclesiastical  preferment  in  England,  and  to 
tyrannise  both  over  the  clergy  and  the  laity.  Warham,  meek 
as  he  was,  found  himself  compelled  to  make  complaint  to  the 
King,  and  to  inform  him  of  the  discontents  of  the  people. 
Henry  displayed  a  gracious  manner,  professed  his  ignorance  of 
the  whole  matter,  and  said,  "  The  master  of  the  house  often 
knows  least  what  is  passing  in  it.  But  do  you,  father,  go  to 
Wolsey,  and  tell  him  if  any  thing  be  amiss  that  he  amend  it." 
The  royal  command  was  obeyed,  and  an  admonition  so  ad- 
ministered (as  might  have  been  expected),  only  served  to 
augment  Wolsey 's  enmity  to  Warham. 


Stowe,  504. 


LORD   CHANCELLOR   WARHAM.  437 

For  years  the  Ex-chancellor  was  obliged  quietly  to  sub-  chap. 
mit  to  the  ill-usage  he  experienced ;    but    at    last,    as    the 

consequences  of  a  measure  which  he  himself  had  so  strenuously  ^  j,  1527. 

opposed,  he  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  his  rival  disgraced  ^^11  of 

Wol'*GV 

and  ruined.  The  controversy  arose  respecting  the  validity  of 
the  King's  marriage  with  Catherine  of  Aragon.  Along  with 
all  the  English  prelates,  except  Fisher,  Bishop  of  Rochester, 
Warham  concurred  in  the  opinion  that  the  Pope's  licence  to 
permit  a  man  to  marry  his  brother's  widow  was  ultra  vires ^ 
and  that  the  marriage,  being  un canonical,  Henry  was  entitled 
to  a  divorce. 

When  Wolsey's  duplicity  and  finesse  at  last  terminated  in  Quaere, 
his  downfall,  it  is  said  that  the  office  of  Chancellor  was  again   Warha^' 
offered  to  Warham ;  but  that  he  declined  it  on  account  of  his  was  again 
age  and  infirmities.*     I  doubt  this  offer ;  for  Henry  had  now   Great 
testified  a  great  inclination  to  break  with  Rome,  and  Warham   ^^^  ? 
openly  declaring  himself  a  champion  of  the  papal  see,  had 
latterly  shown  himself  adverse  to  the  divorce,  unless  with  the 
full  consent  of  his  Holiness. 

He  continued  to  live  at  a  distance  from  the  Court,  and  to  Counte- 
associate  with  those  who  were  for  supporting  the  papal  Holy  Maid 
supremacy.  Shortly  before  his  death  he  even  weakly  conn-  of  K.ent. 
tenanced  the  imposture  or  delusion  of  the  Holy  Maid  of  Kent. 
The  vicar  of  the  parish  where  she  lived  went  to  Warham,  and 
having  given  him  an  account  of  Elizabeth's  pretended  revela- 
tions, wrought  so  far  on  the  aged  and  superstitious  Prelate, 
as  to  receive  orders  from  him  to  watch  her  in  her  trances,  and 
carefully  to  note  down  all  her  future  sayings.  The  regard 
paid  her  by  a  person  of  such  high  rank,  who  was  supposed  to 
be  very  discerning  from  having  so  long  held  the  office  of 
Lord  Chancellor,  rendered  her  more  than  ever  an  object  of 
attention,  and  persuaded  the  multitude  that  her  ravings  were 
the  inspirations  of  Heaven,  —  till  the  fraud  was  exposed  in  the 
Star  Chamber,  and  she  and  her  chief  associates  were  hanged 
at  Tyburn.  No  attempt  was  made  to  include  Warham  in  the 
prosecution. 

In  1532,  he  died  at  St.  Stephen's,  near  Canterbury;  and,    His  death. 

*  Erasmus,  Ep.  J 151. 
F  r  3 


138  KEIGN   OP   HENRY  VIII. 

CHAP,     according  to  his  own  desire,  without  funeral  pomp  was  buried 
^^^^"     in  a  small  chapel  which  he  had  erected  in  the  cathedral  for 

his  tomb. 
Conduct  on       When  on  his  death- bed,  he  asked  his  steward  what  money 
death-bed.    j^^  |^^^  -^^  ^j^^  world,  and  was  answered,  "  Thirty  pounds : "  he 

exclaimed,  "  Satis  viatici  in  coclum."     His  effects  were  found 

hardly  sufficient  to  pay  his  debts  and  the  small  expense  of 

his  funeral. 
His  friend-        Ilis  great  glory  was  his  connection  with  Erasmus.     He 
^«p  »''"i>      jj.i(j  early  formed  a  friendship  with  this  distinguished  scholar 

Lirasnius.  •'  ^  o     _  _ 

■ —  had  constantly  corresponded  with  him  —  had  induced  him 

to  visit  England  —  had  given  him  church  preferment  here, — 

and  had  made  him  munificent  presents. 

Character         Erasmus  sliowcd  his  gratitude  by  dedicating  to  his  patron 

by  Erl's-"'"  ^^^^  Edition  of  the  works  of  St.  Jerom,  in  terms  the  most 

mus.  flattering ;  and  by  celebrating  his  praises  in  letters  addressed 

to  literati  on  the  Continent  of  Europe.     I  offer  the  translation 

of  one  of  these  written  shortly  after  the  Archbishop's  death, 

as  tlie  best  account  of  his  character  and  his  manners :  — 

"  I  have  the  most  tender  recollection  of  a  man  worthy  to  be  held 
in  perpetual  honour,  William  Warham,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury, 
and  Primate  of  all  England.  He  was  a  theologian  in  reality  as  well 
as  by  title,  and  profoundly  versed  both  in  the  civil  and  canon  law. 
He  early  gained  reputation  by  his  skilful  conduct  of  foreign 
embassies  intrusted  to  him  ;  and,  on  account  of  his  consummate 
prudence,  he  was  much  beloved  and  esteemed  by  King  Henry  VH. 
Thus  he  rose  to  be  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  the  highest  eccle- 
siastical dignity  in  the  island.  Bearing  this  burden,  itself  very 
weighty,  one  heavier  still  was  imposed  upon  him.  He  was  forced 
to  accept  the  office  of  Chancellor,  which  among  the  English  is  at- 
tended with  regal  splendour  and  power.  As  often  as  he  goes  into 
public,  a  crown  and  sceptre  are  carried  before  him.*  He  is  the 
eye,  the  mouth-piece,  and  the  right  hand  of  the  Sovereign  ;  and 
the  supreme  Judge  of  the  whole  British  empire.  For  many  years, 
Warham  executed  the  duties  of  this  office  so  admirably,  that  you 
would  have  supposed  lie  was  born  with  a  genius  for  it,  and  that  he 
devoted  to  it  the  whole  of  his  time  and  thoughts.  But  all  the 
while  he  was  so  constantly  watchful  and  attentive  with  respect  to 

♦  I  presume  the  i)urse  and  the  mace.  Erasmus  may  have  seen  Wolsey  with 
his  crosses,  pillars,  and  poll  axes. 


LORD   CHANCELLOR   WARHAM.  439 

religion,  and  all  that  concerned  his  ecclesiastical  functions,  that  CHAP. 
you  would  have  supposed  he  had  no  secular  cares.  He  found  -^^^i- 
leisure  for  the  strict  performance  of  his  private  devotions  —  to 
celebrate  mass  almost  daily  —  to  hear  prayers  read  several  times  a 
day  —  to  decide  causes  in  his  Court  —  to  receive  foreign  ministers 
—  to  attend  cabinets  —  to  adjust  all  disputes  which  arose  in  the 
church  —  to  give  dinners  to  his  friends,  whom  he  often  entertained 
in  parties  of  two  hundred  —  and,  along  with  all  this,  for  reading 
all  the  interesting  publications  which  appeared.  He  proved  him- 
self sufficient  for  such  a  multiplicity  of  avocations,  by  wasting  no 
portion  of  his  time  or  his  spirits  in  field  sports,  or  in  gaming,  or  in 
idle  conversation,  or  in  the  pleasures  of  the  table,  or  in  any  pro- 
fligate pursuit.  His  only  relaxation  was  pleasant  reading,  or  dis- 
coursing with  a  man  of  learning.  Although  he  had  bishops,  dukes, 
and  earls  at  his  table,  his  dinners  never  lasted  above  an  hour.  He 
appeared  in  splendid  robes  becoming  his  station ;  but  his  tastes 
were  exceedingly  simple.  He  rarely  suffered  wine  to  touch  his 
lips ;  and  when  he  was  turned  of  seventy,  his  usual  beverage  was 
small  beer,  which  he  drank  very  sparingly.  But  while  he  himself 
abstained  from  almost  everything  at  table,  yet  so  cheerful  was  his 
countenance,  and  so  festive  his  talk,  that  he  enlivened  and  charmed 
all  who  were  present.  He  was  the  same  agreeable  and  rational 
companion  at  all  hours.  He  made  it  a  rule  to  abstain  entirely 
from  supper ;  yet,  if  his  friends  (of  whom  I  had  the  happiness  to 
be  one)  were  assembled  at  that  meal,  he  would  sit  down  along 
with  them  and  promote  their  conviviality,  but  would  hardly  touch 
any  food  himself.  The  hour  generally  devoted  to  supper  he  was 
accustomed  to  fill  up  with  prayers  or  reading,  or  with  telling  witty 
stories,  of  which  he  had  great  store,  or  freely  exchanging  jests 
with  his  friends,  —  but  ever  without  ill-nature  or  any  breach  of 
decorum.  He  shunned  indecency  and  slander  as  one  would  a  ser- 
pent. So  this  illustrious  man  made  the  day,  the  shortness  of 
which  many  allege  as  a  pretext  for  their  idleness,  long  enough  for 
all  the  various  public  and  private  duties  he  had  to  perform."* 

*  "  Hie  mihi  succurrit  vir  omni  memoria  scculorum  dignus  Guilhelmus 
Waramus,  Arch.  Cant,  totius  Angliae  primas  :  non  ille  quidem  titulo,  sed  re 
theologus  ;  erat  cnim  juris  utriusque  doctor.  I^cgationibus  aliquot  feliciter 
ubeundis  inclaruit,  et  Henrico  Septimo,  summaE  prudentia'  principi,  gratus 
carusque  factus  est.  His  gradibus  evectus  est  ad  Cantuarensis  ccclesiaj  fasti- 
gium,  cujus  in  ea  insula  prima  est  dignitas.  Iluic  oneri,  per  se  gravissimo, 
additum  est  aliud  graviiis.  Coactus  est  suscipere  Cancellarii  munus,  quod 
quidem  apud  Anglos  plane  regium  est;  atque  huic  uni  honoris  gratia,  quoties 
in  publicum  procedit,  regia  corona  sceptro  regio  imposito  gestatur.  Nam  liic 
est  velut  oculus,  os,  ac  dextra  regis,  supremusfjue  totius  regni  Britannic!  judex. 
Hanc  provinciam  annis  compluribus  tanta  dexteritate  gessit  ut  diceres  ilium  ei 

K  F  4 


440 


REIGN   OF   HENRY   VIII. 


CHAP. 
XXVI. 


Letter  of 
Warham 
to  Eras- 
ID  us. 


Warham  was  much  flattered  by  the  compliments  which  in 
his  lifetime  he  knew  that  Erasmus  had  paid  him,  and  thus 
expresses  his  acknowledgments :  — 

"  Since  through  you  I  am  to  enjoy  lasting  fame,  a  boon  denied 
to  many  great  kings  and  commanders  who  have  utterly  vanished 
from  the  memory  of  mankind,  unless  that  their  names  may  be 
found  in  some  dry  catalogue,  — I  know  not  what  in  this  mortal 
life  I  can  offer  you  in  return  for  the  immortality  you  have  con- 
ferred. I  am  overwhelmed  when  I  think  of  the  flattering  mention 
you  have  made  of  me  in  conversation,  in  letters,  and  in  the  works 
you  have  given  to  the  world.  You  would  set  me  down  for  the 
most  ungrateful  of  men  if  I  did  not  show  a  deep  sense  of  your 
kindness,  however  unworthy  I  may  be  of  the  praises  you  have 
showered  upon  me."  * 


negotio  natum,  nulla  alia  teneri  cura.  Sed  idem  In  his  quae  spectabant  ad 
religionem  et  ecclesiasticas  functiones,  tarn  erat  vigilans  et  attentus,  ut  diceres 
euin  nulla  externa  cura  distringi.  Sufficiebat  illi  tempus  ad  religiose  persol- 
vendum  solenne  precum  pensum,  ad  sacrificandum  fere  quotidie,  ad  audienduin 
pra;terea  duo  aut  tria  sacra,  ad  cognoscendas  causas,  ad  excipiendas  legationes, 
ad  consulendum  regi  si  quid  in  aula  gravius  extitisset,  ad  visendas  ecclesias, 
sicubi  natum  esset  aliquid  quod  moderatorem  postularet,  ad  excipiendos  con- 
vivas  saepe  ducentos  ;  denique  lectioni  suum  dabatur  otium.  Ad  tam  varias 
curas  uni  sufficiebat  et  animus  et  tempus,  cujus  nuUam  portionem  dabat  ve- 
natui,  nullam  aleas,  nuUam  inanibus  fabulis,  nullam  luxui  aut  voluptatibus. 
Pro  his  omnibus  oblectamentis  erat  illi  vel  amoena  quapiam  lectio  vel  cum 
erudito  viro  colloquium.  Quanquam  interdum  episcopos  duces  et  comites 
haberet  convivas,  semper  tamen  prandium  intra  spatium  horae  finiebatur.  In 
splendido  apparatu,  quem  ilia  dignitas  postulat,  dictu  incredibile  quam  ipse 
nihil  deliciarum  attigerit.  Raro  gustabat  vinum,  plerumque  jam  turn  septua  • 
genarius  bibebat  pertenuem  cerevisiam  quam  illi  hiriam  vocant,  eamque  ipsam 
perparce.  Porro,  quum  quam  minimum  ciborum  sumeret,  tamen  comitate 
vultus  ac  sermonum  festivitate  omne  convivium  exhilarabat.  Vidisses  eandem 
pransi  et  impransi  sobrletatem.  A  coenis  in  totum  abstinebat ;  aut  si  contigis- 
sent  familiares  amici,  quorum  de  numero  nos  eramus,  accumbebat  quidem,  sed 
ita,  ut  pene  nihil  attingeret  ciborum  :  si  tales  non  dabantur,  quod  temporis 
ccenae  dandum  erat,  id  vel  precibus,  vel  lectioni  impendebat,  atque  ut  ipse  lepo- 
ribus  scatebat  mire  gratis,  sed  citra  morsum  atque  incptiam,  ita  liberioribus 
jocis  amicorum  delectabatur  :  a  scurrilitate  et  obtrectatione  tam  abhorrebat 
(juam  qnisquam  ah  angue.  Sic  ille  vir  eximius  sibi  faciebat  dies  abunde  longos, 
quorum  brevitatem  multi  causantur."  Erasmus  likewise  delivers  an  elaborate 
panegyric  on  Warham  in  his  commentary  on  1  Thess.  ii,  7.,  and  several  of  his 
other  letters,  but  without  descending  to  such  interesting  particulars  of  his 
private  life  as  are  here  disclosed. 

•  "  Quum  non  illaudati  nominis  aeternitatem  per  te  sim  consecutus,  qua  multi 
praeelari  reges  et  iniperatores  carent,  et  a  memoria  hominum  penitus  exciderunt, 
nisi  quod  tantiim  vix  nominum  eorum  catalogus,  et  id  jejune  quidem  fiat,  non 
video  quod  satis  sit  in  hac  mortali  vita  quod  pro  immortalitate  reddam.  Cogito 
enim  quanta  mihi  tribucris  ubique,  vel  praesens  per  colloquia,  vel  absens  per 
hteras,  aut  communiter  per  volumina  :  qua;  quidem  sunt  majora,  quam  susti- 
nere  valeam.  Judicabis  ergo  Cantuariinsem  ingratissimum  nisi  tui  sit  habi- 
turus  rationem  constantissimam,  licet  meritis  inaequalem  et  inferiorem."  —  a.  d. 
1516.  ^ 


LORD   CHANCELLOR   WARHAM.  441 

Although  Warham  does  not  occupy  the  great  space  in  the     CHAP, 
eye  of  posterity  which  he  had  fondly  anticipated,  he  must  be 


regarded  with  respect  as  a  man  who  had  passed  through  the   General 
highest  offices  with  o-eneral  applause,  —  and  who,  if  he  did  not  estimate  of 

character  of 

by  any  extraordinary  talents  influence  the  events  of  his  age   Warham. 
and  improve  the   institutions  of  his   country,  could  not  be 
accused  of  any  public  delinquency,  or  (the  prosecution  of 
Empson  and  Dudley  excepted)  of  ever  having  treated  any 
individual  with  injustice. 


442 


LIFE   OF 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

LIFE   OF   CARDINAL   WOLSEY   FROM   HIS    BIRTH    TILL   HIS   APPOINT- 
MENT  AS   LORD   CHANCELLOR. 

CHAP.     We  now  come  to  the  life  of  the  man  who  enjoyed  more 
XXVII.     power  than  any  of  his  predecessors  or  successors  who  have 

held  the  office  of  Chancellor  in  England. 

Woiseythe       Thomas  Wolsey,  dcstincd  to  be  Archbishop  of  York, 

son  of  a        Legate  a  latere,  Lord  Chancellor,  and  for  many  years  master 

butcher.       ^^  ^^^  j^.^^  ^^^  kingdom,  was  born  at  Ipswich,  in  Suffolk, 

in  the  year  1471,  and  though  "  fashioned  to  much  honour," 

was  "  from  an  humble  stock,"  being  the  son  of  a  butcher  in 

that  town.* 

Troofs.  *  Some  of  his  admirers  have,  without  reason,  questioned  the  particular  voca- 

tion of  l>is  father  ;  for  that  he  was  the  son  of  a  low  tradesman  in  a  country  town 
is  admitted.  It  cannot  detract  from  his  merit  that  his  father  was  a  butcher,  and 
the  fact  stands  on  strong  evidence.  In  liis  own  lifetime  he  was  called  "  the 
butcher's  dog ;"  and  Shakspeare,  who  must  have  conversed  with  persons  who 
well  recollected  the  Cardinal,  puts  these  words  into  the  mouth  of  Buck- 
ingham ;  — 

"  This  butcher's  cur  is  venom-mouth'd,  and  I 
Have  not  the  power  to  muzzle  him." 
His  origin  from  the  "boucher's  stall"  is  distinctly  averred  in  the  contemporary 
satire  of"  Mayster  Skelton,  poete  laureate  :" — 
"  He  regardeth  Lordes 

No  more  than  pot  siiordes. 

He  ruleth  al  at  will 

Without  reason  or  skyll, 

Howbeit  they  be  prymordyall : 

Of  ills  wretched  originall, 

And  his  base  progeny, 

And  his  gresy  genealogy. 

He  came  out  of  the  sanke  roiall 

l^hat  was  cast  ovt  of  a  boucher's  stall." 
Luther,  in  his  Colloquies,  calls  him  "  a  butcher's  son."  Polydore  Virgil  speaks 
of  his  father  as  "  a  butcher  ;"  and  Fuller,  in  his  Church  History,  observes, 
that,  "  to  humble  the  Cardinal's  pride,  some  person  or  other  had  set  up  in  a 
window  belonging  to  his  college,  at  Oxford,  a  painted  mastiff  dog  gnawing  the 
spade  bone  of  a  shoulder  of  mutton,  to  remind  him  cf  his  extraction."  Godwyn 
says,  "  Patre  lanio  pauperculo  prognatus  est."  If  his  father  had  been  of  any 
other  trade,  the  fact  might  have  been  easily  established  ;  but  Cavendish,  his 
gentleman  usher  and  biographer,  who  must  have  heard  the  assertion  hundreds 


LORD   CHANCELLOR   CARDINAL    WOLSEY. 


443 


From  his  cradle  he  is  said  to  have  given  signs  of  those 
lively  parts  which  led  to  his  buoyant  career,  but  we  possess 
no  particulars  of  his  early  domestic  life  to  throw  light  on  the 
formation  of  his  character ;  and,  till  he  was  sent  to  the 
University,  nothing  has  reached  us  respecting  his  studies,  ex- 
cept a  statement  that  the  indications  of  genius  he  displayed 
induced  some  of  his  townsmen  to  assist  his  father  in  main- 
taining him  at  Oxford.  He  was  entered  of  Magdalen  College 
when  still  of  tender  years,  and  he  made  such  proficiency  that, 
when  only  fifteen,  he  took  his  Bachelor's  degree  with  great 
distinction,  gaining  the  honourable  soubriquet  of  "  the  boy 
Bachelor."  In  the  very  zenitli  of  his  fortune  he  used  to 
boast  with  laudable  vanity  of  this  appellation,  as  the  best 
proof  of  his  early  devotion  to  literature. 

At  an  early  age  he  was  elected  a  fellow  of  Magdalen, 
and  there  being  a  school  connected  with  the  college,  accord- 
ing to  the  usage  then  prevailing,  he  was  appointed  head 
master.  He  dedicated  himself  with  much  diligence  and 
success  to  the  duties  of  this  humble  office.  While  so  occu- 
pied, he  formed  an  acquaintance  with  Sir  T.  More,  then  an 
undergraduate,  and  with  Erasmus,  who  had  taken  up  his 
residence  at  Oxford. 

The  probability  at  this  time  was,  that  he  would  spend  the 
rest  of  his  days  in  the  University,  and  that  his  ambition  (which 
could  not  have  aspired  higher)  might  be  crowned  with  the 
headship  of  his  college.  But  it  so  happened  that  he  had  for 
pupils  three  sons  of  the  Marquess  of  Dorset,  and  during  a 
Christmas  vacation  he  accompanied  them  to  the  country  seat 
of  their  father.  Wolsey  was  now  in  his  twenty -ninth  year,  of 
great  acquirements,  both  solid  and  ornamental, — remarkably 
handsome  in   his   person,  insinuating    in    his    manners,  and 


CHAP. 
XXVII. 

Sent  to  the 
University. 


Wolsey 
"  the  boy 
Bachelor." 


Fellow  of 
Magdalen, 
and  school- 
master. 


Tutor  to 
sons  of 
Marquess 
of  Dorset. 


of  times,  is  contented  with  saying  that  "  he  was  an  honest  poor  man's  son,"  and 
tlie  only  supposed  contradiction  is  the  father's  will,  showing  that  he  had  houses 
a-id  property  to  dispose  of,  wliicli  he  might  as  well  have  acquired  by  slaughter- 
ing cattle,  as  by  any  other  occupation. — The  will  shows  him  to  have  been  a  very 
pious  Christian.  After  leaving  his  soul  to  "  Almighty  God,  our  Lady  Sent  Mary, 
and  to  all  the  company  of  Hevyn,"  he  says,  "  itm,  1  wyll  that  if  Thomas  my  son 
be  a  prest  wtin  a  ycr  next  after  my  decesse,  yan  I  wylle  tl)at  he  syng  for  me  and 
my  frcnds  be  the  space  of  a  yer,  and  he  for  to  haue  for  his  salary  x  marc."  The 
will  bears  date  September,  1486,  and  was  proved  in  the  month  of  October  fol- 
lowing. The  testator  signs  himself  Robert  Wulei/,  and  by  this  name  the  son  was 
known,  till  he  changed  it  euphoiiia:  causa. 


444  J^IFE  OF 

CTIAP.     amusing  in  his  conversation.     The  Marquess  was  so  much 
^^^^''    struck  with  him,  that  he  at  once  proifered  him  his  friend- 
^T"!  ship,  and  as  a  token    of  his  regard    presented    him  to  the 

country  rcctory  of  Lymington,  in  Somersetshire,  which  then  happened 
parson.  ^^  ^^||  yj^^j^j^^  •  ^Yolscy  accordingly  took  orders,  and  was 
instituted  as  parson  of  this  parish  on  the  10th  of  October, 
>.n.  1500.  1500.  He  immediately  renounced  his  school  and  other  col- 
lege appointments,  —  the  more  readily  on  account  of  a  charge 
brought  against  him,  that  he  had  misapplied  the  college  funds. 
While  bursar,  he  had  erected  the  tower  of  Magdalen  College 
chapel,  known  by  the  name  of  "  Wolsey 's  tower,"  still  ad- 
mired for  the  chaste  simplicity  and  elegance  of  its  archi- 
tecture, and  he  was  accused  of  having  clandestinely  diverted 
a  portion  of  the  revenue,  over  Avhich  his  office  of  bursar  gave 
him  control,  to  the  expense  of  this  edifice,  —  a  heinous  offence 
in  the  eyes  of  the  fellows,  while  lamenting  their  diminished 
dividend.  He  certainly  seems  to  have  been  betrayed  into 
considerable  irregularity  in  this  affair  from  his  passion  for 
building,  which  adhered  to  him  through  life  ;  but  there  is  no 
reason  to  suspect  that  he  personally  derived  any  pecuniary 
advantage  from  it. 
Wolsey  :  Suddenly  emerging    from   the   cloisters  of  Magdalen,  in 

stocks  for     which  hc  had  been  hitherto  immured,  —  when  he  took  posses- 
drunken-      sion  of  his  living,  he  seems  for  a  time  to  have  indulsred  in 

ness  and         i      •■•  j.    i  •         i  •  ■,         ,,.  -^  . 

rioting  at  a  levitics  not  becommg  his  sacred    callmg.     By  his  dissolute 
f^'r-  manners,  or  perhaps  by  his  superior  popularity,  he  incurred 

the  displeasure  of  Sir  Amyas  Paulet,  a  neighbouring  justice 
of  the  peace,  who  lay  by  for  an  opportunity  to  show  his 
resentment.  This  was  soon  afforded  him.  Wolsey,  being  of 
"  a  free  and  sociable  temper,"  went  with  some  of  his  neigh- 
bours to  a  fair  in  an  adjoining  town,  where  they  all  got  very 
drunk,  and  created  a  riot.  Sir  Amyas,  who  was  present, 
selected  "  his  Reverence  "  as  the  most  guilty,  and  convicting 
him  "  on  the  view,"  ordered  him  to  be  set  in  the  stocks,  and 
actually  saw  the  sentence  carried  into  immediate  execution. 

*  It  lias  been  denied  that  there  is  any  place  of  this  name  in  Somersetshire, 
ana  the  locality  has  been  changed  in  a  very  arbitrary  manner  to  Hampshire;  but 
I  have  ascertained  that  there  is  a  very  small  parish  called  Lymington,  near 
Hchester,  ,n  Somersetshire,  _  with  the  stocks  still  standing  near  the  church. 


LORD   CHANCELLOR   CARDINAL   WOLSEY.  445 

"  Who,"  says  Cavendish,  in  relating  this  adventure,  "  would  CHAP, 

.  XXVII 
have  thouaht  then  that  ever  he  should  have  attained  to  be 


Chancellor  of  England  !     These  be  wonderful  works  of  God 
and  fortune."  * 

Wolsey  afterwards  had  his  revenge  of  Sir  Amyas.  "  For  His  re- 
when  the  schoolmaster  mounted  the  dignity  to  be  Chancellor  ^^i"en°Lord 
of  England,  he  was  not  oblivious  of  the  old  displeasure  mi-  Ciiancellor. 
nistered  unto  him  by  Master  Pawlet,  but  sent  for  him,  and 
after  many  sharp  and  heinous  words,  enjoined  him  to  attend 
upon  the  Council  until  he  were  by  them  dismissed,  and  not 
to  depart  without  licence  upon  an  urgent  pain  and  for- 
feiture." t  According  to  this  writer,  —  for  having  so  affronted 
the  country  parson,  "  Sir  Amyas  was  in  reality  detained  a 
prisoner  in  his  lodging,  in  the  Gate  House  of  the  Middle 
Temple,  next  to  Fleet  Street,  for  the  space  of  five  or  six 
years,  although  he  attempted  to  appease  the  Chancellor's 
displeasure  by  re-edifying  the  house,  and  garnishing  the  out- 
side thereof  sumptuously  with  hats  and  arms,  badges  and 
cognizances  of  the  Cardinal,  with  other  devices  in  glorious 
sort."  This  anecdote,  which  rests  on  undoubted  testimony, 
is  not  very  honourable  to  Wolsey,  who,  even  if  he  had  been 
wrongfully  put  in  the  stocks,  ought  not,  when  Chancellor,  to 
have  perverted  the  law  to  revenge  the  wrongs  of  the  country 
parson.  The  discipline  he  then  underwent  seems  to  have 
had  a  salutary  effect  upon  him ;  for  although  he  did  not  by 
any  means  reform  so  far  as  to  become  faultless  in  his  manners, 
we  do  not  find  him  afterwards  guilty  of  any  public  breach  of 
decorum. 

This  mischance  happened  when  Wolsey  had  been  about   Wolsey 
two  years  resident  at  Lyminojton,  and  he  soon  after  left  the  '^^y*^^  ^'^ 

•^  JO'  parish. 

country,  —  as  some  assert  from  the  scandal  it  had  caused, —  a.d.  1502. 
but  I  believe  from  the  necessity  he  felt  of  finding  a  new  patron, 
the  Marquess  of  Dorset,  to  whom  he  looked  for  promotion, 
having  suddenly  died.  We  may  suppose  that,  conscious  of 
his  powers,  he  was  glad  to  leave  this  rural  retreat  where  they 
could  so  little  be  appreciated.  Storer,  who  published  his 
biographical  poem  of  Wolsey  in  1599,  describes  his  feelings 
on  this  occasion  with  some  felicity  : 

*  Cavendish,  (59.  f   Ibid.  68. 


446 


LIFE    OF 


CHAP. 
XXVII. 


A.D.  1503. 
Chaplain 
to  Arcli- 
btsliop  of 
Canter- 
bury. 

To  the 
Governor 
of  Calais. 


Chaplain 
to  Henry 
VII 


His  success 
at  Court. 


'«  This  silver  tongue  melhoiight  was  never  made 

With  rhetoric's  skill  to  teach  each  common  swain  ; 
These  deep  conceits  were  never  taught  to  wade 

In  shallow  brooks ;  nor  this  aspiring  vein 

Fit  to  converse  among  the  shepherd  train. 
"  Just  cause  I  saw  my  titles  to  advance, 

Virtue  my  gentry,  priesthood  my  descent, 
Saints  my  allies,  the  cross  my  cognizance, 

Angels  the  guard  that  watch'd  about  my  tent. 

Wisdom  that  usher'd  me  where'er  I  went." 

He  was  soon  received  as  chaplain  in  the  family  of  Deane, 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  —  a  proof  that  his  fame  had  not 
sustained  any  permanent  blemish,  and  he  was  gaining  the 
goodwill  of  those  around  him  when  he  was  again  thrown  upon 
the  world  by  the  death  of  the  primate. 

However,  he  was  almost  immediately  after  engaged  as 
domestic  chaplain  by  Sir  John  Nanfant,  "  a  very  grave  and 
ancient  knight,"  a  special  favourite  of  Henry  VII.  Sir  John 
held  the  important  office  of  Treasurer  of  Calais,  and  Wolsey 
now  behaved  himself  so  discreetly,  that  he  obtained  the  spe- 
cial favour  of  his  new  master,  and  all  the  charge  of  the  office 
was  committed  to  him.  He  resided  for  a  considerable  time 
at  Calais,  and  must  have  materially  improved  his  knowledge 
of  mankind  by  the  variety  of  company  with  whom  he  here 
mixed.  But  he  panted  still  for  a  larger  sphere  of  action,  and, 
through  the  interest  of  his  employer,  he  was  at  last  gratified 
with  the  appointment  of  chaplain  to  the  King,  and  he  was 
transferred  to  the  Court.  "  He  cast  anchor  in  the  port  of 
promotion,"  says  his  biographer,  or  rather,  he  '■'  got  his  foot  in 
the  stirrup,  resolved  to  outstrip  every  competitor  in  the  race." 

He  had  now  occasion  to  be  in  the  presence  of  the  King  daily, 
—  celebrating  mass  before  him  in  his  private  closet ;  and  he 
afterwards  gave  attendance  upon  the  courtiers  who  he  thought 
bore  most  rule  in  the  Council  and  were  highest  in  favour. 
These  were  Fox,  Bishop  of  Winchester,  Secretary  and  Lord 
Privy  Seal,  and  Sir  Thomas  Lovel,  Master  of  the  King's 
wards  and  Constable  of  the  Tower.  They  soon  perceived 
his  merit,  and  were  disposed  to  avail  themselves  of  his  ser- 
vices. He  is  said  now  to  have  displayed  that  "  natural  dig- 
nity of  manner  or  aspect  which  no  art  can  imitate,  and  which 
no  rule  or  method  of  practice  will  ever  be  able  to  form."* 

*   Fiddes'  Life  of  Wolsey,  p.  1 1, 


LORD   CHANCELLOR   CARDINAL   WOLSEY. 


447 


He  was  eminently  favoured  by  nature  in  dignity  of  person,  Ci.iAP. 
and  winning  expression  of  countenance.  According  to  Caven- 
dish, he  was  celebrated  for  "  a  special  gift  of  natural  eloquence, 
with  a  filed  tongue  to  pronounce  the  same,  so  that  he  was 
able  to  persuade  and  allure  all  men  to  his  purpose ; "  or,  in 
the  words  of  Shakspeare,  he  was  "  exceeding  wise,  fair 
spoken,  and  persuading."  He  had,  besides,  a  quick  and  cor- 
rect perception  of  character  and  of  the  secret  springs  of 
action,  and  a  singular  power  of  shaping  his  conduct  and  con- 
versation according  to  circumstances.  The  consequence  was, 
that,  placed  among  men  of  education  and  refinement,  he 
seemed  to  exercise  an  extraordinary  influence  over  them, 
amounting  almost  to  fascination, — and  this  influence  was  not 
the  less  powerful  and  enduring,  that  before  superiors  it  was 
unostentatious,  and  seemed  to  follow  where  it  led  the  way. 
Fitting  himself  to  the  humours  of  all,  we  need  not  doubt, 
that,  with  the  cold-blooded,  calculating,  avaricious  founder  of 
the  Tudor  dynasty,  he  tried  to  make  himself  remarkable  for 
the  laborious  assiduity,  regularity,  steadiness,  and  thriftiness 
of  his  habits. 

However,  he  did  not  contrive  to  make  any  progress  in  the 
personal  intimacy  of  Henry,  till  he  was  recommended  to  him 
by  Fox  and  Lovel  to  conduct  a  delicate  negotiation,  in  which 
the  King  took  a  very  lively  interest,  and  which  he  was  desi- 
rous to  see  brought  to  a  speedy  conclusion. 

Henry  was  a  widower,   with  one  surviving  son  and  two   Wolsey's 
daughters,  and  being  only  fifty  years  of  age,  he  wished  to  enter  ®'"'^^^^y  ^'^ 
into  another  matrimonial  alliance,  in  the  hope  of  strengthen-  peror. 
ing  the   succession  in  his  dynasty ;    and   regardless  of  the 
question  as  to  the  right  to  the  throne,  which  if  his  son  by 
Elizabeth,  the  daughter  of  Edward  IV.,  should  die  without 
issue,  might  arise  between  a  son  by  a  second  marriage,  and 
his  eldest  daughter  of  the  first  marriage,  who  would  have  been 
"  the  white  rose  of  England."     The  object  of  his  suit  was 
Margaret,  Duchess  dowager  of  Savoy,  only  daughter  of  the 
Emperor  Maximilian.     They  having  been  sounded,  were  not 
unfavourable  to  the  alliance,  and  it  was  necessary  to  employ 
a  person  of  great  address  to  adjust  with  the  Emperor  in  per- 
son  some   delicate   matters   connected   with    the   marriage. 


448  LIFE    OF 

CHAP.  Wofeey  being  pointed  out  by  Fox  and  Lovel,  the  King,  who 
^^^^^*  as  yet  had  scarcely  ever  personally  conversed  with  him,  "  and 
being  a  Prince  of  excellent  judgment,  commanded  them  to 
bring  his  chaplain  whom  they  so  much  commended  before  his 
Grace's  presence.  At  whose  repair  thither,  to  prove  the  wit 
of  his  chaplain,  the  King  fell  in  communication  with  him,  in 
matters  of  weight  and  gravity,  and  perceiving  his  art  to  be 
very  fine,  thought  him  sufficient  to  be  put  in  trust  with  this 
embassy."*  While  the  preparations  Avere  going  forward, 
**  he  had  a  due  occasion  to  repair  from  time  to  time  to  the 
King's  presence,  who  perceived  him  more  and  more  to  be  a 
very  wise  man  and  of  good  intendment."! 
Extraor-  Wolsey,  having  at  last  got  his  despatches  from  the  wary 

idTt'^^oniis  wionarch,  performed  the  journey  with  a  celerity  which  even 
journey.  astonishcs  US,  accustomcd  to  steam-packets  and  railways,  and 
which  in  that  slow-travelling  age  must  have  appeared  almost 
equal  to  the  boasted  exploit  of  Ariel.  |  The  Court  was  then 
at  Richmond,  and  there  taking  leave  of  the  King  after 
dinner,  he  arrived  in  London  on  a  Sunday  afternoon  about 
four  o'clock.  The  Gravesend  barge  was  ready  to  sail  with  a 
prosperous  tide  and  wind,  and  by  her  he  arrived  at  Gravesend 
in  little  more  than  three  hours.  There  he  tarried  only  till 
post-horses  were  provided,  and  travelling  all  night  he  came 
to  Dover  next  morning,  just  as  the  passage-boat  for  Calais 
was  about  to  sail.  He  stepped  on  board,  and  in  less  than 
three  hours  he  landed  at  Calais.  Here  he  immediately  got 
post-horses,  and  galloping  off  he  arrived  that  night  at  Bruges, 
where  the  imperial  Court  lay.  Maximilian,  «  whose  affection 
for  Henry  VII.  was  such  that  he  rejoiced  when  he  had 
occasion  to  show  him  pleasure,"  received  the  ambassador 
forthwith,  and  the  next  day  he  was  despatched  with  all  the 
King's  requests  fully  accomplished.  He  was  conducted  back 
to  Calais  with  such  a  number  of  horsemen  as  the  Emperor 
had  appointed,  and  arrived  at  that  city  at  day-break,  as  the 
gates  were  opened.  The  passage-boat  for  England  was 
about  to  sail,  and  before  ten  o'clock  on  Wednesday  forenoon 
he  was  at   Dover.      He  had  ordered  post-horses   to  be  in 

*   Cavendish,  10.  |  Il,id,  jg. 

+      1 II  put  a  girdle  round  the  earth  in  forty  minutes."—  Shaksp. 


LORD   CHANCELLOR   CARDINAL   WOLSEY.  449 

readiness  for  him,  and  that  night  he  reached  Richmond.     He     CHAP. 

XXVIL 
now  took  some  repose,  but  rising  early  next  morning  he  knelt       ' 

before  the  King  going  from  his  bed-chamber  to  his  closet 
to  hear  mass.  The  King  saw  him  with  some  surprise  and 
disj)leasure,  and  checked  him  for  not  having  set  out  on  his 
journey.  "  Sir,"  quoth  he,  "  if  it  may  stand  with  your  High- 
ness's  pleasure,  I  have  already  been  with  the  Emperor,  and 
despatched  your  aifairs,  I  trust,  to  your  Grace's  contentation." 
Thereupon  he  delivered  to  the  King  the  Emperor's  letters. 
The  King  demanded  of  him  whether  he  encountered  not  his 
pursuivant  whom  he  had  sent  after  him  yesterday,  sup- 
posing him  to  be  scarcely  out  of  London,  with  letters  con- 
cerning an  important  matter  neglected  in  his  commission  and 
instructions  which  he  courted  much  to  be  sped.  "  Yes, 
forsooth.  Sire,"  quoth  he,  "  I  encountered  him  yesterday  by 
the  way,  and  having  no  information  by  your  Grace's  letters 
of  your  pleasure  therein,  had  notwithstanding  been  so  bold 
upon  mine  own  discretion  (perceiving  that  matter  to  be  very 
necessary)  to  despatch  the  same.  And  for  as  much  as  I 
exceeded  your  Grace's  commission,  I  most  humbly  require 
your  gracious  remission  and  pardon."  The  King  rejoicing, 
replied,  — "  We  do  not  only  pardon  you  thereof,  but  also 
give  you  our  princely  thanks,  both  for  the  proceeding 
therein,  and  also  for  your  good  and  speedy  exploit,"  —  com- 
manding him  for  that  time  to  take  his  rest,  and  to  repair 
again  to  him  after  dinner,  for  the  farther  relation  of  his  em- 
bassy. At  the  appointed  time  he  reported  his  embassy  to  the 
King  and  Council  with  such  a  graceful  deportment,  and  so 
eloquent  language,  that  he  received  the  utmost  applause,  —  all 
declaring  him  to  be  a  person  of  so  great  capacity  and  diligence 
that  he  deserved  to  be  farther  employed.* 

*  Cavendish  declares  that  he  had  all  these  circumstances,  as  above  related, 
from  Wolsey's  own  mouth,  after  his  fall.  — Life,  p.  78,  Storer's  metrical  Life  of 
Wolsey  has  the  following  stanza  on  this  expedition :  — 

"  The  Argonautic  vessel  never  past 

With  swifter  course  along  the  Colchian  main. 

Than  my  small  bark  %vith  small  and  speedy  blast 

Convey 'd  me  forth  and  reconvey'd  again  ; 

Thrice  had  Arcturus  driven  his  roUess  wain, 

And  Heaven's  bright  lamp  the  day  had  thrice  reviv'd, 

From  first  departure  till  I  last  arriv'd." 

VOL.  I.  G  G 


450  I^IFE   OF 

CHAP.         The  deanery  of  Lincoln,  reckoned  one  of  the  most  valuable 
XXVII.    preferments  in  the  church,  was  immediately  bestowed  upon 
n  wnrdod    ^^™ '  —  ^^  ^^  marked  as  a  rising  favourite,  —  and,  had  the 
with  the      King's  life  been  prolonged,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that,  accom- 
L^ncdn.*'     modating  himself  to  his  inclinations,  Wolsey  would  have  been 
promoted  under  him  to  the  highest  offices  both  civil  and  eccle- 
siastical. 
April,  But  Henry,  meditating  his  second  marriage,  was  attacked 

l>MUh  of     ^y  ^  disease  which  carried  him  to  the  tomb,  and  Wolsey  had 
Henry         to  conccrt  fresh  plans  for  his  own  advancement  under  a  new 
monarch,  only  eighteen  years  of  age,   gay  and  frolicsome, 
fond  of  amusement  and  averse  to  business,  though  not  un- 
initiated in  the  learning  of  the  schools.     The  royal  chaplain, 
while  resident  at  Court,  must  have  seen  the  Prince  from  time 
to  time,  but  hitherto  had  made  no  acquaintance  with  him, — 
cautious  in  showing  any  accordance  with  the  tastes  of  the 
son,  lest  he  should  give  umbrage  to  the  father. 
Wolsey  in-       It  luckily  happened  that  the  young  Marquess  of  Dorset 
the  new    °  ^^^  ^^^^  ^  ^^^V  intimate  friend  of  Prince  Henry,  and  by  his 
King.  former  pupil  he   was  introduced  to   the  new  King.     This 

introduction  is  usually  attributed  to  Bishop  Fox,  who,  jealous 
of  his  rival,  the  Earl  of  Surrey,  the  late  King's  High  Trea- 
surer, is  supposed  to  have  intended  Wolsey  as  an  instrument 
to  keep  up  the  interest  of  his  own  party  at  Court ;  but  in 
reality  all  the  old  ministers  had  penetrated  the  Dean  of 
Lincoln's  character,  and  become  jealous  of  his  influence. 
Influence  Wolsey  at  once  conformed  to  the  tastes  of  the  youthful 
WolLy  ^  Sovereign,  and  won  his  heart.  He  jested,  he  rallied,  he 
over  Henry  sang,  he  dauccd,  he  caroused  with  the  King  and  his  gay 
companions,  and  in  a  very  short  time,  by  his  extraordinary 
address,  he  not  only  supplanted  Surrey  in  the  royal  favour, 
but  also  Fox  his  patron.  He  was  sworn  a  Privy  Councillor, 
and  appointed  King's  almoner,  an  office  which  kept  him  in 
constant  attendance  on  the  person  of  the  Monarch  in  his 
hours  of  relaxation,  and  thereby  enabled  him  to  acquire  over 
the  mind  of  Henry  an  ascendancy  which  was  imputed  to  the 
practice  of  the  magical  art.  It  is  said,  however,  that  although 
Wolsey,  for  the  purposes  of  ambition,  countenanced  irre- 
gularities at  Court  unsuitable  to  the  presence  of  a  priest,  he 


LORD  CHANCELLOR  CARDINAL   WOLSEY.  451 

was  careful,  when  any  proper  opportunity  offered,  to  give     CHAP. 
good  advice  to  the  King,  as  well  in  respect  to  his  personal  as 
his  political  conduct,  and  highly  tending  on  both  accounts  to   1509— 
his  advantage  and  improvement.     He  would  instil  into  his  1515. 
mind   a  lesson  on  the  art  of  government   over   a  game  at 
primero,  and  after  a  roistering  party  with  him  at  night,  he 
would  hold  with   him   in  the  morning  a  disputation  on  a 
question  out  of  Thomas  Aquinas, 

As  yet  without  any  higher  appointment  about  the  Court  Wolsey 
than  that  of  Almoner,  he  soon  made  himself  Prime  Minister,  t^e  KUif. 
and  exercised  supreme  power  in  the  state.  "  The  King  was 
young  and  lusty,  disposed  to  all  mirth  and  pleasui'e,  and  to 
follow  his  desire  and  appetite,  nothing  minding  to  travail  in 
the  busy  affairs  of  the  realm ;  the  which  the  Almoner  per- 
ceiving very  well,  took  upon  him  therefore  to  disburden  the 
King  of  so  weighty  a  charge  and  troublesome  business, 
putting  the  King  in  comfort  that  he  shall  not  need  to  spare 
any  time  of  his  pleasure  for  any  business  that  necessarily 
happens  in  the  Council  as  long  as  he  being  there,  and,  having 
the  King's  authority  and  commandment,  doubted  not  to  see 
all  things  sufficiently  furnished  and  perfected,  wherewith  the 
King  was  wonderfully  pleased.  And  whereas  the  other 
ancient  councillors  would,  according  to  the  office  of  good 
councillors,  persuade  the  King  to  have  some  time  an  inter- 
course into  the  Council,  there  to  hear  what  was  done  in 
weighty  matters,  the  which  pleased  the  King  nothing  at  all, 
for  he  loved  nothing  worse  than  to  be  constrained  to  do  any 
thing  contrary  to  his  royal  will  and  pleasure,  and  that  knew 
the  Almoner  very  well,  having  a  secret  intelligence  of  the 
King's  natural  inclination,  and  so  fast  as  the  other  councillors 
advised  the  King  to  leave  his  pleasures  and  to  attend  to  the 
affairs  of  his  realm,  so  busily  did  the  Almoner  persuade  him 
to  the  contrary,  which  delighted  him  much,  and  caused  him 
to  have  the  greater  affection  and  love  for  the  Almoner."  * 

Wolsey  pushed  his  advantages;  and  not  contented  with 
secret  influence,  was  determined  to  chase  from  office  those  to 
whom  the  public  had  looked  with  respect  as  the  ministers  of 

•   Cavendish,  82. 
G  G   2 


452 


LIFE   OF 


CHAP. 
XXVII. 

1509— 
1515. 


Wolsey 

Prime 

Minister. 


the  Crown,  and  openly  to  engross  all  power  in  his  own  person. 
He  observed  to  the  King,  that  while  he  intrusted  his  affairs 
to  his  father's  councillors,  he  had  the  advantage  of  employing 
men  of  wisdom  and  experience,  but  men  who  owed  not  their 
promotion  to  his  own  personal  favour,  and  who  scarcely 
thought  themselves  accountable  to  him  for  the  exercise  of  their 
authority ; — that  by  the  factions,  and  cabals,  and  jealousies 
which  prevailed  among  them,  they  more  obstructed  the  ad- 
vancement of  his  aflFairs  than  they  promoted  it,  by  the  know- 
ledge which  age  and  practice  had  conferred  upon  them  ;  — that 
while  he  thought  proper  to  pass  his  time  in  those  pleasures  to 
which  his  age  and  royal  fortune  invited  him,  and  in  those 
studies  which  would  in  time  enable  him  to  sway  the  sceptre 
with  absolute  authority,  his  best  system  of  government  would 
be,  to  intrust  his  authority  into  the  hands  of  some  one  person 
who  was  the  creature  of  his  will,  and  who  could  entertain  no 
view  but  that  of  promoting  his  service ;  — and  that  if  the  min- 
ister had  also  the  same  relish  for  pleasure  with  himself,  and 
the  same  taste  for  literature,  he  could  more  easily,  at  intervals, 
account  to  him  for  his  own  conduct,  and  introduce  his  master 
gradually  into  the  knowledge  of  public  business,  and  thus, 
without  tedious  restraint  or  application,  initiate  him  in  the 
science  of  government.* 

Henry  said,  he  highly  approved  of  this  plan  of  administra- 
tion, and  that  he  knew  no  one  so  capable  of  executing  it  as 
the  person  who  proposed  it.  The  two  rival  ministers  of 
Henry  VII.,  the  Duke  of  Norfolk  and  Bishop  Fox, — who  had 
been  continued  in  office  by  the  advice  of  Margaret,  Countess 
of  Richmond,  the  young  King's  grandmother,  —  were  now 
treated  with  neglect  and  disrespect,  and  retired  from  Court. 
"  Thus,"  says  Cavendish,  « the  Almoner  ruled  all  them  that 
before  ruled  him ;  such  things  did  his  policy  and  wit  bring 
to  pass.  Who  was  now  in  high  favour  but  Master  Almoner? 
"Who  had  all  the  suit  but  Master  Almoner  ?  And  who  ruled 
all  under  the  King  but  Master  Almoner?  Thus  he  proceeded 
still  in  favour.  At  last,  in  came  presents,  gifts,  and  rewards, 
so  plentifully,  that  he  lacked  nothing  that  might  either  please 
his  fantasy  or  enrich  his  coffers." 


Lord  Herbert,  Pol.  Virg. 


LORD  CHANCELLOR  CARDINAL   WOLSEY.  453 

The  first  earnest  of  Henry's  bounty  to  his  favourite  was     chap. 

.                             XXVII 
the  grant,  on  the  attainder  of  Empson,  of  a  magnificent  man-  ^ 


sion,  with  gardens,  in  Fleet  Street,  which  had  belonged  to  1512— 
that  minister.     He  was  soon  after  made  Canon  of  Windsor,   i5i5. 
Registrar  and  Chancellor  of  the  Order  of  the  Garter,  and  Re-  prefer- 
porter  of  the  proceedings  in  the  Star  Chamber,  and  various  ™^"*^- 
rectories,  prebends,  and  deaneries  were  conferred  upon  him, — 
having  obtained  an  unlimited  dispensation  from  the  Pope  to 
hold  pluralities  in  the  church.      On  the  resignation  of  the 
Duke  of  Norfolk,  in  1512,  he  was  made  Lord  Treasurer, — 
and,  with  the  exception  of  Warham,  the  Lord  Chancellor,  who 
still  carried  on  an  unequal  struggle  against  his  ascendancy, 
all   who   filled   the  offices  of  state  were  his  creatures  and 
dependents. 

The  Life  of  Wolsey  henceforth  becomes  the  History  of 
England  and  of  the  European  states ;  but  I  propose  to  confine 
myself  to  those  events  and  circumstances  which  may  be  con- 
sidered to  belong  to  his  personal  narrative.* 

In  the  year  1513,  Hemy   going   to   war   with   France,  Wolsey 
Wolsey  was  specially  appointed  by  him  to  direct  the  supplies  *^'""""i*- 

j  L  J      I  I  J  irr  sary-gene- 

and  provisions  for  the  use  of  the  army,  —  or  "  Commissary  ral  to  the 
General,"  —  a  situation  which  gave  him  an  opportunity  of  p^^cg" 
amassing  great  wealth,  and  which,  though  seemingly  incon- 
sistent with  his  clerical  functions,  he  justified  himself  for 
accepting,  on  the  ground  that  the  Pope  approved  of  the 
expedition  against  Louis  XII.  then  at  enmity  with  the  See 
of  Rome. 

He  accompanied  the  King  to  the  Continent,  witnessed  the  Appointed 
battle  of  "  the  Spurs,"  and  assisted  at  the  siege  of  Tournay.   5''^°''  ""^ 

>■         '  a  J       rournay 

When  this  city  surrendered,  it  was  found  that  the  Bishop  had 

*  "  The  variety  and  splendour  of  the  lives  of  such  men  render  it  often  diffi- 
cult to  distinguish  the  portion  of  time  which  ought  to  be  admitted  into  history, 
from  that  which  should  be  reserved  for  biography.  Generally  speaking,  these 
two  parts  are  so  distinct  and  unlike,  that  they  cannot  be  confounded  without 
much  injury  to  both  ;  either  when  the  biographer  hides  the  portrait  of  the  indi- 
vidual by  a  crowded  and  confined  picture  of  events,  or  when  the  historian  allows 
unconnected  narratives  of  the  lives  of  men  to  break  the  thread  of  history.  Per- 
haps nothing  more  can  be  universally  laid  down  than  that  the  biographer  never 
ought  to  introduce  public  events,  except  as  far  as  they  are  absolutely  necessary 
to  the  illustration  of  character,  and  that  the  historian  should  rarely  digress  into 
biographical  particulars,  except  as  far  as  they  contribute  to  the  clearness  of  his 
narrative  of  political  occurrences." — Sir  James  Mackintosh. 

o  G  3 


454  LIFE    OF 

CHAP,  lately  died,  and  that  a  new  bishop  had  been  elected  by  the 
^''^^'''  chapter,  but  had  not  yet  been  installed.  Henry  claimed  by 
iTisZ  ^^o^^  of  conquest  the  disposal  of  the  office,  appointed  Wolsey 
1515.  to  it,  and  put  him  in  immediate  possession  of  the  temporalities. 

This  step  was  directly  at  variance  with  the  canons  of  the 
church,  and  at  another  time  would  have  been  resented  by  the 
supreme  Pontiff  as  a  sacrilegious  usurpation.  Wolsey  became 
Bishop  de  facto,  but  his  title  to  the  see  was  afterwards  ques- 
tioned, and  was  made  the  subject  of  long  and  intricate  nego- 
tiations. 
Wolsey  On  his  return  to  England  he  was  legitimately  placed  in 

BUho  of  ^^^  episcopal  order,  by  being  elected  and  consecrated  Bishop 
Lincoln.  of  Lincoln.  He  is  reproached  for  having  been  guilty  of 
great  rapacity  in  seizing  the  goods  which  had  belonged  to 
his  predecessor.  Bishop  Smith ;  and  his  gentleman  usher  is 
obliged  to  admit  that  he  had  frequently  seen  with  shame 
some  of  the  stolen  furniture  of  the  late  Bishop  in  the  house 
of  his  master.* 
Archbishop  A  few  months  after,  Bambridge,  Archbishop  of  York, 
dying,  Wolsey  was  elevated  to  this  archiepiscopal  see.  He 
was  farther  allowed  to  unite  with  York  —  first  the  see  of 
Durham,  and  next  that  of  Winchester.  He  farmed  besides, 
on  very  advantageous  terms,  the  Bishoprics  of  Bath,  Wor- 
cester, and  Hereford,  filled  by  foreigners  who  gladly  com- 
pounded for  the  indulgence  of  residing  abroad  by  yielding  up 
to  him  a  large  share  of  their  English  incomes.  The  rich 
Abbey  of  St.  Alban's,  and  many  other  church  preferments,  he 
held  in  commendam. 

There  was  only  one  individual  in  the  kingdom  on  whom 
he  now  looked  with  envy,  Warham,  who,  as  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury  and  Lord  Chancellor,  had  precedence  of  him  both 
ecclesiastically  and  civilly ;  but  though  he  could  not  aim  at 
the  primacy  during  the  life  of  his  rival,  he  resolved  that  he 
himself  should  be  the  first  subject  under  the  King  in  rank  as 
well  as  in  power. 

Sli  ungate       ^""^  *^"^'"^  ^^"  ^*y^^^  *^^  "  Incendiary  of  Christendom," 
a  later*.       being  dead,  he  Avas  succeeded  by  the  celebrated  Leo  X.,  who 

•  Cavendish,  88. 


LORD   CHANCELLOR   CARDINAL   WOLSEY.  455 

closely  resembled  Wolsey  in  the  love  of  pleasure  and  love  of    CHAP. 

.  ••  .•  XXVII 

literature,  and  was  desirous  of  cultivating  the  friendship  of 
England  against  the  ambition  of  France.  One  of  his  first  ^  j,.  1515. 
acts  was  to  confer  a  Cardinal's  hat  on  the  favourite  of  Henry, 
with  a  Bull  creating  him  Legate  a  latere  over  the  whole 
kingdom  of  England,  and  enabling  him  to  call  convocations, 
and  to  exercise  supreme  ecclesiastical  authority.  The  Pope's 
messenger,  conveying  these  emblems  of  spiritual  precedence 
and  authority,  was  met  on  Blackheath  by  "  a  great  assembly 
of  prelates,  and  lusty  gallant  gentlemen,  and  from  them  con- 
ducted through  London  with  great  triumph."  The  new  Car- 
dinal and  Legate  was  confirmed  in  his  dignity  in  Westminster 
Abbey  by  a  numerous  band  of  Bishops  and  Abbots,  in  rich 
mitres,  copes,  and  other  costly  ornaments,  "  which,"  says 
Cavendish,  "  was  done  in  so  solemn  a  wise  as  I  have  not 
seen  the  like,  unless  it  had  been  at  the  coronation  of  a  mighty 
prince  or  king."  * 

He  was  now  armed  with  effectual  means  of  annoying  and  Measures 
mortifying  Warham.     As  Cardinal  he  took  place  of  him  f,  ^  rd  ^"^* 
and  as  Legate  he  was  entitled  to  interfere  with  his  juris-   Chancellor 
diction  within   the   province    of  Canterbury.     "  Wherefore      ^f^^™- 
remembering  as  well  the  taunts  and  checks  before  sustained 
of  Canterbury  which  he  intended  to   redress,    and  having 
respect  to  the  advancement  of  worldly  honour,  he  found  the 
means  with  the  King  that  he   was  made    Chancellor,  and 
Canterbury  thereof  dismissed."  X 

The  transfer  of  the  Great  Seal  as  we  have  seen  in  the  life  Wolsev, 
of  Lord  Chancellor  Warham,  took  place  on  the  22d  of  De-  Chancellor. 
cember,    1515.  §     The   affair   was   conducted  with   exterior 

*  Cavendish,  91. 

■j"  This  point  was  settled  by  the  Pope  in  the  case  of  Cardinal  Kempe,  Arch- 
bishop of  York,  and  authors  are  mistaken  who  represent  the  precedence  now 
assumed  by  Wolsey  an  usurpation  dictated  by  his  arrogance. 

J  Cavendish,  93. 

§  The  reader  may  be  amused  with  a  translation  of  the  Latin  entry  in  the 
Close  Roll  upon  the  occasion.  »  Be  it  remembered  that  on  Sunday,  the  22d 
of  December,  in  the  seventh  year  of  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII.,  about  the  hour 
of  one  in  the  afternoon,  in  a  certain  high  and  small  room  in  the  King's  palace 
at  Westminster,  near  the  Parliament  Chamber,  the  Most  reverend  Father  in 
Christ,  William  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  then  Chancellor  of  England,  the 
King's  Great  Seal  in  the  custody  of  the  said  Chancellor  then  being  inclosed  in 
a  certain  bag  of  white  leather,  and  five  times  sealed  with  the  signet  of  the  said 
Archbishop,  into  the  hands  of  our  said  lord  the  King  surrendered  and  delivered 

G  G    4 


466  LIFE   OF 

CHAP,     decency,  as  if  there  had  been  a  voluntary  resignation  on  the 
XXVII.    ^^^  gjjg  ^^^  ^  reluctant  acceptance  on  the  other. 
Q^,^j.p  A  contemporary  letter  of  Sir  Thomas  More  might  lead  to 

Whether  the  belief  that  Warham  was  really  eager  to  retire,  and  Wolsey 
restgi'ieT  afraid  of  farther  promotion.  Writing  to  Ammonius,  he  says, 
voluntarily,  «  xhc  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  hath  at  length  resigned  the 
was  reluc-  officc  of  Chancellor,  which  burthen  as  you  know  he  had  strenu- 
tent  to  take  Q^giy  endeavoured  to  lay  down  for  some  years ;  and  the  long 
Seal?  wished-for  retreat  being  now  obtained,  he  enjoys  a  most  plea- 

sant recess  in  his  studies,  with  the  agreeable  reflection  of 
having  acquitted  himself  honourably  in  that  high  station. 
The  Cardinal  of  York,  by  the  King's  orders,  succeeds  him." 
Ammonius,  writing  to  Erasmus,  says,  in  the  same  strain, 
"  Your  Archbishop,  with  the  King's  good  leave,  has  laid 
down  his  post,  which  that  of  York,  after  much  importunity, 
has  accepted  of,  and  behaves  most  beautifully."  Nay,  War- 
ham  himself,  in  a  letter  to  the  same  correspondent,  says,  he 
desired  to  give  up  this  magistracy  "  quem  Eboracensis  Epis- 
copus  impendio  rogatus  suscepit.^'' 

But  the  testimony  of  Cavendish,  and  the  internal  evidence 
on  the  other  side,  greatly  preponderate.  Warham,  although 
like  other  Chancellors  resolved  to  cling  to  office  as  long  as  pos- 
sible, may  from  time  to  time  have  expressed  a  wish  to  be  rid 

up  in  the  presence  of  the  most  reverend  Father  in  Christ,  Thomas,  by  divine 
compassion'  Cardinal  Priest  of  the  Holy  Roman  Church,  by  the  title  '  Sancti 
Ariaci  in  Termis,'  Archbishop  of  York,  Primate  of  England,  and  Legate  of  the 
Apostolic  See,  of  Charles  Duke  of  Suffolk,  and  of  William  'ITirogmorton,  pro- 
thonotary  of  the  Chancery  of  our  Lord  the  King.  And  our  said  Lord  the 
King,  the  said  seal  in  the  said  bag  so  inclosed,  so  surrendered  and  delivered  up 
by  the  said  Archbishop,  then  and  there  caused  to  be  opened  and  taken  out,  and 
being  opened  and  taken  out,  saw  and  examined  the  same.  And  our  said  Lord 
the  King  then  immediately,  in  the  presence  of  those  before  mentioned,  caused 
the  said  seal  to  be  again  inclosed  in  the  said  bag,  and  the  said  seal  inclosed  in 
the  said  bag,  sealed  with  the  signet  of  the  said  most  reverend  Cardinal,  delivered 
to  the  said  most  reverend  Cardinal,  to  be  by  him  kept  and  used  by  the  said 
most  reverend  Cardinal,  whom  he  then  and  there  constituted  his  Chancellor, 
with  all  diets,  fees,  profits,  rewards,  robes,  commodities,  and  advantages  to  the 
office  of  Chancellor  of  England  of  old  due,  belonging  or  appertaining,  and  the 
said  most  reverend  Cardinal,  the  said  seal  in  the  presence  of  the  persons  before 
mentioned,  then  and  there  received  from  the  aforesaid  most  invincible  King."— 
Rot.  CI.  7  Hen.  8.  m.  L  On  the  24th  of  December  following  there  is  an  entry 
OB  the  Close  Roll  of  the  new  Chancellor  being  sworn  in  by  the  King  at  his 
palace  at  Eltbara.     The  tenor  of  the  oath  is  set  out  in  English. 


Miseracione  divina. 


LORD   CHANCELLOR   CARDINAL   WOLSEY.  457 

of  it,  and  when  the  crisis  actually  came,  the  parties  themselves     CHAP. 

and  their  friends  deemed  it  best  to  avoid,  as  much  as  pos-  ' 

sible,  the  appearance  of  compulsion  on  the  retiring  Chan- 
cellor, or  of  any  intriguing  by  his  successor;  but  there  can 
be  no  doubt  that  Wolsey,  from  the  time  of  his  obtaining  the 
rank  of  Cardinal  with  the  legatine  authority,  had  taken 
every  opportunity  to  insult  Warham,  with  a  view  of  driving 
him  from  Court,  and  that  the  Great  Seal  had  long  been  an 
object  of  ambition  to  him,  on  account  of  the  profit  and  power 
it  would  bring  him,  —  and  perhaps  likewise  from  the  oppor- 
tunity it  would  afford  him  to  add  to  his  reputation  for 
learning,  ability,  and  eloquence. 

The  parade  which  he  immediately  made  of  the  trappings  of 
the  office  of  Chancellor,  and  the  manner  in  which  he  devoted 
himself  to  the  discharge  of  its  duties,  showed  that  he  had 
clutched  it  as  eagerly,  and  that  he  enjoyed  it  as  intensely,  as 
any  preferment  ever  bestowed  upon  him.* 

*   Cavendish,  93. 


458 


KEIGN   OF   HENRY   VIII. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 


LIFE  OF   CARDINAL   WOLSEY  FROM  HIS   APPOINTMENT   AS   LORD 
CHANCELLOR   TILL    HIS   FALL. 


CHAP. 

XXVIII. 

A.v.  1515. 
Homage 
paid  to 
Wolsey  by 
foreign 
powers. 


By  the 
University 
of  Oxford. 


"WoLSET  was  now  in  the  zenith  of  his  greatness.  At  this 
period,  the  Crown  was  absohite  in  England,  and  he  alone 
wielded  all  its  power.  He  was  in  consequence  courted  with 
the  greatest  obsequiousness  by  Francis  I.  and  Charles  V.,  the 
rival  monarchs,  who  were  contending  for  superiority  on  the 
continent  of  Europe,  and  who  felt  that  the  result  of  the 
struggle  depended  to  a  considerable  degree  on  his  friendship. 
They  not  only  flattered  him  by  letters  and  embassies,  but 
settled  large  pensions  upon  him,  which  there  was  no  law  or 
etiquette  then  prevailing  to  prevent  him  from  accepting.  The 
Doge  of  Venice,  likewise,  sent  him  a  large  pecuniary  grati- 
fication, with  letters  containing  the  most  fulsome  adulation.* 
*'  In  all  things  the  Chancellor  was  honoured  like  the  King's 
person,  and  sat  always  at  his  right  hand.  In  all  places  where 
the  King's  arms  were  put  up,  the  Chancellor's  appeared  along- 
side of  them,  so  that  in  every  honour  the  Sovereign  and  his 
minister  were  equal."!  The  money  coined  with  the  Cardinal's 
hat  upon  it  was  now  current  without  objection,  though  made 
the  ground  of  one  of  the  charges  against  him  on  his  fall.  The 
University  of  Oxford  is  supposed  to  have  exceeded  all  the 
rest  of  the  nation  in  servility  towards  him,  and  to  have  almost 
committed  treason,  by  styling  him  in  their  addresses,  "  Your 
Majesty; "I   but  this  appellation  had  not  then  been  exclu- 

•  As  a  specimen:  "  Incredibilis  vestrEe  reverendissimae  Dominationis  virtus 
et  sapientia."  Again,  using  the  third  person  :  «  Ut  nihil  tam  arduum  difficile- 
que  foret  (si  mode  id  honestum  esset  et  conducibile)  quod  non  ipsa  sua  boni- 
tate  ultro  vellet;  sapientissime  ac  providentissime  disponeret ;  auctoritate  quam 
meritissime  in  regno  isto  supremum  tenet,  optime  possit  conficere." 

t  Bellay,  the  French  ambassador,  an  eye-\¥itness. 

\  "  Consultissima  tua  Majestas  ;  reverendissima  Majestas  ;  inaudita  Majestatis 
tua;  benignitas;  vestra  ilia  sublimis  et  longe  reverendissima  Majestas." 


CARDINAL   WOLSEY,    CHANCELLOR.  459 

sively  appropriated  to  kings,  and  it  had  been  applied  by  the     CHAP, 
same  University  to  Lord  Chancellor  Warham.* 

Perhaps  the  strongest  proof  of  his  ascendancy  is  to  be  found  Letters  ^^ 
in  the  private  confidential  letters  written  to  him  by  the  King's  i"™  from 
sisters.     Margaret,  Queen  of  Scotland,  by  the  battle  of  Flod-  sisters. 
den  left  a  widow,  with  an  infant  son,  and  every  way  destitute, 
thus  concludes  a  letter  asking  his  interference  in  her  favour, 
"  for  next  to  the  King's  Grace,  my  next  trust  is  in  you,  and  you 
may  do  me  most  good  of  any."     Mary,  Queen  of  Louis  XIL, 
thus  addresses  him,  "  for  the  payne  ye  take  remembring  to 
write  to  me  soo  often  I  thanke  you  for  it  w^  al  my  hert." 
She  wrote  him  another  letter  pressing  him  to  use  his  influence 
with  the  King  to  permit  Lady  Guildeford  to  live  with  her  in 
France,  as  one  of  her  ladies  of  honour.     On  the  death  of  her 
husband,  she  communicates  the  intelligence  to  Wolsey,  saying, 
"  My  Lord,  my  trust  is  in  you  for  to  remember  me  to  the 
King  my  brother,  for  now  I  have  none  other  to  put  my  trust 
in  but  the  Kyng  my  brother,  and  you.     And  so  I  pray  you, 
my  Lord,  to  show  hys  Grace,  saying,  that  the  Kyng,   my 
housebande,  ys  departed  to  God,  of  whos  sole  God  pardon. 
And  wher  as  you  avyse  me  that  I  shoulde  make  no  promas, 
my  Lord,  I  trust  the  Kyng  my  brother  and  you  wole  not 
reckon  in  me  soche  chyldhode."     In  spite  of  the  pledge  here 
given  against  her  well-known  inclination  for  her  lover.   Sir 
Charles  Brandon,  afterwards  Duke  of  Suffolk,  she  married 
him  in  a  few  weeks,  but  as  he  was  a  person  exciting  no  poli- 
tical jealousy,  Wolsey  pardoned  them,  and  they  were  kindly 
received  in  England. 

The  homage  universally  paid  to  the  Chancellor  had  such 
an  effect  upon  him,  that  he  gradually  in  his  own  letters  as- 
sumed an  equality  with  the  King,  which  was  afterwards  made 
a  subject  of  his  impeachment.f 

*  "Et  diu  felicissime  vivat,  tua  Majestas." — Fiddes,  178. 

j-  Thus,  in  his  correspondence  with  Pace,  the  secretary,  and  others,  he  says, 
"His  Highness  and  /give  you  hearty  thanks."  "  Neither  the  King's  High- 
ness nor  I  will  advise  them."  "Much  it  is  to  the  King's  and  my  comfort." 
"  The  King's  Highness  and  I  abide  daily  knowledge."  "  Arrived  here  the 
Archbishop  of  Capua,  whom  the  King's  Highness  and  /like."  "The  King's 
Highness  and  I  be  always  of  the  same  mind  that  the  Emperor  is."  "  The 
King's  Highness  and  I  gave  my  own  lodgings  to  him."  —  MS.  Letters  in 
British  Museum. 


460  REIGN   OF   HENRY   VIII. 

CHAP.         The  fame  of  his  influence  was  so  great  that  he  had  many 
XXVIII.    solicitations  from  other  countries  for  his  patronage.     Thus, 
~    '       the  Earl  of  Argyle  wrote  him  a  very  humble  letter,  asking 
him  from     his  interest  with  the  Pope,  that  Dougall  Campbell,  the  Earl's 
Arg)i"  °*^  brother,  might  be  appointed  Abbot  of  Cowper :  "  I  beseich  ye 
to  forther  y®  promotionne   of  my  saed    brother  in  the  best 
manner  as  your  Grace  thinks  expedient ;  and  my  lord,  geif 
that  there  be  any  service  or  labore   that  I  canne  do  your 
Graice  in  this  realme,  truly  thar  shalbe  nane  in  it  yat  sail 
accompleis  y®  same  w*  bettir  hart  nor  mynd  nor  I  sail."  * 
This  Dougall  Campbell  was  appointed  Abbot  of  Cowper  ac- 
cordingly, although  before  entering  into  religion  he  had  been 
married,  and  had  a  surviving  son. 
His  spien-        Wolscy's  manner  of  living  now  eclipsed  the  splendour  of 
of  living.      the  King's  court.     His  household  consisted  of  eight  hundred 
persons,  comprehending  one  Earl  (the  Earl  of  Derby),  nine 
barons,   and  many  knights  and  squires  of  great  figure  and 
worship.     He  had  a  high-chamberlain,  a  vice-chamberlain,  a 
treasurer,  a  controller,  and  other  officers  corresponding  to  those 
of  royalty,  bearing  white  staves.     He  had  in  his  hall-kitchen 
two  master  cooks,  with  many  assistants,  and  in  his  private 
kitchen,  a  master  cook,  who  went  daily  in  damask,  satin,  or 
velvet,  with  a  chain  of  gold  about  his  neck.     We  should  never 
finish  if  we  were  to  enumerate  all  the  yeomen,  grooms,  pages, 
and  purveyors  that  he  had  in  his  larder,    scalding  house, 
scullery,  buttery,  pantry,  ewery,  cellar,  chaundery,  wafery, 
wardrobe,   laundry,  bakehouse,  wood-yard,  garner,  garden, 
stable,  and  almoserie,  with  the  yeoman  of  his  barge,  yeoman 
of  his  chariot,  his  master  of  the  horse,  saddler,  farrier,  and 
muleteer.     "  Also  he  had  two  secretaries,  and  two  clerks  of  his 
signet,  and  four  councillors  learned  in  the  laws  of  the  realm." -f 
Now  that  he  was  Chancellor,  he  was  constantly  attended  by 
all  the   officers   of  the  Court,   and  by  four  footmen  appa- 
relled in  rich  ermine  coats,— and  whensoever  he  took  any 
journey,  by  a  herald  at  arms,  a  serjeant  at  arms,  a  physician, 
an  apothecary,  four  minstrels,  a  keeper  of  his  tents,  and  an 
armourer.     Three  great  tables  were  daily  laid  in  his  hall  for 

•  MSS.  Cott.  Lib.  j  Cavendish,  97. 


CARDINAL   WOLSEY,    CHANCELLOR. 


461 


this  numerous  retinue.     Many  of  the  nobility  placed  their     CHAP. 

.       XXVIII. 
children  in  his  family,   and  for  the  purpose  of  winning  his    '_ 


favour,  allowed  them  to  act  as  his  servants,  although  they 
had  a  separate  table,  called  "the  mess  of  lords,"  and  had 
numerous  menials  to  attend  them. 

"  When  it  pleased  the  King's  majesty,  for  his  recreation,  to  Wolsey's 
repair  unto  the  Cardinal's  house,  such  pleasures  were  then  devised  .u"^^^*^  ° 
for  the  King's  comfort  and  consolation  as  might  be  invented  or  by 
man's  wit  imagined.  The  banquets  were  set  forth  with  masks 
and  mummeries,  in  so  gorgeous  a  sort  and  costly  manner,  that  it  was 
a  heaven  to  behold.  There  wanted  no  dames  or  damsels  meet  or 
apt  to  dance  with  the  maskers,  or  to  garnish  the  place  for  the  time 
with  other  goodly  disports.  There  was  there  all  kind  of  music 
and  harmony  set  forth,  with  excellent  voices,  both  of  men  and 
children."* 

We  have  likewise  very  picturesque  descriptions  of  his 
march  to  the  Court  at  Greenwich  on  Sundays, — riding  through 
Thames  Street  on  his  mule,  with  his  crosses,  his  pillars,  his 

*  Cavendish,  who  goes  on  to  give  an  account  of  the  King's  coming  with 
maskers  like  shepherds,  from  which  Shakspeare  has  taken  the  4th  scene  of  the 
1st  act  of  Hen.  VIII.  In  one  particular  the  dramatist  differs  from  the  bio- 
grapher. (The  twelve  maskers,  habited  like  shepherds,  being  ushered  in  as 
foreigners  who  could  not  speak  English.) 

"  Wolsey.      Pray  tell  them  thus  much  from  me  : 
There  should  be  one  amongst  them,  by  his  person, 
More  worthy  this  place  than  myself,  to  whom 
If  I  but  knew  him,  with  my  love  and  duty 
I  would  surrender  it. 

"  Chamberlain.      Such  a  one  they  all  confess 
There  is  indeed,  which  they  woTild  have  your  Grace 
Find  out,  and  he  will  take  it. 

"  Wolsey.      Let  me  see  then  ;   here  I'll  make 
My  royal  choice. 

"  King  Henry  {unmasking').      You  have  found  him.  Cardinal." 

But  Cavendish  relates,  "  My  Lord  Chancellor  said  to  my  Lord  Cardinal, 
«  Sir,  they  confess  that  among  them  there  is  such  a  noble  personage,  whom  if 
your  Grace  can  appoint  him  from  the  others,  he  is  contented  to  disclose  himself 
and  to  accept  your  place  most  worthily.'  With  that  the  Cardinal,  taking  a 
good  advisement  among  them,  at  the  last  quoth  he,  •  Me  seemeth  the  gentleman 
with  the  black  beard  should  be  even  he.'  And  with  that  he  arose  out  of  his 
chair  and  offered  the  same  to  the  gentleman  in  the  black  beard,  with  his  cap  in 
his  hand.  This  turned  out  to  be  Sir  Edward  Neville,  a  comely  knight  of  a 
goodly  personage,  that  much  resembled  the  King's  person  in  that  mask.  The 
King,  perceiving  the  Cardinal  so  deceived  in  his  estimation  and  choice,  could 
not  forbear  laughing,  but  plucked  down  his  visor,  and  Master  Neville's  also, 
and  dashed  out  with  such  a  pleasant  countenance  and  cheer,  that  all  noble 
estates  there  assembled,  seeing  the  King  to  be  there  amongst  them,  rejoiced 
very  much."  —  Cavendish,  112. 


462 


REIGN   OF   HENRY   VIII. 


CHAP. 
XXVIII. 


His  pro- 
cession to 
the  Court 
of  Chan- 
cery. 


hat,  and  the  Great  Seal,  till  he  came  to  Billingsgate,  where 
he  took  his  barge,  —  and  of  the  gorgeous  celebration  of  mass 
in  his  chapel,  where  he  was  attended  by  Bishops  and  Abbots. 
Such  was  his  haughtiness,  that  he  made  Dukes  and  Earls  to 
serve  him  with  wine,  and  to  hold  the  bason  and  lavatories. 

But  for  our  purpose,  the  most  interesting  pageant  he  ex- 
hibited was  his  procession  from  York  House  to  the  Court  of 
Chancery  in  Westminster  Hall,  which  is  minutely  described 
to  us  by  an  eye-witness.  Having  risen  by  day-break,  and 
heard  mass,  he  returned  to  his  private  chamber ;  and  his  public 
rooms  being  now  filled  with  noblemen  and  gentlemen  attend- 
ing his  levee,  — 

"  He  issued  out  unto  them  appareled  all  in  red,  in  the  habit  of  a 
cardinal,  which  was  either  of  fine  scarlet,  or  else  of  crimson  satin, 
taffety  damask,  or  caffa,  the  best  that  he  could  get  for  money  ;  and 
upon  his  head  a  round  pillion,  with  a  noble  of  black  velvet  set  to 
the  same  in  the  inner  side ;  he  had  also  a  tippet  of  fine  sables 
about  his  neck ;  holding  in  his  hand  a  very  fine  orange,  whereof 
the  meat  or  substance  within  was  taken  out,  and  filled  up  again 
with  the  part  of  a  sponge,  wherein  was  vinegar  and  other  confections 
against  the  pestilent  airs,  the  which  he  most  commonly  smelt  unto 
passing  among  the  press,  or  else  when  he  was  pestered  with  many 
suitors.  There  was  also  borne  before  him  —  first,  the  Great  Seal 
of  England,  and  then  his  Cardinal's  hat,  by  a  nobleman  or  some 
worthy  gentleman,  right  solemnly,  bare-headed.  And  as  soon  as 
he  was  entered  into  his  chamber  of  presence,  where  there  was  at- 
tending his  coming  to  wait  upon  him  to  Westminster  Hall,  as  well 
noblemen  and  other  worthy  gentlemen,  as  noblemen  and  gentlemen 
of  his  own  family ;  thus  passing  forth  with  two  great  crosses  of 
silver  borne  before  him ;  with  also  two  great  pillars  of  silver,  and 
his  pursuivant  at  arms  with  a  great  mace  of  silver  gilt.  Then  his 
gentlemen  ushers  *  cried,  and  said,  '  On  my  Lords  and  Masters,  on 
before  ;  make  way  for  my  Lord's  Grace.'  Thus  passed  he  down 
from  his  chamber  to  the  Hall  ;  and  when  he  came  to  the  Hall 
door,  there  was  attendant  for  him  his  mule,  trapped  altogether  in 
crimson  velvet  and  gilt  stirrups.  When  he  was  mounted,  with  his 
cross-bearers  and  pillar-bearers,  also  upon  great  horses  trapped 
with  fine  scarlet.  Then  marched  he  forward,  with  his  train  and  fur- 
niture in  manner  as  I  have  declared,  having  about  him  four  foot- 
men with  gilt  poll-axes  in  their  hands  ;  and  thus  he  went  until  he 


Cavendish  being  one  of  them. 


CARDINAL   WOLSEY,   CHANCELLOR.  463 

came  to  Westminster  Hall  door.  And  there  alighted,  and  went  CHAP. 
after  this  manner  up  through  the  Hall  into  the  Chancery ;  how-  XXviiL 
beit,  he  would  most  commonly  stay  awhile  at  a  bar  made  for  him  a 
little  beneath  the  Chancery  on  the  right  hand,  and  there  commune 
some  time  with  the  Judges,  and  some  time  with  other  persons. 
And  that  done  he  would  repair  into  the  Chancery,  sitting  there 
till  eleven  of  the  clock,  hearing  suitors,  and  determining  of  divers 
matters.  And  from  thence  he  would  divers  times  go  into  the  Star 
Chamber,  as  occasion  did  serve  ;  where  he  spared  neither  high  nor 
low,  but  judged  every  one  according  to  their  merits  and  deserts." 

His  crosses,  pillars,  and  poll-axes  are  likewise  celebrated 
by  Cavendish  in  the  metrical  autobiography  which  he  im- 
putes to  Wolsey :  — 

**  My  crossis  twayne  of  silver  long  and  greate 
That  dayly  before  me  were  carried  hyghe, 
Upon  great  horses  openly  in  the  streett, 
And  massie  pillers  gloryouse  to  the  eye, 
With  poll-axes  gylt  that  no  man  durst  come  nyghe 
My  presence,  I  was  so  princely  to  behold 
Ryding  on  my  mule  trapped  in  silver  and  golde."  * 


*  We  have  likewise  a  metrical  description  of  the  Cardinal's  equipage  from 
William  Roy,  styled  by  Bale,  "  vir  aetatis  suae  non  ineruditus,"  in  a  satire  pub- 
lished about  1530,  in  the  form  of  a  dialogue  between  two  priests'  servants,  with 
the  motto 

"  Rede  me  and  be  nott  wrothe 
For  I  saye  no  thynge  but  trothe." 

"  Wixt.     Doth  he  use  then  on  mules  to  ryde? 
"  J^ff-     Yes ;  and  that  with  so  shamfull  pryde 
Tliat  to  tell  it  is  not  possible. 
More  like  a  God  celestiall 
Than  any  creature  mortall 

With  worldly  pomp  incredible. 

'*  Before  hym  rideth  two  prestes  stronge, 
And  they  beare  two  crosses  right  longe, 

Gapynge  in  every  man's  face : 
After  theym  folowe  two  laymen  secular 
And  each  of  theym  holdynge  a  pillar 

In  their  hondes,  steade  of  a  mace. 

"  Then  foUoweth  my  Lord  on  his  mule 

Trapped  with  gold  under  her  cule 

In  every  poynt  most  curiously  ; 

On  cache  syde  a  pollaxe  is  borne 

Which  in  none  wother  use  are  worne 

Pretendynge  some  hid  mystery. 

"  Then  hath  he  servauntes  fyve  or  six  score. 
Some  behynde  and  some  before, 
A  marvelous  great  company  : 
Of  which  are  lords  and  gentlemen. 
With  many  gromes  and  yemen. 
And  also  knaves  amonge. 


464 


REIGN   OF   HENRY   VIII. 


CHAP. 
XXVIII. 

Jests 

against 

htm. 


His  con- 
duct as  a 
Judge. 


This  pageantry,  although  regarded  with  great  reverence 
by  dependent  courtiers,  called  forth  many  gibes  from  the 
vulgar ;  and  it  was  a  common  saying,  that  "  the  two  crosses 
showed  that  the  Cardinal  had  twice  as  many  sins  to  repent 
of  as  any  other  prelate."  The  pulpit  likewise  occasionally 
resounded  with  invectives  against  him.  Doctor  Barnes, 
afterwards  burnt  for  heresy,  having  showed  his  independent 
spirit  by  inveighing  against  the  pomp  and  luxury  of  the 
Cardinal,  was  summoned  before  him,  and  received  this  admo- 
nition :  "  What,  Master  Doctor !  had  you  not  a  sufficient 
scope  in  the  Scriptures  to  teach  the  people  but  yon ;  but 
that  my  golden  shoes,  my  poll-axes,  my  pillars,  my  golden 
cushions,  and  my  crosses  did  so  far  offend  you,  that  you  must 
make  us  ridiculum  caput  amongst  the  people  ?  We  were 
joUily  that  day  laughed  to  scorn.  Verily,  it  was  a  sermon 
more  fitter  to  be  preached  on  a  stage  than  in  a  pulpit." 
Barnes  answered,  that  he  had  spoken  nothing  but  the  truth 
out  of  the  Scriptures,  according  to  his  conscience,  and  was 
for  that  time  discharged.  With  the  exception  of  his  prose- 
cution of  Buckingham,  Wolsey  showed  no  inclination  to  blood 
or  cruelty. 

We  must  now  consider  him  in  the  capacity  of  a  Judge. 

Unfortunately  none  of  his  decisions  have  come  down  to 
us ;  but  it  seems  to  be  generally  allowed  that  his  elevation 
to  the  judgment-seat,  by  proving  the  extent  of  his  capacity, 
seemed  to  exalt  his  personal  character ;  —  that  no  Chancellor 
ever  discovered  greater  impartiality  ;  —  that  he  showed  much 
discrimination  and  shrewdness  in  discussing  the  principles  of 
law  and  equity,  —  and  that  a  strict  administration  of  justice 
took  place  during  his  enjoyment  of  this  high  office.* 


"  Thus  dayly  he  proceedeth  forthe, 
And  men  must  take  it  at  worthe 

Whether  he  do  right  or  wronge. 
A  great  carle  he  is,  and  a  fatt, 
Wearynge  on  his  hed  a  red  hatt 
Procured  with  angel's  subsidy." 

Supp.  to  Harl.  Misc.  1812. 

„  ,*  ^^^  '*  extravagantly  praised  by  Sir  Thomas  More,  writing  to  Erasmus. 
"  Ita  se  gerit  ut  spem  quoque  omnium,  quanquam  pro  reliquis  ejus  virtutibus 
maximam,  longe  tamen  exsuperet ;  et,  quod   est  difficillimum,  post  optimum 


CARDINAL   WOLSEY,    CHANCELLOK.  465 

We  are  rather  at  a  loss  to  iraao-ine  how,  with  all  his  tact,     CHAP. 

•  •  •     •  XXVIII 

he  was  able  to  get  through  the  business  without  committing 

serious  errors,  and  exposing  himself  to  ridicule  from  his 
ignorance  of  legal  distinctions.  The  fashion  of  a  Chancellor 
having  a  Keeper  of  the  Seal,  or  Vice-chancellor,  to  act  for 
him  had  passed  away, —  and  Wolsey,  although  he  had  probably- 
paid  some  attention  to  the  civil  and  canon  law  while  resident 
at  Oxford,  had  never,  like  Morton  and  many  other  eccle- 
siastical Chancellors,  practised  in  the  Arches,  or  been  a  clerk 
or  master  in  Chancery,  or  assisted  a  prior  Chancellor.  The 
coming  event  of  his  Chancellorship  had  long  cast  its  shadow 
before,  and  he  probably  had,  by  a  course  of  study,  in  some 
degree  prepared  himself  for  his  office ;  and  he  no  doubt 
had  the  address  to  avail  himself  of  the  assistance  of  the  four 
lawyers  who  formed  a  part  of  his  establishment,  as  well  as  of 
the  clerks  and  other  officers  of  the  court.  "  In  examining 
cases,"  says  Fiddes,  "  which  came  before  the  Cardinal  as 
Chancellor,  he  would  take  associates  with  him  learned  in  the 
laws,  and  ask  their  opinions ;  but  in  such  matters  as  came 
before  him,  and  were  not  very  intricate,  but  might  be  de- 
termined in  a  rational  way  of  arguing  from  the  common 
principles  of  equity,  he  would  often  give  sentence  according 
to  the  light  of  his  own* understanding." 

However  he  may  have  managed  it,  such  reputation  did  he 
gain  as  a  judge,  that  some  have  ascribed  to  him  the  establish- 
ment of  the  equitable  jurisdiction  of  the  Court  of  Chancery ; 
and,  from  the  confidence  reposed  in  him,  the  number  of  bills 
and  petitions  increased  so  much  that  he  was  obliged  to  refer 
some  of  them  to  the  Master  of  the  Kolls,  and  to  have  a  com- 
mission of  common-law  Judges  to  assist  him. 

Bishop  Godwyn,  who  is  severe  on  many  parts  of  Wolsey's 
conduct,  gives  him  unqualified  praise  for  improvements  he 
introduced  in  the  administration  of  justice,  and  the  purity  he 
displayed  as  a  Judge.* 

praedecessorem  valde  probatur  et  placeat."  And  Ammonius,  writing  of  the 
office  of  Chancellor,  coming  to  Wolsey,  says,  "  Quern  Magistratuin  Eboracensis 
pulcherime  gerit." 

*  "  Multa  ordinavit  in  rebus  civilibus  popularibus  grata,  ac  nobis  in  hunc 
usque  diem  usurpata.  Quibus  virum  se  ostendit  sapientissimum  necnon  Rei- 
publicse  amantem.     Certe  qui  illis  temporibus  vixerunt  asserere  non  dubitarunt, 

VOL.  I.  H  H 


466  REIGN   OF   HENRY   VIII. 

CHAP.         Wolsey  presided  as  Chancellor  in  a  session  of  parliament 

'   in  the  end  of  1516;  but  no  account  is  preserved  of  any  of 

>.D.  1516.    its  proceedings  in  which  he  was  concerned,  except  of  a  very 

A  pariia-     anomalous  one,  —  a  bill   for   a   subsidy  brought    into    the 

„        ....  House    of  Lords,  and    being  passed    there,  ordered  to  be 

originates     Carried  to  the  Commons  by  the  Lord  Chancellor.     He,  no 

u»  Lords,      doubt,  appeared  in  the  Lower  House  with  his  crosses,  his 

pillars,  and  his  poll-axes,  and  delivered  an  eloquent  discourse 

on  the  duty  of  supplying  the  wants  of  the  King.     But  the 

bill  is  supposed  to  have  been  thrown  out  by  the  Commons ; 

and  this  may  be  the  reason  why  no  other  parliament  was  called 

for  seven  years,  and  that  very  arbitrary  methods  of  raising 

money  were  resorted  to. 

In  1518  Wolsey  received  an  addition  to  his  legatine  juris- 
diction, which  gave  him  the  plenary  power  of  the  Pope  in 
England,  and  which  he  grievously  abused  by  setting  up  a  new 
Court  for  the  proof  of  wills,  and  for  the  trial  of  all  spiritual 
offences  in  the  province  of  Canterbury,  and  by  presenting  to 
all  ecclesiastical  benefices  which  became  vacant,  —  in  deroga- 
tion of  the  rights  of  chapters  and  patrons.  When  Archbishop 
Warham  wrote  him  a  respectful  letter  on  the  subject,  signed 
"  your  loving  brother,"  Wolsey  complained  of  his  presump- 
tion, in  thus  challenging  an  equality  with  the  Lord  Cardinal 
Legate.  This  distinction  he  valued  more  than  the  Great 
Seal  itself,  as  we  may  judge  from  his  observation  to  Cavendish 
on  his  fall :  "  My  authority  and  dignity  legatine  is  gone, 
wherein  consisted  all  my  honour."  Warham  was  himself 
unmoved  by  the  insolence  of  his  rival,  and  having  remonstrated 
in  vain,  only  observed,  «  Know  ye  not  that  this  man  is  drunk 
with  too  much  prosperity  ?"  But  the  Judge  of  his  Legatine 
Court,  whom,  for  a  private  purpose,  he  had  appointed  with  a 
knowledge  that  he  had  been  guilty  of  perjury,  —  having  been 
convicted  of  some  gross  malversation,  the  King  himself  ex- 
pressed such  displeasure  to  the  Cardinal  as  made  him  ever 
after  more  cautious  in  exerting  his  authority. 

These  follies  would  have  left  no  lasting  stain  on  the  memory 

cum  hoc  regno  nunquam  felicius  actum,  quam  cum  florente  Wolseo,  cujus  con- 
silus  pacem  opulentam  et  securam  qua  fruebatur,  et  jttstitiam  eguo  Jure  civibus 
ommbus  admmistratam,  tribuebatur."— God.  Ann.  14. 


CARDINAL   WOLSEY,    CHANCELLOR.  467 

of  Wolsey,  but  he  was  now  instrumental  in  the  violent  death  chap, 
of  a  rival  through  the  forms  of  law.  The  Duke  of  Bucking- 
ham, representing  the  ancient  family  of  Stafford,  and  heredi-  Wolsey 
tary  High  Constable  of  England,  stood  the  first  in  rank  and  causes 
consequence  among  the  nobility.  He  viewed  with  envy  and  d^]^^  ^f 
jealousy  the  elevation  of  the  butcher's  son,  who  was  at  no  Bucking- 
pains  to  gain  his  good  will,  and  on  several  occasions  they  had  a.d.  152L 
passed  affronts  on  each  other.  Buckingham's  character  was 
marked  by  levity  and  indiscretion,  as  well  as  by  ambition  and 
arrogance.  Being  descended  through  a  female  from  the  Duke 
of  Gloucester,  youngest  son  of  Edward  III.,  he  pretended 
that  he  had  a  right  to  the  Crown  if  the  King  should  die 
without  issue,  —  passing  over  the  claims  of  the  King's  sisters, 
the  dowagers  of  Scotland  and  France,  and  their  descendants. 
Wolsey  worked  upon  Henry's  hatred  of  all  collaterally 
connected  with  the  blood  royal,  which  he  showed  during  the 
whole  course  of  his  reign,  and  caused  Buckingham  to  be 
arrested  and  brought  to  trial  for  high  treason.  The  evidence 
against  him  consisted  almost  entirely  of  idle  and  vaunting 
language  held  with  servants  who,  if  they  spoke  true,  betrayed 
his  confidence,  —  and  of  certain  dealings  with  soothsayers, 
who  had  foretold  that  he  should  be  King.  The  apologists  of 
Wolsey  have  insisted  that  the  sentence  against  Buckingham 
was  just,  because  it  was  unanimously  pronounced  by  a  Court 
consisting  of  a  Duke,  a  Marquis,  seven  Earls,  and  twelve 
Barons, — forgetting  that  in  that  age,  and  for  long  after,  no 
one  charged  by  the  Crown  for  high  treason  was  ever  acquitted, 
and  that  trial  before  a  jury,  and  still  more  before  the  Lord 
High  Steward  and  a  selection  of  Peers,  was  an  emjity  form. 
Buckingham,  who  was  a  great  object  of  affection  with  the 
vulgar,  was  considered  a  victim  to  the  resentment  of  the 
Cardinal.  After  the  Duke  of  Norfolk,  with  hypocritical 
tears,  had  condemned  him  to  suffer  the  death  of  a  traitor,  he 
was  ordered  to  be  carried  by  water  from  Westminster  Hall 
to  the  Tower ;  but  owing  to  the  state  of  the  tide  at  London 
Bridge,  he  was  landed  at  the  Temple  Stairs,  and  conducted 
through  the  city.  On  this  occasion,  as  well  as  at  his  exe- 
cution, the  curses  were  loud  and  deep  upon  the  "venom- 
mouthed  cur  "  who  was  alleged  to  be  the  cause  of  his  death. 

H   H    2 


468  KEIGN   OF   HENRY   VIII. 

CHAP.  But  in  those  days  sliffht  account  was  made  of  the  heads  of 
men  *,  and  legal  murders  were  so  usual  that  they  were  not 
long  remembered  against  those  who  perpetrated  them.  The 
Cardinal's  power  was  rather  greater  than  before,  by  thus  inti- 
midating the  great  families  from  whom  so  much  disquietude 
had  formerly  been  experienced,  and  his  popularity  soon 
revived. 
Aims  at  The  excitement  of  a  new  object  of  ambition  extinguished 

dom,  **  ^^y  feeling  of  remorse  which  might  have  disturbed  his  own 
May,  1520,  bosom.  He  now  aimed  at  the  triple  crown.  The  Emperor 
Charles  V.,  when  visiting  England,  suggested  to  him  his 
fitness  to  be  the  successor  of  St.  Peter,  and  promised  him 
his  interest  on  a  vacancy,  —  with  the  less  scruple  as  Leo  X., 
the  reigning  Pope,  was  in  the  flower  of  his  age. 
June,  1520.  Francis  I.  tried  to  do  away  the  effects  of  this  Intrigue  by 
contriving  the  famous  interview  with  Henry  in  "  the  field  of 
the  cloth  of  gold," 

"  When  those  suns  of  glory,  those  two  lights  of  men, 
Met  in  the  vale  of  Ardres." 

But  Wolsey  was  invited  to  visit  Charles  at  Bruges,  and  went 
thither  in  the  character  of  ambassador  from  England.  Ca- 
vendish is  eloquent  in  describing  the  splendour  of  his  train 
and  the  sumptuousness  of  his  reception  :  — 

"  His  gentlemen  being  in  number  very  many,  clothed  in  heavy 
coats  of  crimson  velvet  of  the  most  purest  colour  that  might  be  in- 
vented, with  chains  of  gold  about  their  necks,  and  all  his  yeomen 
and  other  mean  officers  were  in  coats  of  fine  scarlet  guarded  with 
black  velvet  a  hand  broad.  Also  the  Emperor's  officers  every 
night  went  through  the  town  from  house  to  house,  where  as  any 
Englishmen  lay  or  resorted,  and  there  served  their  liveries  for  all 
night,  which  was  done  after  this  manner :  —  first,  the  Emperor's 
officers  brought  into  the  house  a  cast  of  fine  manchet  bread,  two 
great  silver  pots,  with  wine  and  a  pound  of  fine  sugar,  white  lights 
and  yellow ;  a  bowl  or  goblet  of  silver,  to  drink  in,  and  every 

•  I  may  mention,  as  an  instance  of  the  levity  with  which  cutting  off  heads 
was  talked  of, — the  manner  in  which  Henry  raised  the  supplies  when  there  was 
some  reluctance  to  grant  them.  He  sent  for  Mr.  Montague,  an  opposition 
leader  m  the  Commons,  and  said  to  him,  "  Ho,  man !  will  they  not  suffer  my 
bill  to  pass?"  and  laying  his  hand  on  the  head  of  Montague,  who  was  then  on 
his  knees  before  him,  •'  Get  my  bill  passed  by  to-morrow,  or  else  to-morrow  this 
head  of  yours  shall  be  off."  This  bill  was  passed,  or  some  trumped-up  charge 
of  treason  might  have  cost  him  his  life,  and  made  a  nine-days'  wonder. 


CARDINAL   WOL8ET,    CHANCELLOR.  469 

night  a  staff-torch.     Thus  the  Emperor  entertained  the  Cardinal     CHAP, 
and  all  his  train  for  the  time  of  his  embassy  there ;  and  that  done 
he  returned  home  again  into  England  with  great  triumph." 

Charles  on  this  occasion  again  encouraged  Wolsey  to  aspire  ad.  1522. 
to  the  tiara,  and  the  sincerity  of  his  promise  of  support  was  ^isap^^  ^* 
soon  unexpectedly  put  to  the  test  by  the  sudden  demise  of  pointed  of 
his  Holiness.     Wolsey  was  immediately  in   the  field  with  dom. 
high  hopes  of  success,  as  the  Imperial  party  was  decidedly 
the  strongest  in  the  conclave.    Charles  wrote  a  friendly  letter 
to  Wolsey,  inclosing  the  copy  of  one  he  had  written  to  his 
ambassador  at  Rome,  enjoining  him  to  urge  the  Cardinals  to 
elect  Wolsey  to  the  papal  chair.     There  were  twenty  votes 
for  Wolsey,  and  twenty -six  would  have  been  sufficient  to 
carry  the  election  in  his  favour ;  but  there  can  be  no  doubt 
that  he  was  trifled  with,  and,  to  save  appearances,  the  Conclave 
having  sat  an  unusual  length  of  time,  the  Emperor's  own 
tutor  was  raised  to  the  Popedom,  under  the  title  of  AdrianVI. 

Charles,  dreading  the  loss  of  the  English  alliance  from 
Wolsey's  disappointment,  immediately  after  made  him  another 
visit  in  this  country,  augmented  his  pension,  and  renewed  the 
promise  of  aiding  his  pretensions  on  the  next  vacancy,  an  event 
which,  from  Adrian's  age  and  infirmities,  could  not  be  far  dis- 
tant. Wolsey  suppressed  his  resentment,  adhered  to  the  Im- 
perial party,  and  devoted  himself  to  measures  for  strengthening 
his  interest  with  the  College  of  Cardinals  at  Rome. 

Adrian  died  in  about  a  year  and  a  half  after  his  elevation.  June,  1523. 
Wolsey  again  entered  the  lists  with  his  characteristic  zeal.  appoTnted' 
Henry,  at  his  request,  wrote  in  the  most  urgent  terms  to  the 
Emperor,  reminding  him  of  his  repeated  promises,  and  calling 
upon  him  now  to  fulfil  them,  as  he  valued  his  friendship ;  — 
and  the  English  ambassadors  and  agents  at  Rome  were  in- 
structed to  spare  among  the  members  of  the  conclave  neither 
bribes  nor  promises.*     But  Wolsey  was  again  deceived,  and 

*  Wolsey's  letter  on  this  occasion  to  Lord  Bath,  ambassador  at  Rome,  very 
undisguisediy  exhorts  him  to  exert  himself  to  the  utmost  among  the  Cardinals, 
"  not  sparing  any  reasonable  offers,  which  is  a  thing  that  amongst  so  many 
needy  persons  is  more  regarded  than  por-casu  the  qualities  of  the  person  ;  ye  be 
wise,  and  ye  wot  what  I  mean.  The  King  thinketh  that  all  the  Imperials  shall 
clearly  be  with  you,  if  faith  be  in  the  Emperor.  The  young  men,  which  for 
the  most  part  being  needy,  will  give  good  ears  to  fair  offers,  which  shall  be 
undoubtedly  performed.      The  King  willeth  you  neither  to  spare  his  authority 

H  u  3 


education. 


470  KEIGN  OF   HENRY    VIII. 

CHAP.  Cardinal  Giulio  de  Medici,  with  the  concurrence  of  the  iin- 
XXVIII.  pgj.jj^|  party,  was  elected  Pope,  under  the  title  of  Clement  VII. 
^  .  ,503.  He  secretly  resolved  to  be  revenged  of  the  perfidy  of 
Charles,  by  for  ever  forsaking  his  alliance ;  but,  meanwhile, 
he  concealed  his  disgust ;  and,  after  congratulating  the  new 
Pope  on  his  promotion,  applied  for  a  continuation  of  the 
legatine  powers  which  the  last  two  Popes  had  conferred  upon 
him.  Clement,  knowing  the  importance  of  gaining  his  friend- 
ship, granted  him  the  commission  for  life ;  and  Wolsey  was 
thus  reinvested  with  the  whole  Papal  authority  in  England. 
His  love  of  He  now  showed,  in  a  striking  manner,  that  devoted  love  of 
learning  and  ardour  for  good  education  which  distinguished 
him  through  life,  and  by  which  his  memory  has  been  redeemed 
from  the  failings  and  vices  he  exhibited.  Though  ashamed 
of  his  low  origin  if  girded  by  the  ancient  nobility,  —  he  looked 
back  with  satisfaction  on  that  part  of  his  career  when  he  was 
master  of  Magdalen  school  at  Oxford,  and  tutor  to  the  sons 
of  the  Marquess  of  Dorset ;  and  he  was  at  all  times  willing 
to  render  available  the  experience  he  then  acquired.  He 
superintended,  with  assiduous  care,  the  training  of  the  Earl 
of  Richmond,  his  godson  (natural  son .  of  the  King)  ;  and  in 
his  own  handwriting  drew  up,  with  the  utmost  minuteness,  a 
plan  for  the  household  and  for  the  tuition  of  the  boy  when 
entering  his  sixth  year. 

The  domestic  education  of  the  Princess  Mary  was  likewise 
under  the  care  of  the  Prime  Minister ;  and  in  the  height  of 
his  power  and  ambition,  after  deciding  a  great  cause  in  Chan- 
cery, or  dictating  a  treaty  which  was  to  change  the  face  of 
affairs  in  Europe,  he  stooped  to  determine  Avhether  or  not  the 
Princess  should  have  "spice  plates  and  a  ship  of  silver  for  the 
almes  dish; "  and  whether  «a  trumpet  and  rebeks  were  a  fitting 
toye  for  her  pastime  hours  at  the  solempne  fest  of  Christmas." 
He  framed  the  regulations  for  St.  Paul's  School,  founded  by 

or  his  good  mone  yor  substance,"—  Fidd.  Coll.  87.  The  letter  is  still  preserved 
m  which  Wolsey  informs  the  King  of  his  disappointment,  which  he  ascribes 
entirely  to  intimidation.  After  stating  the  threats  of  violence  held  out  to  the 
Lardii.als,  he  says,  "  Albeit  they  were  in  manner  principally  bent  upon  me,  vet 
lor  eschewing  the  said  danger  and  murmur,  by  inspiration  of  the  Holy  Goste, 
without  farther  difficulty,  the  xixth  day  of  the  last  month,  in  the  morning, 
elected  and  choose  Cardinal  de  Medicis,  who  immediately  was  published  Pope, 
and  hath  taken  the  name  of  Clement  VII."— Fidd.  Col   82 


CAEDINAL   WOLSEY,    CHANCELLOR.  471 

Dean  Collet;  and  he  caused  a  new  Latin  Grammar  to  be     CHAP. 

XXVIII 
composed,  to  which  he  himself  wrote  an  introduction.     He  ' 

revised  and  remodelled  the  statutes  of  his  own  and  several  other 
colleges  at  Oxford ;  and  he  likewise  introduced  very  salutary- 
reforms  at  Cambridge,  under  a  power  conferred  upon  him  by 
the  senate  of  that  University.  Having  suppressed  a  number 
of  smaller  monasteries,  instead  of  appropriating  their  revenues 
to  himself,  or  bestowing  them  on  some  rapacious  com*tier,  he 
employed  them  in  endowing  splendid  establishments,  which 
he  hoped  would  spread  the  blessings  of  knowledge,  with  his 
own  fame,  through  distant  generations. 

"  Ever  witness  for  him 


Those  twins  of  learning  that  he  rais'd  in  you, 
Ipswich  and  Oxford,  one  of  which  fell  with  him, 

The  other so  famous. 

So  excellent  in  art,  and  still  so  rising, 

That  Christendom  shall  ever  speak  his  virtue." 

After  an  interval  of  seven  years  a  parliament  was  called,   A  new 
as  the  irregular  modes  of  filling  the  Exchequer,  which  had   AprU™^"  * 
been  resorted  to,  had  proved  ineffectual.     On  the  fi^rst  day  of  1^23. 
the  session,  on  the  King's  right  side,  at  his  feet,  sat  the  Car^ 
dinal  of  York  ;  and  at  the  rail  behind  stood  Tunstal,  Bishop 
of  London,  who  made  an  eloquent  oration  to  the  parliament 
on  the  office  of  a  King.     Wolsey,  it  seems,  had  thought  it 
more  for  his  dignity  to  depute  the  task  of  delivering  the 
speech  to  another ;  but  he  took  the  lead  in  all  the  subsequent 
proceedings.* 

At  the  same  time  he  called  a  convocation  of  the  clergy,   Convoca- 
at  which,  by  virtue  of  his  legatine  power,  he  presided,  and  *'""* 
from  which  he  readily  obtained  the  required  grant  of  one 
half  their  revenues  spiritual,  to  be  paid  in  five  years. 

The  Commons,  however,  were  by  no  means  so  complaisant. 
From  them  was  demanded  a  subsidy  of  800,000/.,  which  they 
declared  to  be  more  than  the  whole  current  coin  of  the 
realm. 

Now  we  have  the  first  instance  of  a  complaint  of  the  pub-  Pubiica- 
llcation    of  debates  in    parliament.     This,    I  presume,   was  debat*es  in 
merely  by  verbal  narration ;  but  certain  smart  sayings  of  the   House  of 
opponents  of  the  grant,   and  certain  gibes  levelled  at  the 

*  1  Pari,  Hist.  484. 

H   H    4 


472  REIGN   OF   HENRY   VIII. 

CHAP.  Chancellor,  had  been  orenerally  circulated;  and  reaching  his 
■    ears,  had  given  him  high  displeasure.     He  made  formal  com- 

A.D.  1523.  plaint  to  the  Lords;  and  insisted,  that  for  any  member  to 
repeat  out  of  the  House  what  had  passed  in  the  House,  was 
a  breach  of  privilege  and  a  misdemeanour — "  whereas,  at  this 
parliament,  nothing  was  so  soon  done,  or  spoken  therein,  but 
that  it  Avas  immediately  blown  abroad  in  every  alehouse." 
Not  contented  with  this,  he  resolved  to  pay  a  visit  of  remon- 
strance to  the  Commons,  —  and  in  such  style  that  they  should 
be  completely  overawed  by  the  splendour  of  his  appearance. 
He  calculated,  likewise,  on  the  complaisance  of  the  Speaker, 
whom  he  had  been  instrumental  in  placing  in  the  chair ;  but 
the  Speaker  was  Sir  Thomas  More,  the  most  courageous  as 
well  as  the  mildest  man  then  in  England. 

Wolsey's  As  the  Chancellor  was  approaching  the  house  with  his  im- 

visit  to  the  .  ,   ,  1       ^         •  1  .1 

House  of  naense  retmue,  a  debate  arose  "  whether  it  was  better  with  a 
Commons,  fg^y  Qf  }jjg  Lords  (as  the  most  opinion  of  the  House  was),  or 
Sir  Thomas  ^^^^^  ''"^  whole  train,  royally  to  receive  him?"  "'Masters,' 
More,  the  quoth  Sir  Thomas  More,  '  forasmuch  as  my  Lord  Cardinal 
lately,  ye  wot  well,  laid  to  our  charge  the  lightness  of  our 
tongues  for  things  uttered  out  of  this  House,  it  shall  not  in 
my  mind  be  amiss  to  receive  him  with  all  his  pomp,  with  his 
maces,  his  pillars,  his  crosses,  his  poll -axes,  his  hat,  and 
Great  Seal  too,  to  the  intent  that  if  he  find  the  like  fault 
with  us  hereafter,  we  may  be  the  bolder  from  ourselves  to  lay 
the  blame  on  those  whom  his  Grace  bringeth  here  with  him.' 
Whereunto  the  House  wholly  agreeing,  he  was  received  ac- 
cordingly. When  after  he  had,  by  a  solemn  oration,  by  many 
reasons,  proved  how  necessary  it  was  the  demand  then  moved 
to  be  granted,  and  farther  showed  that  less  would  not  serve  to 
maintain  the  Prince's  purpose ;  he  seeing  the  company  sitting 
still  silent,  and  thereunto  nothing  answering,  and,  contrary  to 
his  expectation,  showing  in  themselves  towards  his  request 
no  to wardness  of  inclination,  said  to  them, —  ' Masters,  you 
have  many  wise  and  learned  men  amongst  you,  and  sith  I  am 
from  the  King's  own  person  sent  hitherto  unto  you,  to  the 
preservation  of  yourselves  and  of  all  the  realm,  I  think  it 
meet  you  give  me  some  reasonable  answer.'  Whereat  every 
man  holding  his  peace,  he  then  began  to  speak  to  one  Master 


CARDINAL   WOLSEY,   CHANCELLOR.  473 

Marney,  afterwards  Lord  Marney.  *  How  say  you,'  quoth  CHAP, 
lie,  '  Master  Marney  ? '  who  making  him  no  answer  neither, 
he  severally  asked  the  question  of  divers  others,  accounted  ^^  ^^  ^523. 
the  wisest  of  the  company,  to  whom,  when  none  of  them  all 
would  give  so  much  as  one  word,  being  agreed  before,  as 
custom  was,  to  give  answer  by  their  Speaker ;  — '  Masters,' 
quoth  the  Cardinal,  '  unless  it  be  the  manner  of  your  House, 
as  of  likelihood  it  is,  by  the  mouth  of  your  Speaker,  whom 
you  have  chosen  for  trusty  and  wise  (as  indeed  he  is),  in  such 
cases  to  utter  your  minds,  here  is,  without  doubt,  a  marvel- 
lously obstinate  silence ; '  and  thereupon  he  required  answer  of 
Mr.  Speaker,  who  first  reverently,  on  his  knees,  excusing  the 
silence  of  the  House,  abashed  at  the  presence  of  so  noble  a 
personage,  able  to  amaze  the  wisest  and  best  learned  in  a 
realm,  and  then  by  many  probable  arguments  proving  that 
for  them  to  make  answer  was  neither  expedient  nor  agreeable 
with  the  ancient  liberty  of  the  House ;  in  conclusion  for  him- 
self, showed,  that  though  they  had  all  with  their  voices 
trusted  him,  yet  except  every  one  of  them  could  put  into  his 
own  head  their  several  wits,  he  alone  in  so  weighty  a  matter 
was  unmeet  to  make  his  Grace  answer.  Whereupon  the 
Cardinal,  displeased  with  Sir  Thomas  More,  that  had  not  in 
this  parliament  in  all  things  satisfied  his  desire,  suddenly 
arose  and  departed."* 

The  conduct  of  More  on  this  occasion  is  supposed  to 
have  set  the  example  followed  by  Lenthall  on  the  visit  by 
Charles  I.  to  arrest  the  five  members  in  the  House,  and  to 
have  established  the  rule,  that  the  House  can  only  communi- 
cate with  others  by  the  mouth  of  the  Speaker,  who  can  only 
speak  and  act  by  order  of  the  House. 

On  the  Cardinal's  departure  a  debate  arose,  which  was 
adjourned,  and "  lasted  fifteen  or  sixteen  days.  The  result 
was,  that  a  subsidy  was  voted  of  half  the  amount  required, 
to  be  paid  by  instalments.  Wolsey  and  the  King  were  so 
angry,  that,  contrary  to  usage,  they  compelled  the  people  to 
pay  up  the  whole  subsidy  at  once ;  and,  resolving  henceforth 
to  rule  entirely   by   prerogative,    no   other   parliament  was 

•   1  Pari.  Hist.  487. 


474  REIGN  OF   HENRY   VIII. 

CHAP,     called  for  seven  years.     When  the  session  was  closed  Wolsey, 
XXVIII.    j^  j^g  gallery  at  York  Place,  said  to  More,   "I  wish  to 
jndigna.      God  you  had  been  at  Kome,  Mr.  More,  when  I  made  you 
tion  of         Speaker."     "  Your  Grace  not  offended,  so  would  I  too,  my 
"  ^^*       Lord,"  replied  Sir  Thomas,  "  for  then  should  I  have  seen  the 
place  I  long  have  desired  to  visit." 
A.D.  1525.         Two  years  after  Wolsey  made  a  deliberate  attempt  to  levy 
Wolsey        ^  general  tax  of  a  sixth  part  of  every  man's  substance  without 
levy  a  tax     the  authority  of  parliament.     This  demand  he  announced  in 
ruthoHtyof  P^^'son  to  the  Mayor  and  chief  citizens  of  London.     They 
parliament,   attempted  to  remonstrate,  but  were  warned  to  beware,  "  lest 
it  might  fortune  to  cost  some  their  heads."     The  rich  and 
poor  agreed  in  cursing  the  Cardinal  as  the  subverter  of  their 
laws  and  liberties ;  and  said,  "  if  men  shall  give  their  goods 
by  a  commission,  then  it  would  be  worse  than  the  taxes  of 
France,  and  England  would  be  bond,  and  not  free."    Happily 
the  commissioners  met  with  forcible   resistance   in   several 
counties ;  and  such  a  menacing  spirit  was  generally  displayed, 
that  the  proud  spirit  of  Wolsey  quailed  under  it,  and  he  was 
obliged  not  only  to  pardon  all  concerned  in  these  tumults, 
but,  on  some  frivolous  pretext,  to  recede  altogether  from  the 
illegal  exaction.     This  was  a  great  crisis  in  our  constitution ; 
for  if  Wolsey  could  have  procured  the  submission  of  the 
nation  to  the  yoke  he  attempted  to  impose,  there  would  have 
been  an  end  of  parliaments  for  all  ordinary  purposes,  although, 
like  the  States-General  of  France,  they  might  still  have  been 
convoked  to  ratify  certain  acts  of  state  originating  with  the 
executive  government.     But  the  courage  and  love  of  freedom 
natural  to  the  English   Commons,    speaking   in  the  hoarse 
voice  of  tumult,  and  resorting  to  the  last  right  of  insurrection, 
preserved  us  in  so  great  a  peril.  * 
A.n.  1527.         Various  attempts  were  made  to  open  the  eyes  of  the  King 
Gray's  Inn   ^^  the  miscouduct  of  the  minister, — and  even  the  stage  was 
WoIm"^^      resorted  to  for  this  purpose.     There  being  a  grand  enter- 
tainment given  to  the  King  and  his  Court  by  the  Society  of 
Gray's  Inn,  Serjeant  Roo,  a  great  lawyer  of  that  time,  more 
eager  to  show  his  wit  than  to  be  made  a  Judge,  composed  for 

»   Hall.  Const.  Hist.  29. 


CARDINAL   WOLSEY,    CHANCELLOE.  475 

the  occasion  a  masque,  which,  notwithstandlnoj  his  assevera-     CHAP. 

.  •         XXVIII 

tions  to  the  contrary,  must  have  been  intended  as  a  satire 

on  the  Lord  Chancellor.     Of  this  HoUinshead,  who  affects  j^j,  J527. 

to  believe  that  it  was  not  "  miching  mallecho,"  and  that  it  did 

not  "  mean  mischief,"  gives  us  the  following  account :  — 

"  The  effect  of  the  play  was,  that  '  Lord  Gouvernance'  was  ruled 
by  '  Dissipation'  and  '  Negligence,'  by  whose  misgouvernance  and 
evill  order  '  Lady  Public  Weale'  was  put  from  '  Gouvernance.' 
Which  caused  '  Rumor  Populi,'  '  Inward  Grudge,'  and  '  Disdaine 
of  Wanton  Sovereigntie,'  to  rise  with  great  multitude,  to  expell 
'Negligence'  85  'Dissipation,'  and  to  restore  'Publike  Welth' 
again  to  hir  estate,  —  which  was  so  doone.  This  plaie  was  so  set 
foorth  with  rich  and  costlie  apparell,  with  strange  devises  of 
maskes  and  morishes,  that  it  was  higlie  praised  of  all  men,  saving 
of  the  Cardinall,  which  imagined  that  the  plaie  had  been  devised 
of  him,  and  in  great  furie  sent  for  the  said  Maister  Roo,  and  tooke 
from  him  his  coife  and  sent  him  to  the  Fleet ;  and  after  he  sent  for 
the  yooung  gentlemen  that  plaied  in  the  plaie,  and  them  highly  re- 
buked and  threatened,  and  sent  one  of  them,  called  Thomas  Maile 
of  Kent,  to  the  Fleet,  but  by  means  of  friends  Maister  Roo  and  he 
were  delivered  at  last.  This  plaie  sore  displeased  the  Cardinall, 
and  yet  it  was  never  meant  to  him.  But  what  will  you  have  of  a 
guilty  conscience  but  to  suspect  all  things  to  be  said  of  him  (as  if 
all  the  worlde  knew  his  wickednesse)  according  to  the  old  verse, 

"  '  Conscius  ipse  sibi  de  se  putat  omnia  dici  ? '  "  * 

Wolsey,  now  hated  by  all  ranks,  began  to  lose  favour  even  Wolsey's 
with  the  Kino;,  and  tottered  to  his  fall ;  but  before  we  come  ^^^^^y  *" 

.        ,  .  r  ranee. 

to  the  cause  which  immediately  led  to  that  catastrophe,  we 
must  accompany  him  in  the  last  scene  of  his  greatness  — 
negotiating  a  treaty  of  alliance  with  France.  The  Emperor 
having  defeated  his  rival  Francis  at  Pavia,  and  after  the 
sack  of  Rome  having  made  the  Pope  his  prisoner,  had  be- 
come master  of  all  Italy,  and  aimed  at  universal  dominion. 
What  weighed  still  more  in  English  councils  than  a  regard  to 
the  balance  of  power,  was  the  consideration  that  with  his 
consent  there  was  no  chance  of  Wolsey  being  raised  to  the 
Popedom.  For  these  reasons  it  was  resolved  that  England 
should    put   herself  at  the  head  of  a   league  to  check  the 

*  Hollinsh.  iii.  711. 


476  REIGN  OF    HENRY   VIII. 

CHAP,     ambition  of  Charles,  and  Wolsey  was  sent  on  a  grand  embassy 
'  to  Paris,  accompanied  by  many  Bishops,  Lords,  and  Knights, 

June,  1527.  foT  the  purpose  of  establishing  it.  Cavendish  was  in  his 
suite,  and  has  left  us  a  very  amusing  account  of  his  ad- 
ventures :  — 

His  jour-         «  Then  marched  he  forward  out  of  his  own  house  at  "Westmin- 
°*^'  ster,  passing  through  all  London  over  London  Bridge,  having  be- 

fore him  of  gentlemen  a  great  number,  three  in  rank,  in  black  vel- 
vet livery  coats,  and  the  most  part  of  them  with  great  chains  of 
gold  about  their  necks.  And  all  his  yeomen,  with  noblemen's  and 
gentlemen's  servants  following  him  in  French  tawny  livery  coats  ; 
having  embroidered  upon  the  backs  and  breasts  of  the  said  coats 
the  letters  T.  C.  under  the  Cardinal's  hat.  His  sumpter  mules, 
which  were  twenty  in  number  and  more,  with  his  carts  and  other 
carriages  of  his  train,  were  passed  on  before,  conducted  and 
guarded  with  a  great  number  of  bows  and  spears.  He  rode  like  a 
Cardinal,  very  sumptuously,  on  a  mule  trapped  with  crimson  vel- 
vet upon  velvet,  and  his  stirrups  of  copper  and  gilt,  and  his  spare 
mule  following  him  with  like  apparel.  And  before  him  he  had  his 
two  great  crosses  of  silver,  two  great  pillars  of  silver,  the  Great 
Seal  of  England,  his  Cardinal's  hat,  and  a  gentleman  that  carried 
his  valaunce,  which  was  made  altogether  of  fine  scarlet  cloth  em- 
broidered over  and  over  with  cloth  of  gold  very  richly,  having  in 
it  a  cloak  of  fine  scarlet."  * 

He  by  no  means  travelled  so  rapidly  now  as  on  his  mission 
from  Henry  VII.  to  Maximilian.  He  passed  the  first  night 
at  a  gentleman's  house  near  Dartford,  the  second  in  the 
Bishop's  palace  at  Rochester,  the  third  in  the  abbey  at  Fever- 
sham,  and  the  fourth  in  the  priory  at  Canterbury.  Here  he 
stopped  some  days,  during  which  there  was  a  grand  jubilee — 
with  a  fair  in  honour  of  St.  Thomas.  A  solemn  office  was 
celebrated  in  the  cathedral  for  the  deliverance  of  the  Pope 
from  captivity,  during  which  it  is  said  that  Wolsey,  conscious 
of  the  instability  of  his  own  grandeur,  and  anticipating  his 
fall,  wept  tenderly. 
His  reccp-  Hcncc  Cavendish  was  sent  forward  with  letters  to  Calais, 
Cdal  ^"^  ^ftcr  two  days  the  Cardinal  arrived  in  the  haven,  "  where 
he  was  received  in  procession  by  all  the  most  worshipfullest 

*   Cavendish,  150. 


CARDINAL   WOLSEY,    CHANCELLOR.  477 

persons  of  the   town   in  most  solemn  wise.       And   in   the     CHAP. 

XXVIII 

Lantern  Gate  was  set   for   him   a   form    with    carpets  and    * 

cushions,  whereat  he  kneeled  and  made  his  prayers  before  his  ^^  j^g?. 
entry  any  further  in  the  town ;  and  there  he  was  censed  with 
two  great  censers  of  silver,  and  sprinkled  with  holy  water."  * 
After  an  account  of  his  receiving  the  Captain  of  Boulogne, 
with  a  number  of  gallant  Frenchmen  who  dined  with  him,  we 
have  a  long  speech  which  he  addressed  to  the  noblemen  and 
gentlemen  of  his  train,  instructing  them  respecting  the  royal 
honours  to  be  paid  to  himself,  and  how  they  were  to  conduct 
themselves  to  the  French  whom  they  were  to  visit.  "  For 
my  part  I  must,  by  virtue  of  my  commission  of  Lieutenant- 
ship,  assume  and  take  upon  me  in  all  honours  and  degrees,  to 
have  all  such  service  and  reverence  as  to  His  Highness's 
presence  is  meet  and  due,  and  nothing  thereof  to  be  neglected 
or  omitted  by  me  that  to  his  royal  estate  is  appui'tenant. 
Now  as  to  the  point  of  the  Frenchmen's  nature  ye  shall  un- 
derstand that  their  disposition  is  such,  that  they  will  be  at 
their  first  meeting  as  familiar  with  you  as  they  had  been  ac- 
quainted with  you  long  before,  and  commence  with  you  in 
the  French  tongue  as  though  you  understood  every  word 
they  spoke :  therefore,  in  like  manner,  be  ye  as  familiar  with 
them  again  as  they  be  with  you.  If  they  speak  to  you  in 
the  French  tongue,  speak  to  them  in  the  English  tongue ;  for 
if  you  understand  not  them,  they  shall  no  more  understand 
you."  Then,  addressing  a  Welshman,  "  Rice,"  quoth  he, 
"  speak  thine  Welsh  to  him,  and  I  am  well  assured  that  thy 
Welsh  shall  be  more  diffuse  to  him  than  his  French  shall  be 
to  thee."  He  concludes  with  good  advice  to  them  all,  to 
practise  gentleness  and  humanity  for  the  honour  of  their 
prince  and  country.f 

He  left  the  Great  Seal  at  Calais  with  Dr.  Taylor,  the  Meeting  of 
Master  of  the  Rolls,  until  his  return,  as  he  could  not  regu-  with^King 
larly  take  it  beyond  the  dominions  of  England,  although  he  ^"^  Court 
thought  himself  at  liberty  to  use  it  in  this  place.     We  have 
a  very  curious  description  of  his  departure  from  Calais  with 
a  train  above  three  quarters  of  a  mile  long,  and  of  his  march 

*   Cavendish,  152.  f  Ibid.  155. 


478 


REIGN   OF    HENRY    VIII. 


CHAP. 

xxviir. 

A.D.  1527. 


His  cou- 
TA-re  and 
skill  n^  a 
diplomatist. 


to  Boulogne,  Montreuil,  and  Abbeville,  where  there  were 
divers  pageants  for  joy  of  his  coming,  and  he  was  hailed  as 
"  Le  Cardinal  Pacifique."  In  his  journey  he  released  prison- 
ers, distributed  his  blessing,  and  proclaimed  Indulgences. 
The  French  Court  came  to  Amiens  to  receive  him.  "  In 
came  Madame  Regent,  the  King's  mother,  riding  in  a  very 
rich  chariot ;  and  In  the  same  with  her  was  her  daughter,  the 
Queen  of  Navarre,  furnished  with  a  hundred  ladles  and  gentle- 
women, or  more,  following,  riding  upon  white  palfreys,  over 
and  besides  divers  other  ladies  and  gentlewomen,  that  rode, 
some  In  rich  chariots,  and  some  in  horse  litters.  Then  follows 
the  King,  with  his  Bourgonyan  guard,  his  French  guard, 
and  *  the  third  guard  pour  le  corps,  which  was  of  tall  Scots, 
much  more  comeller  persons  than  all  the  rest.' "  *  Wolsey 
required  that  Francis  should  meet  him  as  a  sovereign,  on 
equal  terms ;  and,  both  alighting  at  the  same  time,  embraced 
in  the  midway,  between  their  respective  retinues.  Francis 
having  placed  Wolsey  on  his  right,  each  English  gentleman 
was  marshalled  with  a  Frenchman  of  equal  rank,  and  the 
procession  extending  nearly  two  miles  in  length,  proceeded  to 
Amiens.  After  a  few  days  stay  there,  the  conferences  were 
removed  to  Compiegne.f 

Much  artifice  and  chicanery  were  displayed  by  the  French 
negotiators,  although  they  were  exceedingly  desirous  to  con- 
ciliate England.  Wolsey  became  indignant ;  and  one  evening, 
while  Francis  himself  was  present,  he  lost  all  patience ;  and, 
starting  from  his  seat,  said  to  his  brother  Chancellor  of 
France,  "  Sir,  it  becomes  you  not  to  trifle  with  the  friendship 


•  Cavendish,  163. 

f  Cavendish  describes  very  minutely  the  banquets,  balls,  masses,  and  boar 
hunts  which  took  place ;  but  he  is  most  amusing  in  relating  his  own  visit  to 
the  Chastel  de  Crequi,  where  the  Countess  received  him  most  gently,  having  a 
train  of  twelve  gentlewomen.  "  And  when  she  with  her  train  came  all  out,  she 
said  to  me,  'Forasmuch;  quoth  she,  'as  ye  he  an  Englishman,  whose  custom  is  in 
your  country  to  kiss  all  ladies  and  gentlewomen  without  offence,  and  although  it  he 
not  so  here  in  this  realm,  yet  will  I  he  so  hold  to  kiss  you,  and  so  shall  all  my 
maidens.'  By  means  whereof  I  kissed  my  lady  and  all  her  women."  Erasmus 
celebrates  the  same  custom  as  then  prevalent  in  England.  "  Est  praterea  mos 
nunquam  satis  laudatus  ;  sive  quo  venias  omnium  osculis  exciperis  ;  sive  dis- 
cedas  ahquo  osculis  dimitteris;  redis?  redduntur  suavia  :  venitur  adte?  pro- 
pmantur  siiayia :  disceditur  abs  te?  dividuntur  basia :  occurritur  alicubi  ? 
basiatur  afTatim  :  denique  quocunque  te  moveas,  suaviorum  plena"  sunt  omnia." 
—  Lrasmi  Epist.  p.  315.  ed.  1G42. 


CARDINAL   WOLSEY,    CHANCELLOR.  479 

between  our  Sovereigns;  and  if  your  master  follows  your  CHAP. 

.                                                    .     .  XXVIII. 

practices,  he  shall  not  fail  shortly  to  feel  what  it  is  to  war    ' 


against  England."     Upon  that  he  left  the  room;  and  it  was  ^^  j,.  1527. 
only  at  the  earnest  entreaty  of  the  Queen-mother  that  he 
renewed  the  discussion.     By  this  bold  conduct  the  object  of  Treaty 

1  .  .     .  .    „  .,  TIT  11  concluded. 

nis  mission  was  soon  satisfactorily  accomphshed,  and  he  re- 
turned to  England. 

The  French  alliance  not  being  much  relished, — on  the  first  Relation  in 
day  of  next  term  he  called  an  assembly  in  the  Star  Chamber  j^^^  ^f  his  " 
of  noblemen,  judges,  and  justices  of  the  peace  of  every  shire,  embassy, 
and  there  made  them  a  long  oration ;  "  declaring  to  them  the 
cause  of  his  embassy  to  France,  and  assuring  them  that  he 
had  concluded  such  an  amity  and  friendship,  as  never  had 
been  heard  of  in  our  time  before.  All  which  things  shall  be 
perfected  at  the  coming  of  the  great  embassy  out  of  France. 
This  peace  thus  concluded,  there  shall  be  such  an  amity 
between  gentlemen  of  each  realm,  and  intercourse  of  mer- 
chants with  merchandise,  that  it  shall  seem  to  all  men  the 
territories  to  be  but  one  monarchy.  Gentlemen  may  travel 
from  one  country  to  another  for  their  recreation  and  pastime ; 
and  merchants  being  arrived  in  each  country,  shall  be  assured 
to  travel  about  their  aiFairs  in  peace  and  tranquillity,  so  that 
this  realm  shall  joy  and  prosper  for  ever." 

The  expected  embassy  sent  to  ratify  the  treaty  according  Arrival  of 
to  the  prevailing  forms  of  diplomacy  at  length  arrived,  "  in  ^^^^^ 
number  above  fourscore   persons,   of  the  most  noblest  and  October, 
worthiest  gentlemen  in  all  the  Court  of  France,  who  were 
right  honourably  received   from    place  to  place  after  their 
arrival,  and  so  conveyed  through  London  into  the  Bishop's 
palace   in  Paul's  Churchyard,  where   they  were   lodged."  * 
The  Lord  Mayor  and  City  of  London  suppHed  them  with 
"  wine,  lugar,  wax,  capons,  wild  fowl,  beefs,  muttons,  and 
other  necessaries,  in  great  abundance."     They  were  royally 
entertained  by  the  King  at  Greenwich,  where  they  invested 
him  with  the  insignia  of  the  Order  of  St.  Michael ;  and  he 
declared  Francis  a  Knight  of  the  Order  of  the  Garter.     A  Ratifica- 
solemn  mass  was  sung  at  St.  Paul's,  where  my  Lord  Cardinal  ^^°"  °*^ 

•^  •'  treaty  at 

St.  Paul's. 
*  Cavendish,  190. 


480 


REIGN    OF    HENRY   VIII. 


CHAP. 

xxviir. 

A.D.  1527. 


Splendid 
entertain- 
ment by 
Wolsey  to 
French  at 
Hampton 
Court. 


associated  with  twenty-four  mitres  of  Bishops  and  Abbots, 
attending  upon  him  by  virtue  of  his  legatine  authority  ;  "  and 
the  Grand  Master  of  France,  the  chief  Ambassador,  kneeled 
by  the  King's  Majesty,  between  whom  my  Lord  divided  the 
sacrament,  as  a  firm  oath  and  assurance  of  this  perpetual 
peace."  The  mass  being  finished,  the  Cardinal  read  the  treaty 
openly,  both  in  French  and  English,  before  the  King  and  the 
assembly,  both  French  and  English.  The  King  then  sub- 
scribed it  with  his  own  hand,  and  the  Grand  Master  for  the 
French  King.  Last  of  all,  it  was  sealed  with  seals  of  fine 
gold,  and  interchanged.  The  King  and  the  ambassadors  rode 
home  with  Wolsey  to  his  house  at  Westminster,  and  dined 
with  him. 

But  to  give  them  a  just  notion  of  the  magnificence  of 
England,  it  was  arranged  that,  before  their  departure,  he 
should  make  them  a  supper  at  Hampton  Court.  Two  hundred 
and  eighty  beds,  with  furniture  of  the  costliest  silks  and 
velvets,  with  as  many  ewers  and  basons  of  silver,  were  pre- 
pared for  the  guests.  The  halls  were  illuminated  with  innu- 
merable sconces  and  branches  of  plate.  7  he  most  celebrated 
cooks,  belonging  to  the  King  and  the  nobility,  joined  with  the 
Cardinal's  in  preparing  the  entertainment.  Supper  was  an- 
nounced by  the  sound  of  trumpets,  and  served  with  triumphal 
music.  But  the  master  was  not  yet  come.  He  had  been 
detained  in  the  Court  of  Chancery  hearing  a  long  cause,  and 
concluded  that  he  should  best  exalt  his  country  in  the  eyes  of 
foreigners,  by  showing  them  that  the  due  administration  of 
justice  was  with  him  the  highest  consideration. 

The  dessert,  consisting  of  a  representation  of  St.  Paul's 
Cathedral,  in  confectionery,  with  castles  and  tournaments, 
and  other  emblems  of  ecclesiastical  pomp  and  pageants  of 
chivalry,  was  on  the  tables,  when  he  suddenly  entered,  "  booted 
and  spurred."  Having  cordially  and  gracefully  welcomed  the 
guests,  he  called  for  a  golden  bowl,  filled  with  hypocras :  the 
French  ambassadors  were,  at  the  same  time,  served  with 
another,  and  they  reciprocally  drank  to  the  health  of  their 
respective  Sovereigns.  He  then  retired  to  dress;  and  re- 
turnmg  speedily  to  the  company,  exerted  those  convivial 
talents  which  had  first  contributed  to  his  attainment  of  this 


CARDINAL   WOLSEY,    CHANCELLOR.  481 

excessive  grandeur.     "  Then  went  cups  merrily  about,  that     chap. 

•  XXVITF 

many  of  the  Frenchmen  were  fain  to  be  led  to  their  beds. 
They  were  all  delighted  with  their  reception,  and  doubted  ^  j,  ^^27. 
which   most  to   admire,  —  the   mansion,   the   feast,  or  the 
master."  * 

Next  morning,  after  mass  and  an  early  dinner,  they  departed 
to  hunt  at  Windsor ;  and,  it  being  in  the  midst  of  the  term, 
Wolsey  returned  to  Westminster. 

^'  Thus  passed  the  Cardinal  his  life  and  time,  from  day  to  Woisey's 
day,  and  year  to  year,  in  such  great  wealth,  joy,  and  triumph  ^efore^his 
and  glory."     "  But,"  adds  the  gentleman  usher,   "  Fortune,  disgrace. 
of  whose  favour  no  man  is  longer  assured  than  she  is  dis- 
posed, began  to  wax  somewhat  wroth   with  his  prosperous 
state,  and  thought  she  would  devise  a  mean  to  abate  his  high 
port ;  wherefore,  she  procured  Venus,  the  insatiate  goddess, 
to  be  her  instrument,  and,  to  work  her  purpose,  she  brought 
the  King  in  love  with  a  gentlewoman,  who,   after  perceiving 
his  good  will  towards  her,  and  how  diligent  he  was  to  please 
her,  and  to  grant  all  her  requests,  wrought  the  Cardinal  much 
displeasure."  f 

"  When  love  could  teach  a  monarch  to  be  wise, 

And  Gospel-light  first  dawn'd  from  Boleyn's  eyes." 

Henry's  passion  for  Anne  Boleyn  certainly  produced  the   Origin  of 
fall  of  Wolsey.     But  there  is  a  general  mistake  as  to  the   ^^^'i^sy'^ 

.  .  ...  disgrace. 

part  which  he  took  in  this  affair,  it  being  supposed  by  many 
that  he  disapproved  of  the  King's  divorce  from  Catherine ; 
that  he  intrigued  for  the  purpose  of  delaying  and  preventing 
it ;  that  he  opposed,  to  the  last,  the  elevation  of  Anne  Boleyn  Anne 
to  the  throne,  because  she  was  favourable  to  the  Reformation  ;  ^"'^y"- 
and  that  he  fell  a  sacrifice  to  his  love  for  the  ancient  Church. 
In  truth,  it  will  be  found  that  he  favoured  the  divorce  ;  that 
he  promoted  it  as  far  as  the  forms  would  permit  which  he 
was  bound  to  observe ;  that  though,  for  a  time,  from  motives 
merely  political  and  personal,  he  opposed  the  King's  union 
with  Anne,  he  would  at  the  last  have  willingly  consented  to 
it ;  and  that  he  fell  because,  from  circumstances  over  which 
he  had  no  control,  he  was  unable  to  gratify  the  inclination  of 
his  master. 

*   Cavendish,  198.  f  I^'i'l-  l'^. 

VOL.  I.  II 


482  KEIGN  OF   HENRY  VIII. 

CHAP.         Before  Wolsey's  departure  on  his  embassy  to  France,  the 

XXVIII.    j^jjjg  jjj^jj  imparted  to  him  his  scruples  which  he  professed  to 

M«v  1527.  entertain  respecting  the  validity  of  his  marriage  with  Cathe- 

Wolsey  at    rine  —  scruples  which  had  been  greatly  quickened  by  the 

suades*"       progress  of  her  maid  of  honour  in  his  affections.    Wolsey  was 

King's         previously  acquainted  with  the  King's  new  passion,  and,  at 

with  Anne;  ^^is  request,  had  judicially  dissolved  the  pre-contract  between 

Anne  and  Lord  Percy ;  but  he  had  then  no  notion  of  her 

becoming  Queen,  and  expected  that  she  would  only  add  to 

the  list  of  his  mistresses,  in  which  the  name  of  her  sister 

afterwards    Mary  is  said  to  have  stood.     To  strengthen  the  French  alli- 

the  divorce,  ^^cc,  on  wliich  the  Cardinal  was  bent,  he  intended  that  Renee, 

sister  of  Louis  XII.,  should  be  the  Queen ;  and  a  divorce 

being  proposed  by  Henry,  he  immediately  offered  his  aid,  and 

promised  complete  success  to  the  project  from  his  influence  at 

Rome. 

On  Wolsey's  return  from  his  embassy,  "  the  cunning  chas- 
tity "  of  Anne  Boleyn  having  made  her  resist  the  royal  so- 
licitations in  the  hope  of  reaching  a  throne,  Henry  told  him 
he  did  not  want  a  French  princess,  for  that  Anne  Boleyn 
should  be  his  wife  as  soon  as  the  papal  dispensation  could  be 
obtained.  The  Cardinal  threw  himself  upon  his  knees  before 
the  King,  and  used  every  argument  to  dissuade  him  from  a 
step  which  he  represented  as  calculated  to  cover  him  with  dis- 
grace. But  religion  did  not  enter  into  the  consideration,  for 
although  Anne  had  been  represented  as  a  convert  to  the  new 
faith,  she  was  no  more  a  Lutheran  than  Henry  himself,  who, 
to  the  last,  adhered  to  all  the  doctrines  of  the  Church  of  Rome, 
with  the  exception  of  making  himself  Pope  in  England,  and 
who  continued  to  burn  and  behead  his  subjects  for  doubting 
the  dogma  of  transubstantiation. 

Henry  being  inexorable,  Wolsey  became  a  convert  to  the 
measure  which  he  could  not  avert,  and  laboured,  by  his  sub- 
sequent services,  to  atone  for  the  crime  of  having  dared  to 
dispute  the  pleasure  of  his  Sovereign.  The  particulars  of  the 
conference  being  disclosed  to  the  young  lady  and  her  family, 
they  became  implacable  enemies  of  Wolsey ;  and,  although 
they  dissembled  their  resentment,  and  at  times  treated  him 
with  apparent  courtesy,  they  always  suspected  that  he  was 


CARDINAL  WOLSEY,   CHANCELLOB.  483 

plotting  against  them,  and  they  secretly  vowed  his  destruc-     CHAP. 
tion.     In  truth,  however,  there  is  the  best  reason  to  believe, 
that  from  this  time  he  did  all  in  his  power  that  the  divorce 
might  be  obtained,  and  the  wished-for  union  completed. 

All  opinions  agreed  that,  as  Henry's  marriage  with  his   Obtains 
brother's  widow  had   been  celebrated  under  a  dispensation  conditional 

/  licence 

from  Pope  Julius  II.,  it  could  not  be  set  aside  without  the  from  the 
sanction  of  the  papal  see.  Clement  VII.  had  been  liberated  p^' 
from  captivity  by  Henry's  good  offices,  and  was  disposed  to 
oblige  him  as  far  as  he  prudently  could  from  a  remaining 
dread  of  the  Emperor  ;  but  Charles  strenuously  supported  the 
cause  of  Catherine  his  aunt,  and  his  Holiness,  to  use  his  own 
language,  was  "  between  the  hammer  and  the  forge."  Wolsey 
wrote  a  long  letter  to  him,  vindicating  the  character  of  Anne 
Boleyn,  and  asserting  that  the  suit  of  Henry  proceeded  from 
sincere  and  conscientious  scruples. 

Clement  so  far  complied  with  Wolsey's  application  as  to  a.d.  1528. 
grant  to  Henry  a  conditional  licence  to  marry  again,  nicely 
adapted  to  the  case  of  Anne  Boleyn  *,  upon  the  dissolution  of 
his  first  marriage ; — and  to  examine  the  validity  of  that  mar- 
riage, he  granted  a  joint  commission  to  Wolsey  and  Cardinal 
Campeggio,  an  Italian  ecclesiastic,  who  was  supposed  to  be  Campeggio. 
gained  over  by  being  appointed  Bishop  of  Salisbury,  but  who 
remained  an  instrument  of  chicanery  under  the  control  of  his 
Holiness. 

Although  the   commission  was  granted  in  the  month   of  Cardinal 
April,  1528,  Campeggio  did  not  reach  London  till  the  month  f^^K.J^gff'' 
of  October  following.     In  the  mean  time  there  had  been   England, 
great  alarm  in  England  from  the  sweating  sickness.      Anne 
Boleyn  was  sent  from  Court,  and  had  a  smart  attack  of  it ; 
the  King,  abandoning  for  the  time  his  "  secret  matter,"  joined 
the  Queen  in  her  devotional  exercises,  confessing   himself 
every  day,  and  receiving  the  communion  every  Sunday  and 
festival.     During  the  time  of  the  pestilence  he  sent  regu- 

*  " etiamsi    talis  sit  quae  prius  cum  alio  contraxerit,  dummodo  illud 

carnali  copula  non  fuerit  consummatum ;  etiamsi  ilia  tibi  alias  stcundo  aut 
remotiore  consanguinitatis  aut  primo  affinitatis  gradu  etiam  ex  quocunque  licito 
seu  illicito  coitu  proveniente  invicem  conjuncta  sit,  dummodo  relicta  fratris  tui 
non  fuerit."  The  dispensation  referred  to  Anne's  precontract  with  Lord  Percy, 
and  to  Henry's  liaison  with  Mary  Boleyn,  and  in  fact  assumed  the  power  denied 
to  Julius  II. 

112 


4g4  REIGN   OF   HENKY  VIII. 

CHAP,     latious  to  Wolsey  for  his  diet,  insisted  on  receiving  daily  an 
X^^"^'   account  of  his  health,  and  invited  him  to  lodge  in  a  house  at 

a  short  distance,  so  that  if  either  fell  ill  they  might  hear  from 

each  other  in  the  space  of  an  hour,  and  might  have  the  bene- 
fit of  the  same  medical  attendance.  The  Cardinal,  begin- 
ning to  "  order  himself  anent  God,"  made  his  will,— sent  it  to 
Henry,  —  and  assured  him,  "  as  truly  as  if  he  were  speaking 
his  last  words,  that  never  for  favour,  mede,  gyfte,  or  promysse, 
had  he  done  or  consented  to  any  thing  that  myght  in  the 
least  poynte  redownde  to  the  King's  dishonour  or  dis- 
prouffit." 

But  the  sickness  passed  away ;  Anne  Boleyn  returned  to 
Court  more  beautiful  and  enticing  than  ever,  and  Campeggio's 
proceedings  appeared  so  dilatory  that  Wolsey  was  suspected 
to  be  in  league  with  him  to  defeat  the  King's  wishes,  and  he 
daily  dechned  in  the  royal  favour.* 

Notwithstanding  all  the  efforts  of  Wolsey,  who  now  saw 
that  despatch  was  essential  for  his  own  safety,  months  were 
consumed  in  preliminary  forms  after  Campeggio's  arrival  in 
England. 
A.D.  1529.         In  the  beginning  of  the  following  year,  when  Wolsey  had 
Near  pros-    ]^qq^  ^^  ^aily  danger  of  disgrace,  he  was  very  near  reaching 
Wolsey  be-  the  grand  object  of  his  ambition,  the  triple  crown.     Cle- 
Fo^^'^^'^^    ment  VII.  had  a  dangerous  fit  of  illness,   and  for  some  time 
his  recovery  was  despaired  of.     Historians  are  agreed  that 
if  he  had  actually  died  at  this  juncture,  Wolsey,  in  all  pro- 
bability, would  have  been  his  successor.     Charles  had  made 
himself  odious  to  the  great  majority  of  the  college  of  Car- 

•  It  is  curious  that,  even  down  to  this  time,  Anne's  letters  to  the  Cardinal 
are  full  of  kindness  and  gratitude.  "  All  the  days  of  my  life  I  am  most  bound 
of  all  creatures,  next  to  the  King's  Grace,  to  love  and  serve  your  Grace,  of  the 
which  1  beseech  you  never  to  doubt  that  ever  I  shall  vary  from  this  thought  as 
long  as  any  breath  is  in  my  body.  And  as  for  the  coming  of  the  legate  I  desire 
that  much,  and,  if  it  be  God's  pleasure,  1  pray  him  to  send  this  matter  shortly 
to  a  good  end,  and  then  1  trust,  my  Lord,  to  recompense  part  of  your  great 
pains.  I  assure  you  that,  after  this  matter  is  brought  to  pass,  you  shall  find 
me,  as  I  am  bound  in  the  mean  time,  to  owe  you  my  service :  and  then  look 
what  thing  in  the  world  I  can  imagine  to  do  you  pleasure  in,  you  shall  find  me 
the  gladdest  woman  in  the  world  to  do  it,  and  next  unto  the  King's  Grace,  of 
one  thing  I  make  you  full  promise  to  be  assured  to  have  it,  and  that  is  my^ 
hearty  love,  unfeignedly,  during  my  life." — 1  Burnet,  55.  Fiddes,  204,  205. 
There  can  be  no  doubt  that  her  uncle,  the  Duke  of  Norfolk,  with  her  know- 
ledge, was  then  meditating  Wolsey's  overthrow. 


CARDINAL    WOLSEY,    CHANCELLOK. 


485 


dinals  by  his  imprisonment  of  the  Pope  ;  the  sack  of  Rome, 
and  the  licentious  conduct  of  the  Imperial  troops  in  Italy,  had 
rendered  his  cause  generally  unpopular;  his  arms  had  re- 
cently sustained  some  disasters ;  and  the  Kings  of  France 
and  England,  who  had  stood  by  the  supreme  Pontiff  in  all  his 
misfortunes,  were  in  general  favour.  Both  these  Sovereigns, 
to  serve  their  own  ends,  now  exerted  all  their  influence  to 
secure  the  election  of  Wolsey  in  case  of  a  vacancy,  and  they 
calculated  on  success. 

This  event  would  have  had  a  most  powerful  influence  on 
the  fate  of  the  Western  Church,  and  might  have  entirely 
changed  the  history  of  our  country.  Wolsey,  a  nmch  abler 
and  more  enlightened  man  than  Clement,  would  probably 
have  stopped  the  Reformation,  or  given  it  a  new  direction ; 
and  he  certainly  would  have  kept  England  true  to  the  Papal 
see  by  granting  Henry  his  divorce,  and  conferring  new 
honours  upon  him  as  Defender  of  the  Faith.  But  Clement 
arose,  as  it  were  by  miracle,  from  the  grave,  Wolsey  was  dis- 
graced, and  England  became  protestant.* 

It  was  not  till  the  month  of  May,  1529,  that  the  Legates 
opened  their  court  in  the  hall  of  the  Blackfriars'  Convent  in 
London,  where  the  parliament  in  those  days  usually  as- 
sembled. The  King  sat  at  the  upper  end  in  a  chair  of  state, 
on  an  elevated  platform.  The  Queen  was  seated  at  some 
distance  a  little  lower.  Wolsey  and  Campeggio  were  placed 
in  front  of  the  King,  three  steps  beneath  him,  the  one  on  his 

*  Wolsey  received  the  first  news  of  Clement's  illness  by  a  letter  from  Peter 
Vannes,  his  watchful  and  zealous  agent  at  Rome.  "  Dum  de  Pontificis  valetu- 
dine  bene  speraremus,  ecce  ex  secretissimo  certissimoque  loco  nobis  nunciatur 
illius  morbum  ita  ingravescere  ad  delirium  usque  et  vomitum,  ut  desperanda  sit 
illius  salus.  Scripsimus  ad  comitem  S'ti.  Pauli  ut  apud  C'tianissimum  efficiat, 
quod  Gallici  Cardinales  quam  primum  ad  confinia  advolent,  ut  creationi  novi 
Pontificis,  quam  vereor  plus  nimio  mature  instare,  queant  interesse,  nam  nisi 
factionis  nostra  creetur  Pontifex,  act»  sunt  Gallorum  actiones." — Fid.  Col. 
211.  Wolsey  thereupon  instantly  wrote  a  despatch  to  Gardyner,  the  King's 
minister  at  Rome,  in  which,  after  showing  that  he  himself  is  the  fittest  person 
to  be  Pope  for  the  good  of  Christendom,  "  absit  verbum  jactantia;,"  he  implores 
him  to  exert  his  utmost  efforts,  "  ut  ista  res  ad  eff'ectum  perduci  possit,  nullis 
parcendo  sumptibus,  pollicitationibus  sive  laboribus,  ita  ut  horum  videris  in- 
genia  et  affectiones  sive  ad  privata  sive  ad  publica  ita  accommodes  actiones 
tuas.  Non  deest  tibi  et  coUegis  tuis  amplissima  potestas,  nullis  terminis 
aut  conditionibus  limitata  sive  restricta,  et  quicquid  feceris  scito  omnia  apud 
hunc  regem  et  me  esse  grata  et  rata."  This  was  written  with  his  own  hand.  ''  Tuae 
salutis  et  amplitudinis  cupidissimus  T.  Car'lis  Ebor  propria  manu." — Fidd. 
Coll.  211. 

II  3 


CHAP. 
XXVIII. 

A.D.  1529. 


Hearing  of 
the  divorce 
suit  before 
Wolsey 
and  Cam- 
peggio. 


486  REIGN  OF   HENRY  VIII. 

CHAP,  right,  the  other  on  his  left ;  and  at  the  same  table  sat  the 
XXVIII.  j^j-chbishop  of  Canterbury,  and  all  the  Bishops.  At  the  bar 
^  ^  J  529.  appeared  as  counsel  for  the  King,  Dr.  Sampson,  afterwards 
Bishop  of  Chichester,  and  Dr.  Bell,  afterwards  Bishop  of  Wor- 
cester ;  —  for  the  Queen,  Dr.  Fisher,  Bishop  of  Kochester, 
who  was  afterwards  beheaded  on  Tower  Hill,  and  Dr. 
Standish,  a  grey  friar.  Bishop  of  St.  Asaph,  —  all  very  dis- 
tinguished civilians  and  canonists. 

The  Court  being  constituted,  and  the  Pope's  commission 
read,  the  apparitor,  by  Wolsey's  order,  called  the  parties.  To 
the  summons,  "  King  Henry  of  England,  come  into  Court," 
the  King  answered,  "  Here,  my  Lords."  The  Queen  pro- 
tested against  the  competency  of  her  judges,  as  holding  bene- 
fices in  the  realm  of  the  gift  of  her  adversary,  but  they 
overruled  her  plea.  She  then  knelt  before  the  King,  made 
a  pathetic  appeal  to  him  for  justice,  and  withdrew.  She  was 
pronounced  contumacious,  and  the  suit  proceeded ;  —  but  very 
slowly,  Wolsey  urging  despatch,  and  Campeggio  resorting 
to  every  artifice  for  delay. 
King's  an-  Henry's  impatience  and  suspicions  increasing,  he  one  day 
dela**  ^^^  ^*  *^®  rising  of  the  Court  ordered  the  Cardinal  to  attend  him 
at  the  palace  of  Bridewell  adjoining,  and  there  showered  on 
the  head  of  the  devoted  minister  the  most  vehement  abuse 
for  his  supposed  misconduct  in  not  bringing  the  proceeding 
to  a  speedy  close.  The  Bishop  of  Carlisle,  who  entered  the 
Chancellor's  barge  with  him  at  Blackfriars  to  escort  him  to 
York  Place,  seeing  him,  contrary  to  custom,  silent  and 
moody,  observed,  "  it  was  a  very  hot  day."  "  Yes,"  replied 
AV^olsey,  "  and  if  you  had  been  as  much  chafed  as  I  have 
been  within  this  hour,  you  would  indeed  say  it  was  very 
hot."  On  his  arrival  at  home  he  was  so  much  exhausted  and 
heart-broken,  that  he  went  "  incontinent  to  his  naked  bed ;  " 
but  he  was  soon  compelled,  by  a  royal  message  brought  by 
Anne  Boleyn's  father,  to  return  to  Bridewell,  and  to  try  to 
induce  the  Queen  voluntarily  to  retire  into  a  convent.  The 
interview  which  then  took  place  between  them  shows  strik- 
ingly the  spirit  as  well  as  the  dignity  of  Catherine.  He 
wished  to  confer  with  her  in  private.  "  My  Lord,"  quoth  she, 
"  if  you  have  any  thing  to  say,  speak  it  openly  before  all 


CARDINAL   WOLSEY,    CHANCELLOE.  487 

these  folks."     He  then   beffan   to   speak   to  her   In  Latin,     CHAP. 

v  Y  VTTT 

"  Nay,  good,  my  Lord,"  quoth  she,  "  although  I  understand 
Latin,  speak  to  me  in  English,  I  beseech  you."  She  listened  ^  ^  ^^^g. 
to  him,  but  rejected  his  proposal ;  and  he  had  the  additional 
mortification  this  unlucky  day  to  relate  to  the  King  the 
hopelessness  of  any  voluntary  separation  from  Catherine,  who 
ever  pleaded  her  love  for  her  daughter  Mary,  the  heir  pre- 
sumptive to  the  Crown. 

At  last  the  proofs  in  the  suit  were  completed,  and  at  a  Divorce 
meeting  of  the  Court  held  on  the  23d  of  July,  the  King  at-  before  the 
tending  in  a  neighbouring  room,  from  which  he  could  see  and  Pope, 
hear  the  proceedings,  his  counsel  in  lofty  terms  required  that 
sentence  should  be  pronounced.  But  Campeggio  replied  that 
judgment  must  be  deferred  till  the  whole  of  the  proceedings 
had  been  laid  before  the  sovereign  Pontiff;  that  he  attended 
there  to  do  justice,  and  that  no  consideration  should  divert  him 
from  his  duty.  Thereupon  the  Duke  of  Suffolk,  coming  from 
the  King  and  by  his  commandment,  in  a  loud  and  angry  tone, 
spoke  these  words :  "It  was  never  merry  in  England  whilst 
we  had  Cardinals  among  us."  Although  Wolsey  privately 
regretted  the  delay,  his  spirit  would  not  brook  this  insult  to 
his  order.  Rising  with  apparent  coolness,  he  said,  "  Sir,  of 
all  men  living,  you  have  least  reason  to  dispraise  Cardinals ; 
for  if  I  a  poor  Cardinal  had  not  been,  you  would  not  at  this 
present  have  had  a  head  upon  your  shoulders  wherewith  to 
make  such  a  brag  in  disrepute  of  us  who  have  meant  you  no 
harm,  and  have  given  you  no  cause  of  offence."  * 

The  King  now  made  a  progress  in  the  midland  counties  The  King 
with  Anne,  who  was  using  all  her  arts,  under  the  guidance  ^'^'^^^  ^  . 

'  o  >  b  progress  in 

of  her  uncle,  her  father,  and  other  courtiers,  to  bring  about  thecountry. 
Wolsey's  disgrace.     There  was   much  apprehension   of  his 
influence  over  the  King  if  they  should  meet,  and  the  policy 
adopted  was  to  keep  them  apart  as  much  as  possible. 

The  Court  was  fixed  for  some  weeks  at  Grafton  in  North-  The  Court 
amptonshire.      Wolsey  stationed  himself  at   the    Moore,   a 
country  house  a  few  miles  distant ;  but  he  was  never  invited 


at  Grafton. 


*  I  presume  he  referred  to  the  Duke's  marriage  with  the  King's  sister, 
which,  without  the  Cardinal's  good  offices,  might  have  been  suddenly  dissolved 
by  the  decapitation  of  the  bridegroom. 

I  I  4 


488 


EEIGN   OF   HENRY   VIII. 


CHAP. 
XXVIII. 

A.D.  1529. 


Wolsey 
neglected. 


His  last 
interview 
with 
Henry. 


to  Court.  On  matters  of  state  his  opinion  was  seldom 
asked,  and  then  only  by  a  special  messenger.  His  ruin  was 
seen  to  be  at  hand ;  wagers  were  laid  that  the  King  would 
never  again  speak  to  him,  and  his  opponents  openly  threat- 
ened "  to  humble  the  pride  of  all  churchmen,  and  to  ease 
them  of  that  load  of  wealth  which  encumbered  the  successors 
of  the  apostles."  * 

Wolsey  rested  his  hopes  on  the  result  of  a  personal  interview 
with  the  King,  and,  after  many  disappointments,  he  at  last 
obtained  permission  to  accompany  Campeggio,  when  that 
prelate  was  to  take  leave  on  setting  off  for  Rome.  The  Italian 
was  received  by  the  officers  of  the  Court  with  the  attention 
due  to  his  rank ;  the  falling  minister  found,  to  his  extreme 
mortification,  that  though  an  apartment  had  been  ordered  for 
his  companion,  none  was  provided  for  himself.  He  was,  in 
some  degree,  relieved  from  his  embarrassment  by  the  delicate 
attention  of  Sir  Henry  Norris,  a  young  knight  (afterwards 
executed  as  one  of  the  lovers  of  Anne  Boleyn),  who  begged 
him  to  accept  of  his  chamber,  —  affecting  to  ascribe  the  pre- 
meditated affront  put  upon  Wolsey  to  the  limited  arrange- 
ment of  the  King's  present  residence.  The  Chancellor  was, 
however,  admitted  into  the  presence  hall,  and  the  sun  of  his 
fortune  cast  a  parting  ray  upon  him  before  it  set  for  ever. 

"  Having  knelt  before  the  King  standing  under  the  cloth 
of  state,  then  he  took  my  Lord  up  by  both  arms  and  caused 
him  to  stand  up,  and  with  as  amiable  a  cheer  as  ever  he  did 
called  him  aside,  and  led  him  by  the  hand  to  a  great  window, 
where  he  talked  with  him,  and  caused  him  to  be  covered. 
Then  to  behold  the  countenance  of  those  that  had  made  their 
wagers  to  the  contrary  it  would  have  made  you  smile ;  and 
thus  were  they  all  deceived."  After  some  conversation  the 
King  said  to  him,  "  My  Lord,  go  to  your  dinner,  and  all  my 
Lords  here  will  keep  you  company."  f 

•  "Lafantaisie  de  ces  seigneurs  est  que,  luy  mort  ou  mine,  ils  deferrent 
incontinent  icy  I'estat  de  I'eglise  et  prendront  tous  leur  biens.  lis  le  orient  en 
p^eine  tabic.  '—  Letter  of  M.  de  BeUay,  Bishop  of  Bayonne.  Singer's  edition  of 
Cavendish,  vol.  u.  275.  i^   j        y  & 

t  Cavendisl>,  who  was  an  eye-witness  of  this  scene,  adds,  that  in  a  long 
and  earnest  communication  between  them,  he  heard  the  King  say,  "How  can 
TK  •  ■  .  .r*  l^'^  y""*^  *"^°  hand?"  but  that  Wolsey  satisfied  the  King, 
inis  is  probably  the  foundation  for  the  second  scene  of  the  third  act  of  Shak- 


CARDINAL    WOLSEY,    CHANCELLOR.  489 

"The  King  dined  that  same  day  with  Mrs.  Anne  Bo-     chap. 
leyn  in  her  chamber,  who  kept  there  an  estate  more  like  a 
Queen  than   a  simple  maid."     The  alarmed  courtiers  now  ^  ^  ^539. 
strove  through  her  to  break  oiF  all  further  intercourse  between  Dialogue 
Henry  and  their  victim.     Prompted  by  them  she  said  during  Henry  and 
dinner :  —  "Is  it  not  a  marvellous  thing  to  consider  what  debt  ^""^  *■«- 
and  danger  the  Cardinal  hath  brought  you  in  with  all  your  Wolsey. 
subjects  ? "     "  How  so,  sweetheart  ? "  quoth  the  King.     She 
mentioned  the  illegal  taxation,  which  the  King  attempted  to 
justify.     "  IS  ay.   Sir,"   quoth    she,   "  besides  all  that,    what 
things   hath   he   wrought   within  this  realm  to   your  great 
slander  and  dishonour  ?     There  is  never  a  nobleman  within 
this  realm  that  if  he  had  done  but  half  as  much  but  he  were 
well  worthy  to  lose  his  head."      "  Why  I  then  perceive," 
quoth  the  King,  "  ye  are  not  the  Cardinal's  friend."     "  For- 
sooth, Sir,"  then  quoth  she,  "  I  have  no  cause,  nor  any  other 
that  loveth  your  Grace,  no  more  hath  your  Grace  if  ye  con- 
sider well  his  doings."*     He  had  received  the  promise  of 
another  audience  next  day,  but  that  same  night  a  solemn  en- 
gagement was  extorted  from  the  King  by  Anne  that  he  never 
again  would  admit  the  Cardinal  Into  his  presence. f 

Wolsey  had  a  lodging  provided  for  him  that  night  by  his 
own  servants  at  Euston.  When  he  returned  in  the  morning 
he  found  that  the  King  had  rode  out  with  the  Lady  Anne  to 
hunt  in  Hartwell  Park,  where  she  had  made  provision  for  the 
King's  dinner,  lest  he  should  return  before  the  Cardinal  was 
gone.     They  never  met  more. 

When  the  Chancellor  found  that  he  was  finally  cast  off  by 
his  master,  who  was  now  under  the  entire  management  of 
other  favourites,  and  that  he  must  soon  bid  adieu  to  all  his 
greatness,  —  for  a  time  he  lost  all  fortitude  ;  —  "he  wept  like 
a  woman  and  wailed  like  a  child."     On  his  return  to  London,   Wolsey 

returns  to 

speare's  Henry  VIII.,  turning  upon  a  paper  disclosing  secrets,  which  the  Car-    -'-'°"'^*^"" 
dinal  is  supposed  by  mistake  to  have  sent  to  the  King. 

*  Cavendish  relates  thirs  curious  dialogue  from  the  report  made  to  him  at  the 
time  by  those  who  waited  on  the  King  at  dinner. 

f  This  fact  is  not  mentioned  by  Cavendish,  but  is  proved  by  a  letter  from 
the  P'rench  ambassador,  who  was  then  at  Grafton.  "  Mademoiselle  de  Bouleu 
a  faict  promettre  a  son  amy  q'ii  ne  I'escoutera  jamais  parler.". —  Letters  of 
Bishop  of  Bayonne,  375, 


490 


REIGN   OP   HENRY  VIII. 


CHAP 

XXVIII. 


A.n.  1529. 
His  last 
appearance 
in  the 
Court  of 
Chancery. 


Refuses  to 
deliver  up 
Great  Seal 
without 
proper 
warrant 
from  King. 


Deprived 
of  his  office 
and  all  his 
))ossessions, 
Oct.  17. 
1529. 


liowcver,  his  spirits  rallied,  and  he  resolved  with  decency  to 
meet  the  impending  blow. 

On  the  first  day  of  Michaelmas  term,  which  then  began  in 
the  middle  of  October,  he  headed  the  usual  grand  procession 
to  "Westminster  Hall,  riding  on  his  mule,  —  attended  by  his 
crosses,  his  pillars,  and  his  poll-axes,  and  an  immense  retinue 
to  defend  the  Great  Seal  and  the  Cardinal's  hat.  It  was 
remarked  that  in  the  procession,  and  while  sitting  in  the 
Court  of  Chancery,  his  manner  was  dignified  and  collected, 
although  he,  and  all  who  beheld  him,  knew  that  he  had 
touched  the  highest  point  of  all  his  greatness,  and  from  the 
full  meridian  of  his  glory  he  hastened  to  his  setting.  This 
was  his  last  appearance  in  public  as  Chancellor. 

That  same  evening  he  received  a  private  intimation  that 
the  King  had  openly  announced  his  immediate  disgrace.  The 
next  day  he  remained  at  home,  hourly  expecting  the  mes- 
senger of  fate,  but  it  passed  on  without  any  occurrence  to 
terminate  his  suspense.  The  following  day,  however,  came 
the  Dukes  of  Norfolk  and  Suffolk  from  the  King,  "  declaring 
to  him  how  the  King's  pleasure  was  that  he  should  surrender 
and  deliver  up  the  Great  Seal  into  their  hands."  He  de- 
manded of  them  "what  commission  they  had  to  give  him 
any  such  commandment?"  They  answered,  "they  were  the 
King's  commissioners  in  that  behalf,  having  orders  by  his 
mouth  so  to  do."  He  denied  that  this  was  suflScient  without 
further  manifestation  of  the  King's  pleasure,  and  high  words 
passed  between  them. 

The  Dukes  were  obliged  to  take  their  departure  without 
accomplishing  their  object.  But  the  next  morning  they 
brought  from  Windsor  letters  from  the  King,  under  the 
Privy  Seal,  demanding  the  surrender  of  the  Great  Seal; 
whereupon,  expressing  great  reverence  for  the  King's  autho- 
rity so  exercised,  he  dehvered  it  up  to  them  inclosed  in  a 
box,  of  which  he  gave  them  the  key.  They  at  the  same  time 
signified  to  him  his  Majesty's  pleasure  that  he  should  sur- 
render up  York  Place  and  all  his  possessions,  and  retire  to 
his  country-house  at  Esher.* 


Cavendish,  247. 


CAEDINAL  WOLSET.  491 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

LIFE   OF   CARDINAL   WOLSET  FROM   HIS   FALL   TILL   HIS   DEATH. 

The  utter  destruction  of  Wolsey  had  been  determined  upon  CHAP, 

immediately  after  his  departure   from  Grafton;    and,    some  '_ 


days  before  the  Great  Seal  was  taken  from  him,  Hales,  the  oct.  1529. 
Attorney-General,  had  filed  an  information  against  him,  P^emumre 
charging  him  with  having,  as  legate,  transgressed  the  act  of  tions  filed 
Richard  II.,  commonly  called  "  the  statute  of  praemunire,"  in  ^^1"^* 
receiving  bulls  from  Rome,  and  acting  upon  them,  without 
the  King's  consent,  whereby  he  was  out  of  the  King's  protec- 
tion, his  lands  and  goods  were  forfeited,  and  he  might  be 
imprisoned  at  the  King's  pleasure.  Nothing  could  be  more 
iniquitous  than  this  proceeding,  for  Henry  himself  had 
joined  in  soliciting  the  legatine  grant  to  him,  and  rejoiced 
in  the  greatness  which  the  exercise  of  it  conferred  upon  him. 
But  Wolsey  knew  the  stern  and  irritable  temper  of  his  pro- 
secutor. To  have  maintained  his  innocence  would  have  ex- 
cluded all  hope  of  forgiveness;  and  there  was,  moreover, 
"  a  night  crow,"  to  use  his  own  expression,  "  which  pos- 
sessed the  royal  ear,  and  misrepresented  the  most  harmless  of 
his  actions."  He  therefore  pleaded  guilty  to  the  informa-  Pleads 
tion,  and  threw  himself  upon  the  royal  clemency.  He  caused 
inventories  to  be  made  of  his  plate,  furniture,  and  valuables, 
showing  the  immense  riches  which  he  had  accumulated. 
These  he  formally  made  over  to  the  King,  with  York  Place, — 
which  thenceforth,  under  the  name  of  Whitehall,  became  the 
chief  town  residence  of  the  Kings  of  England,  and  so  con- 
tinued till  it  was  burnt  down,  in  the  reign  of  William  and 
Mary.  Some  time  before  he  had  voluntarily  made  a  gift  of 
Hampton  Court  to  the  King,  in  the  vain  hope  of  recovcrino- 
his  favour. 

When  he  entered  his  barge  to  proceed  to  Esher,  he  found  Proceeds  to 

Esher, 


492 


REIGN   OF    HENRY   VIII. 


CHAP. 
XXIX. 


A.o.  1529. 


At  Putney, 
met  by  a 

messenger 
from  the 
King. 


Lord 

Chancel- 
lor's "fool." 


the  river  Thames  covered  with  above  a  thousand  boats,  full 
of  men  and  women  of  the  city  of  London,  who  expected  to 
witness  the  spectacle  of  his  being  carried  to  the  Tower,  and 
there  landing  at  the  Traitor's  Gate.  It  is  confessed  that  he 
was  now  greatly  hated  by  people  of  all  degrees,  and  that 
there  was  a  general  disappointment  when  the  head  of  his 
barffe  was  turned  towards  Lambeth,  and  when  he  was  seen 
rowed  up  the  river  to  Putney. 

Here  he  landed  and  mounted  his  mule,  —  when  a  horseman 
was  seen  descending  the  hill,  who  turned  out  to  be  Sir  Harry 
Norris,  with  a  message  to  him  from  the  King,  "  willing  him 
in  any  wise  to  be  of  good  cheer,  for  he  was  as  much  in  his 
Highness's  favour  as  ever  he  had  been,  and  so  should  con- 
tinue to  be."  And,  in  token  of  the  King's  kindness,  he  de- 
livered him  a  ring  of  gold  with  a  rich  stone,  being  the  privy 
token  between  the  King  and  him  when  any  important  secret 
communication  took  place  between  them.  Wolsey  was  so 
transported  with  joy  at  this  gleam  of  returning  good  fortune, 
that  he  instantly  dismounted,  knelt  in  the  mud,  and  returned 
thanks  to  God  his  Maker,  and  to  the  King  his  sovereign  Lord 
and  Master,  who  had  sent  him  such  comfort.  He  added, 
"  Gentle  Norris,  if  I  were  lord  of  a  realm,  the  one  half 
thereof  were  an  insufficient  recompence  for  your  pains  and 
good  comfortable  news.  But,  good,  good  Master  Norris, 
consider  with  me  that  I  have  nothing  left  me  but  my 
clothes  on  my  back.  Therefore  I  desire  you  to  take  this 
small  reward  at  my  hands."  He  then  gave  him  a  gold  chain, 
with  a  cross  of  gold  enclosing  a  piece  of  the  veritable  wood  of 
the  true  cross,  which  he  continually  wore  round  his  neck, 
next  his  skin. 

When  Norris  was  gone  a  little  Avay  he  called  him  back, 
saying,  "  I  am  sorry  that  I  have  no  condign  token  to  send  to 
the  King  ;  but  if  you  would  present  the  King  with  this  poor 
fool,  I  trust  his  Highness  would  accept  him  well ;  for  surely, 
for  a  nobleman's  pleasure,  he  is  worth  a  thousand  pounds." 
This  fool,  whose  name  was  "  Patch;'  was  so  much  attached 
to  his  master,  that  it  required  six  tall  yeomen  to  force  him  to 
accompany  Norris  to  Windsor,  although  he  knew  that  he 
was  to  be  transferred  from  disgrace  and  want  to  royalty  and 


CARDINAL   WOLSEY. 


493 


splendour.  It  Is  a  pleasure  to  be  told  that  the  King  received 
him  most  gladly.* 

Wolsey,  on  his  arrival  at  Esher,  found  the  house  without 
beds,  sheets,  tablecloths,  cups,  or  dishes,  —  which  he  was 
obliged  to  borrow  in  the  neighbourhood;  but  here  he  re- 
mained, with  a  numerous  train  of  attendants,  till  the  com- 
mencement of  the  following  year. 

A  letter  from  Erasmus,  written  at  this  time  to  a  cor- 
respondent on  the  Continent,  though  chargeable  with  some 
inaccuracies,  gives  a  lively  representation  of  the  fallen  fa- 
vourite. "  The  Cardinal  of  York  has  incurred  the  royal 
displeasure  to  such  a  degree,  that,  stript  of  all  his  dignities, 
and  all  his  wealth,  he  is  confined,  not  literally  in  a  prison, 
but  in  one  of  his  country  houses,  attended,  or  rather  guarded, 
by  about  thirty  servants.  Innumerable  charges  are  brought 
forward  against  him,  so  that  it  is  thought  he  can  hardly 
escape  capital  punishment.  Behold  the  sport  of  fortune. 
From  being  a  schoolmaster,  he  is  made  ruler  of  a  kingdom ; 
for  he,  in  truth,  reigned  more  than  the  King  himself:  feared 
by  all,  loved  by  few  —  I  might  say,  by  no  human  being."  f 

The  King  continued,  from  time  to  time,  to  send  him  con- 
soling messages  and  tokens  of  affection,  though  generally  by 
stealth,  and  during  the  night:}: ;  but,  at  the  urgent  request  of 


CHAP. 
XXIX. 

A.D.    1529. 

Wolsey's 
residence 
at  Esher. 


Letter  from 
Erasmus. 


Returning 
kindness  of 
the  King. 


*  A  fool  was  so  necessary  to  the  establishment  of  a  Lord  Chancellor,  that  we 
shall  find  one  in  the  household  of  Sir  Thomas  More.  It  is  very  doubtful 
when  Chancellors  ceased  to  have  about  them  any  such  character. 

■f  "  Cardinalis  Eboracensis  sic  ofFendit  animum  regium,  ut  spoliatus  bonis 
et  omni  dignitate,  teneatur,  non  in  carcere,  sed  in  quodam  ipsius  pra;dio  ;  adhi- 
bitis  triginta  duntaxat  seu  famulis  seu  custodibus.  Proferuntur  in  ilium  que- 
rela; innumera?,  ut  vix  existiment  effugere  posse  capitis  supplicium.  Hie  est 
fortunae  ludus ;  ex  ludi  magistro  subveetus  est  ad  regnum ;  nam  plane  regnabat 
verius  quam  ipse  rex,  metuabatur  ab  omnibus,  amabatur  a  paucis,  ne  dicam  a 
nemine."  —  Ep.  1151.  Erasmus  thought  himself  ill-used  by  Wolsey,  who  in 
return  for  a  flattering  dedication  of  the  Paraphrase  on  the  Epistles  of  St.  Peter, 
and  in  performance  of  magnificent  promises,  had  only  given  him  a  prebend  at 
Tournay,  which  produced  nothing.  On  another  occasion  the  disappointed  wit 
writes,  "  Cardinalis  perbenigne  pollicetur ;  verum  base  jetas  non  moratur  lentas 
spes."  —  Ep.  352. 

J   Cavendish  gives  a  curious  account  of  one  of  these  nocturnal  missions,  —  Sir    Nocturnal 
John  Russell,  the  chief  founder  of  an  illustrious  house,  being  the  messenger,    visit  to 
He  was  sent  off  from  the  Court  at  Greenwich  after  dark,  with  orders  to  be  back    Wolsey 
before  day.      It  was  a  dreadfully  rainy  and  tempestuous  night,  and  the  Cardinal    from  Sir 
and   his  household   were   all   in   bed  before  he  arrived  at   Esher.      After  loud    John  Rus- 
knocking  at  the  gate,  he  was  admitted,  and  saying  he  came  from  the  King,    sell, 
was  conducted  to  the  bedchamber  of  the  Cardinal,  who  had  risen  and  put  on 
his  night  gown.     "  When  Master  Russell  was  come  into  his  presence,  he  most 


494 


REIGN  OF  HENET  VIII. 


CHAP. 
XXIX. 

A.D.  1529. 


A  parlia- 
ment. 


his  enemies,  who  were  under  a  perpetual  apprehension  that 
lie  might  be  again  taken  into  favour,  and  avenge  himself 
upon  them,  permission  was  given  to  institute  a  proceeding 
against  him  in  the  Star  Chamber,  —  and  this  being  attended 
with  some  difficulty,  —  to  prosecute  him  by  parliamentary 
impeachment,  or  by  a  bill  of  pains  and  penalties. 

Parliament,  after  a  long  interval,  met  in  November  in  this 
year ;  and  a  Committee  of  the  Lords,  over  which  More,  the 


humbly  reverenced  him  upon  his  knee,  and  delivering  him  a  great  ring  of  gold 
with  a  turkis  for  a  token,  said,  '  Sir,  the  King  commendeth  him  unto  you,  and 
willeth  you  to  be  of  good  cheer  ;  who  loveth  you  as  well  as  ever  he  did,  and  is 
not  a  little  disquieted  for  your  troubles,  whose  mind  is  full  of  your  remem- 
brance, insomuch  as  his  Grace,  before  he  sat  to  supper,  called  me  unto  him  and 
commanded  me  to  take  this  journey  secretly  to  visit  you,  to  your  comfort  the 
best  of  my  power.  And  sir,  if  it  please  your  Grace,  I  have  had  this  night  the 
sorest  journey  for  so  little  a  way  that  ever  I  had  to  remembrance.'  A  great 
fire  was  lighted  and  refreshments  prepared,  but  Master  Russell,  after  being 
some  time  in  secret  communication  with  my  Lord,  took  leave,  saying  that,  '  God 
willing,  he  would  be  at  the  Court  at  Greenioich  again  before  day,  for  he  would  not 
for  any  thing  it  were  known  his  being  with  my  Lord  that  night.' " 
Visit  to  He  soon  after  received  a  visit  from  his  capital  enemy,  the  Duke  of  Norfolk, 

Wolsey  which  illustrates  strikingly  the  manners  of  the  times.     All  his  yeomen  were 

from  the        drawn  up  in  the  hall,  and  he  and  his  gentlemen  went  to  the  gates  and  there  re- 
Duke  of        ceived  my  Lord  of  Norfolk  bare-headed.     "  They  embraced  each  other,  and  the 
Norfolk.         Duke  complimented  the  Cardinal's  attendants  on  their  fidelity  to  him  in  his 
misfortunes.     The  Cardinal  praised  the  magnanimity  of  his  guest,  who  he  said 
properly  had  the  lion  for  his  cognizance. 

"  Parcere  prostratis  scit  nobilis  ira  Leonis. 

Tu  quoque  fac  simile,  quisquis  regnabis  in  orbem. 

"  Water  being  brought  into  the  dining  chamber  for  them  to  wash  before 
dinner,  the  Cardinal  asked  the  Duke  to  wash  with  him,  but  the  Duke  said,  '  it 
became  him  not  to  presume  to  wash  with  him  any  more  now  than  it  did  before 
in  his  glory.'  '  Yes,  forsooth,'  quoth  my  Lord  Cardinal,  'for  my  authority  and 
dignity  legatine  is  gone,  wherein  consisted  all  my  high  honour.'  'A  straw,' 
quoth  my  Lord  of  Norfolk,  '  for  your  legacy.  I  never  esteemed  your  honour 
the  more  or  higher  for  that.  But  I  regarded  your  honour  for  that  you  were 
Archbishop  of  York  and  a  Cardinal,  whose  estate  of  honour  surmounteth  any 
Duke  now  being  within  this  realm  ;  and  so  will  I  honour  you  and  bear  you 
reverence  accordingly.  Therefore  I  beseech  you  content  yourself,  for  I  will 
not  presume  to  wash  with  you,  and  therefore  I  pray  you  hold  me  excused.'  So 
they  washed  separately." — Another  dispute  arose  as  to  whether  the  Duke  should 
sit  inside  or  outside  the  table  at  dinner.  "  The  Cardinal  wished  him  to  sit  inside, 
but  he  refused  the  same  with  much  humbleness.  There  was  then  set  another 
chair  for  my  Lord  of  Norfolk,  over  against  my  Lord  Cardinal,  on  the  outside 
of  the  table,  the  which  was  by  my  Lord  of  Norfolk  based  something  beneath 
my  Lord  Cardinal." — Stowe  shows  us  what  store  was  set  upon  the  nasty  com- 
pliment of  washing  together,  in  his  account  of  a  banquet  during  the  visit  of 
Charles  V.  to  Henry  VIII.— "The  Emperor,  the  King,  and  the  Queen  did 
wash  together,  the  Duke  of  Buckingham  giving  the  water,  the  Duke  of  Suf- 
folk holdmg  the  towel.  Next  them  did  wash  the  Lord  Cardinall,  the  Queen 
of  Fraunce,  and  the  Queen  of  Arragon."  On  this  occasion  the  Cardinal  sat  on 
the  Emperor's  right  hand,  between  the  Queen  of  England  and  the  Queen  of 
Arragon.  —  Stowe's  Annals. 


CARDINAL   WOLSEY.  495 


new  Chancellor,   presided,  prepared  "articles  of  impeach-     CHAP. 
ment,"  as   they  were  called,  against  Wolsey.     These  were 


forty-four  in  number,  and  were  generally  of  a  frivolous  de-  ^^  j^gg. 
scription.  His  illegal  commissions  to  raise  taxes  without  the  Impeach- 
authority  of  parliament,  and  his  other  unconstitutional  acts,  wolsey. 
were  entirely  passed  over ;  and  he  was  charged  with  naming 
himself  with  the  King,  saying,  "  the  King  and  I ;  "  and,  in 
Latin,  "  Ego  et  Rex  mens  ;  "  *  —  with  receiving,  first,  all  let- 
ters from  the  King's  ministers  abroad  —  requiring  to  be  the 
first  visited  by  foreign  ministers  —  and  desiring  that  all  appli- 
cations should  be  made  through  him  ;  —  practices  hardly  to  be 
avoided,  unless  the  King  were  his  own  minister  and  his  own 
secretary.  Then  he  is  accused  of  illegally  exercising  the 
legatine  authority ;  and  of  interfering,  in  an  arbitrary  manner, 
with  the  administration  of  justice,  and  drawing  into  Chan- 
cery questions  properly  cognisable  in  the  Courts  of  common 
law.  One  of  the  gravest  charges  is,  that  he  whispered  in 
the  King's  ear  when  he  knew  that  he  laboured  under  a  par- 
ticular distemper,  then  supposed  to  be  communicated  by  the 
breath,  f  Lord  Herbert  goes  so  far  as  to  affirm,  that  no  man 
ever  fell  from  so  high  a  station  who  had  so  few  real  crimes 
objected  to  him ;  and  we  are  mortified  by  finding  that  the 
articles  were  subscribed  by  the  virtuous  Sir  Thomas  More, 
as  Chancellor,  and  presented  by  him  to  the  King.| 

Without  any  proof,  they  were  unanimously  agreed  to  by   Agreed  to 
the  House  of  Lords,  where  the  Ex-chancellor  was  particularly  Lord^  but 
odious  on  account  of  his  haughty  bearing  to  the  ancient  no-  rejected  by 
bility,  and  even  to  his  brother  prelates  ;  but  when  they  came  mons. 
down  to  the  House  of  Commons,  they  were  rejected  on  a 

•   A  mode  of  expression  justified  by  the  Latin  idiom. 

f  Shakspeare  dwells  upon  several  other  articles  equally  treasonable. 

"  that,  without  the  knowledge 

Either  of  King  or  Council,  when  you  went 

Ambassador  to  the  Emperor,  you  made  bold 

To  carry  into  Flanders  the  Great  Seal.  — 

That,  out  of  mere  ambition,  you  have  caus'd 

Your  holy  hat  to  be  stamp'd  on  the  King's  coin. 

Then,  that  you  have  sent  innumerable  substance 

To  furnish  Rome,  and  to  prepare  the  ways 

You  have  for  dignities,  to  the  mere  undoing 

Of  all  the  kingdom."  Hen.  VI 11.  act  iii.  scene  2. 

\  1  Pari.  Hist.  492. 


A.D.  1529. 


496  REIGN   OF   HENRY   VIII. 

CHAP,  speech  made  by  Thomas  Cromwell,  formerly  a  servant  of  the 
XXIX.  Cardinal,  who  defended  his  unfortunate  patron  with  such 
spirit,  generosity,  and  courage,  as  acquired  him  great  reputa- 
tion, and  mainly  contributed  to  his  own  subsequent  extra- 
ordinary rise.  The  King  still  having  returning  fits  of  kind- 
ness for  his  old  favourite,  royal  influence  was  supposed  to  have 
contributed  to  this  result  of  the  parliamentary  proceeding 
against  Wolsey  ;  and  the  French  ambassador,  unable  to  fore- 
see what  might  be  the  final  issue  of  the  struggle,  advised  his 
Court  to  render  to  the  fallen  minister  such  good  offices  as, 
without  giving  cause  of  offence  to  the  existing  administra- 
tion, might  be  gratefully  remembered  by  Wolsey,  if  he 
should  finally  triumph  over  his  enemies. 
Wolsey  de-  At  home,  howcvcr,  he  was  neglected  and  slighted,  even 
his  former  ^Y  thosc  whom  his  bounty  had  raised.*  He  was  unable  to 
friends.  pay  or  to  support  his  dependents  who  still  adhered  to  him, 
and  he  begged  them  to  provide  themselves  a  new  master  till 
fortune  should  prove  more  auspicious.  Tears  were  copiously 
shed  on  both  sides,  and  most  of  those  he  addressed  refused 
to  leave  "  so  kind  a  master  "  in  his  adversity,  f  A  subscrip- 
tion among  the  chaplains  and  others  of  most  substance,  whom 
he  had  promoted,  provided  a  fund  from  which  the  most 
urgent  necessities  of  the  establishment  w^ere  supplied. 

These  mortifications  preyed  so  much  upon  his  mind  that, 
about  Christmas,  he  fell  ill  and  was  supposed  to  be  dying. 
Henry  exclaimed,  "  God  forbid  that  he  should  die,  I  would 

*  Storer,  in  his  metrical  history  of  Wolsey,  in  describing  his  feelings  at  this 
time,  uses  one  of  the  most  pathetic  and  original  images  in  poetry,  —  which  would 
have  been  worthy  of  Shakspeare : 

"  I  am  the  tomb  where  that  affection  lies 
That  was  the  closet  where  it  living  kept ; 
Yet  wise  men  say  affection  never  dies. 
i  No,  but  it  turns ;  and  when  it  long  hath  slept, 

Looks  heavy  like  the  eye  that  long  hath  wept.'' 

t  Cavendish's  picture  of  this  scene  is  very  touching.  "  Afterwards  my  Lord 
commanded  me  to  call  all  his  gentlemen  and  yeomen  up  into  the  great  chamber, 
commanding  all  the  gentlemen  to  stand  on  the  right  hand,  and  the  yeomen  on 
the  left ;  at  last  my  Lord  came  out  in  his  rochet  upon  a  violet  gown,  like  a 
bishop,  who  went  with  his  chaplains  to  the  upper  end  of  the  chamber,  where 
was  a  great  window.  Beholding  his  goodly  number  of  servants,  he  could  not 
speak  to  them  until  the  tears  ran  down  his  cheeks,  which  being  perceived  of  his 
servants,  caused  fountains  of  tears  to  gush  out  of  their  sorrowful  eyes,  in  such 
sort  as  would  make  any  heart  to  relent."—  Cavendish,  265. 


CARDINAL   WOLSEY. 


49? 


not  lose  him  for  twenty  thousand  pounds;" — sent  his  own 
physicians  to  attend  him;  —  conveyed  to  him  assurances  of 
unabated  attachment,  and  even  insisted  on  Anne  Boleyn 
presenting  to  him  a  tablet  of  gold  for  a  token  of  reconciliation. 

Through  the  management  of  Cromwell  a  settlement  of  his 
affairs  was  made  with  the  King,  whereby  he  received  a 
general  pardon  on  making  over  all  his  revenues  of  every  de- 
scription, except  those  of  the  Archbishopric  of  York,  and  1000 
marks  a  year  from  the  Bishopric  of  Winchester,  which  he 
was  to  be  allowed  to  retain  for  his  sustentation.* 

As  a  further  mark  of  kindness,  the  King  permitted  him, 
for  a  change  of  air  and  better  accommodation,  to  remove 
from  Esher  to  Richmond,  where  his  health  greatly  improved, 
and  he  again  began  to  gather  some  society  round  him. 

His  enemies,  more  alarmed  than  ever  by  his  vicinity  to  the 
Court  at  Windsor,  prevailed  on  Henry  to  issue  a  peremptory 
order  that  he  should  thenceforth  reside  within  his  archiepisco- 
pal  see,  and  he  was  supplied  with  a  sum  of  money  to  bear 
the  charges  of  his  journey  to  York. 

It  is  amusing  to  observe  that  this  journey,  which  may  now 
be  performed  in  four  hours,  was  then  considei'ed  as  formi- 
dable as  if  it  had  been  to  a  distant  foreign  land.  Some  of 
Wolsey's  servants,  though  much  attached  to  him,  "  of  their 
own  mind  desired  him  of  his  favour  to  tarry  still  here  in  the 
south,  being  very  loath  to  abandon  their  native  country, 
their  parents,  wives,  and  children."! 


CHAP. 
XXIX. 


Settlement 
with  the 
King. 


A.D.  1530. 
Permitted 
to  remove 
to  Rich- 
mond. 

Ordered  to 
York. 


Journey  to 
the  north. 


*   A  difficulty  arose  respecting  the  title  to  York  House,  which  the  King  had 
taken  possession  of,  and  which  belonged  to  the  archiepiscopal  see  from  the  gift 
of  a    former   Archbishop,  who  had  been  Lord  Chancellor.      To  sanction  this 
palpable  spoliation, —  by  the  discreditable  advice  of  all  the  Judges  and  the  new 
Chancellor,  the  form  was  gone  through  of  a  fictitious  recovery  in  the  Court  of 
Common  Pleas,  and  Wolsey  was  required  to  execute  a  recognisance  that   the 
right  was  in  the  King.     Judge  Shelley  was  sent  to  Esher  to  obtain  this  from    Interview 
him,  but  found  him  very  reluctant — on  the  ground  that  the  property  was  not  his,    between 
and  that  he  was  robbing  his  successors  of  it.      At  last  he  said,  "  Master  Shelley,    Wolsey  and 
ye  shall  make  report  to  the  King's  Highness  that  1  am  his  obedient  subject  and    Judge 
faithful  chaplain  and  bondsman,  whose  royal  commandment  and  request  I  will    Shelley, 
in  no  wise  disobey,  but  most  gladly  fulfil  and  accomplish  his  princely  will  and 
pleasure  in  all  things,  and  in  especial  in  this  matter,  inasmuch  as  ye,  the  fathers 
of  the  laws,  say  that  I  may  lawfully  do  it.      Therefore  1  charge  your  conscience, 
and  discharge  mine.      Howbeit,  1  pray  you  show  his  Majesty  from  me  that  I 
most  humbly  desire  his  Highness  to  call  to  his  most  gracious  remembrance  that 
there  is  both  heaven  and  hell." — We  may  well  believe  that  Master  Shelley  did 
not  venture  to  sound  this  salutary  warning  in  the  royal  ear. 

t   Cavendish,  S07. 

VOL.  I.  K  K 


498  REIGN   OF   HENRY   VIII. 

CHAP.         Wolsey,  notwithstanding  his  reduced  fortune,  had  still  a 
XXIX.     ^j^^^j^  ^^  jgQ  pgj.gQng^  and  twelve  carts  to  carry  his  baggage. 


A.D.  1530. 


He  made  short  stages,  sleeping  at  different  religious  houses, 
where  he  was  hospitably  entertained.    On  Maundy  Thursday, 
being  at  the  abbey  of  Peterborough,  he  washed,  wiped,  and 
kissed  the  feet  of  fifty-nine  beggars,  on  whom  he  bestowed 
liberal  alms.      Having  paid  a    visit  to  Sir  William   Fitz- 
william,   a  wealthy  knight  of  that  country,  he  spent  the 
summer  and   autumn   at   Southwell,    Scroby,   and   Cawood 
Castle,  near  York, — acquiring  immense  popularity  by  his  con- 
descension, his  kindness,  his  hospitality,  and  his  piety.  "  He  set 
an  example  to  all  church  dignitaries,  a  right  good  example 
how  they  might  win  men's  hearts."    On  Sundays  and  holidays 
he  rode  to  some  country  church,  celebrated  mass  himself, 
ordered  one  of  his  chaplains  to  preach  to  the  people,  and  dis- 
tributed alms  to  the  poor.     He  spent  much  of  his  time  in 
adjusting  differences   in  families   and   between   neighbours. 
His  table,  plentifully  but  not  extravagantly  supplied,  was 
open  to  all  the  gentry  of  the  country,  and  he  gave  employ- 
ment to  hundreds  of  workmen  in  repairing  the  houses  and 
churches  belonging  to  his  see.  * 
Hisinstal-        Wolscy  had  appointed  his  installation  as  Archbishop    to 
Archbishop  ^^^^  P^^cc  in  York  Minster  on  the  7th  of  November,  and 
appointed,    preparations  were  made  to  perform  the  ceremony  with  great 
pomp  and  magnificence.     Presents  of  game  and  other  pro- 
visions poured  in  from  all  quarters  for  the  entertainment  he 
was  that  day  to  give,  and  on  the  morrow  he  had  agreed  to 
dine  with  the  Lord  Mayor  of  York,  when  the  greatest  eflforts 
were  to  be  made  to  do  him  honour.     But  before  the  time 
arrived  he  was  a  prisoner  on  a  charge  of  high  treason,  and  he 
had  sustained  a  mental  shock  which  soon  brought  him  to  his 
grave. 
cluTTfrL       Henry,  who  had  recommended  to  the  northern  nobility  to 
hispopu-     be  courteous  to  Wolsey,  was  not  a  little  startled  when  he 
^"'y-  heard  of  the  following  which  the  Cardinal  now  had,  inde- 

pendently of  the  royal  favour.     The  courtiers  were  still  more 
astounded,  and  the  «  night  crow,"  as  he  styled  Anne  Boleyn, 

*   Cavendish,  32S. 


CARDINAL   WOLSEY.  499 

uttered  notes  of  fear.     The  divorce  suit  was  still  dragging  on,     CHAP, 
and  there  seemed  no  chance  of  brinojino;  it  to  a  favourable 


conclusion  without  a  rupture  with  the  Court  of  Rome,  which  ^  „,  ,  530^ 
Wolsey  might  very  seriously  have  impeded. 

On  Friday  the  4th  of  November,  about  noon,  when  the  He  is  ar- 
Cardinal  was  sitting  at  dinner  in  his  hall  with  his  oflficers,  ^^^^ 
suddenly  entered  the  Earl  of  Northumberland,  who  had  been  treason, 
his  page,  and  whom  he  had  divorced  from  Anne  Boleyn. 
Wolsey  apologised  to  him  that  dinner  was  nearly  over,  and 
seeing  him  attended  by  the  old  servants  of  the  family,  said : — 
"  Ah,  my  Lord,  I  perceive  well  that  ye  have  observed  my 
old  precepts  and  instructions  which  I  gave  you  when  you 
were  abiding  with  me  in  your  youth,  —  to  cherish  your 
father's  old  servants,  whereof  I  see  here  present  with  you  a 
great  number.  They  will  live  and  die  with  you,  and  be  true 
and  faithful  servants  to  you,  and  glad  to  see  you  prosper  in 
honour,  the  which  I  beseech  God  to  send  you  with  long  life." 
The  Cardinal  then  conducted  the  Earl  to  a  chamber,  where, 
no  one  else  being  present  but  Cavendish  himself,  who  kept 
the  door  as  gentleman-usher,  "  the  Earl,  trembling,  said  with 
a  very  faint  soft  voice  unto  my  Lord  (laying  his  hand  upon 
his  arm),  —  Mi/  Lord,  I  arrest  t/ou  of  high  treason.''^  He  re- 
fused to  submit  without  seeing  the  warrant,  which  was 
refused ;  but  he  surrendered  to  Walshe,  a  privy  councillor, 
who,  he  admitted,  had  authority  to  arrest  him  by  virtue  of  his 
office. 

When  he  had  a  moment's  time  to  recover  from  the  stupor  His  beha- 
caused  by  this  blow,  he  wept  bitterly,  —  more  for  the  sake  of  ^"'"'^' 
others  than  himself.  He  particularly  lamented  the  fate  of 
Cavendish,  about  to  be  thrown  destitute  on  the  wide  world, 
"  who,"  quoth  he,  "  hath  abandoned  his  own  country,  his  wife 
and  children,  his  house  and  family,  his  rest  and  quietness, 
only  to  serve  me."  At  the  next  meal  he  summoned  firmness 
to  appear  in  the  hall ;  but  "  there  was  not  a  dry  eye  among 
all  the  gentlemen  sitting  at  table  with  him." 

The  particular  charge  to  be  brought  against  Wolsey  has 
never  been  ascertained;  the  general  opinion  is,  that  Henry 
had  been  induced  to  believe  that  he  was  carrying  on  some 
clandestine  correspondence  of  a  suspicious  nature  with  the 

K  K  2 


500 


REIGN   OF   HENRY  VIII. 


CHAP. 
XXIX. 

A.D.  1530. 
He  is  car- 
ried oH' 
a  prisoner. 


His  stay  at 

Sheffield 

Park. 


His  alarm 
at  propliecy 
that  he 
should  die 
near  King- 
ston. 


Court  of  France,  and  that  Augustine,  a  Venetian  in  his 
service,  had  given  some  false  information  against  him,* 

The  next  day  after  his  arrest,  he  was  committed  to  the 
special  custody  of  five  of  his  domestics,  and  sent  off  under  the 
escort  of  the  Earl  of  Northumberland's  train  towards  London. 
But  the  population  of  the  adjoining  country,  hearing  of  his 
misfortune,  met  him  by  thousands  as  he  journeyed  on,  calling 
out  with  a  loud  voice,  "  God  save  your  Grace,  God  save 
your  Grace.  The  foul  evil  take  all  them  that  have  thus 
taken  you  from  us!  We  pray  God  that  a  very  vengeance 
may  light  upon  them." 

They  afterwards  obliged  him  to  travel  in  the  night  time 
to  escape  public  notice.  He  expressed  deep  regret  for  the 
loss  of  a  sealed  parcel  he  had  left  behind  him  at  Cawood. 
This  being  sent  for  was  found  to  contain  hair  shirts,  one  of 
which  he  now  always  wore  next  his  skin. 

The  first  night  he  was  lodged  in  the  abbey  at  Pontefract. 
In  journeying  thither  he  felt  great  apprehension  lest  his 
destination  should  be  Pontefract  Castle,  where  so  many  had 
suffered  violently ;  and  he  said,  "  Shall  I  go  to  the  Castle, 
and  die  like  a  beast?"  On  the  Thursday  he  reached  Sheffield 
Park,  where  he  was  eighteen  days  very  kindly  entertained  by 
the  Earl  of  Shrewsbury  till  orders  should  be  received  from 
Court  for  his  ulterior  destination. 

At  the  end  of  this  time  arrived  Sir  William  Kingston, 
Keeper  of  the  Tower,  with  a  guard  of  twenty-four  beef- eaters, 
to  conduct  him  to  London.  When  the  name  of  this  officer 
was  mentioned  to  him,  — "  Master  Kingston ! "  quoth  he, 
— "  rehearsing  his  name  once  or  twice ;  and  with  that 
clapped  his  hand  on  his  thigh,  and  gave  a  great  sigh."  He 
no  doubt  then  recollected  the  prophecy  by  some  fortune- 
tellers, respecting  which  Cavendish  is  silent,  but  which  is 
mentioned  by  Fuller  and  other  writers,  that  he  should  have 
his  end  near  Kingston,  This  had  induced  him  always  to  make 
a  wide  circuit  to  avoid  Kingston-on-Thames  when  he  ap- 
proached that  town,  and  the  emotion  he  now  displayed  is 


*  A  few  days  before,  the  silver  cross  of  York  standing  in  the  hall,  was  upset 
by  the  velvet  robe  of  the  Venetian,  which  at  the  moment  Wolsey  said  was 
malum  omen. 


CAEDINAL   WOLSEY.  501 

accounted  for  by  his  anticipation  that  he  was  about  to  finish  chap. 

.  XXIX 

his  career  on  Tower  Hill,  in  the  custody  of  Kingston,  "  too   " 


late  perceiving  himself  deceived  by  the  father  of  lies."  *  ji,d,  1530. 

For  some  days  he  was  afflicted  with  a  dysentery ;  but,  as   His  illness, 
soon  as  he  was  able  to  travel  he  set  forward  for  London, 
although  so  much  reduced  in  strength,  that  he  could  hardly 
support  himself  on  his  mule.     When  his  servants  saw  him  in 
such  a  lamentable  plight,  they  expressed  their  pity  for  him 
with  weeping  eyes  ;  but  he  took  them  by  the  hand  as  he  rode, 
and  kindly  conversed  with  them.     In  the  evening  of  the  third   Arrives  at 
day,  after  dark,  he  arrived  with  difficulty  at  the  Abbey  of  Nov.^ae'' 
Leicester.     The  Abbot  and  Monks  met  him  at  the  gates,  with 
many  torches.     As  he  entered  he  said,  "  Father  Abbot,  I  am 
come  to  lay  my  weary  bones  among  you." 

He  was  immediately  carried  to  his  chamber,  and  put  into  a   Prophesies 
bed,  from  which  he  never  rose.     This  was  on  Saturday  night,   *^^  ^^^^ 
and  on  Monday  he  foretold  to  his  servants,  "  that  by  eight  of 
the  clock  next  morning  they  should  lose  their  master,  as  the 
time  drew  near  that  he  must  depart  out  of  this  world." 

Next  morning,  about  seven,  when  he  had  confessed  to  a 
priest,  Kingston  asked  him  how  he  did.  "  Sir,"  quoth  he, 
"  I  tarry  but  the  will  and  pleasure  of  God,  to  render  my 
simple  soul  into  his  divine  hands.  If  I  had  served  God  as 
diligently  as  I  have  done  the  King,  he  would  not  have  given 
me  over  in  my  grey  hairs.  Howbeit,  this  is  the  just  reward 
that  I  must  receive  for  my  worldly  diligence  and  pains  that 
I  have  had  to  do  him  service ;  only  to  satisfy  his  main  plea- 
sure, not  regarding  my  godly  duty.  Wherefore,  I  pray  you, 
with  all  my  heart,  to  have  me  most  kindly  commended  unto 
his  royal  majesty ;  beseeching  him,  in  my  behalf,  to  call  to 
his  most  gracious  remembrance  all  matters  proceeding  be- 
tween him  and  me,  from  the  beginning  of  the  world  unto  this 
day,  and  the  progress  of  the  same,  and  most  and  chiefly  in 
the  weighty  matter  yet  depending  f ;  then  shall  his  conscience 
declare,  whether  I  have  offended  him  or  no.  He  is  a  sure 
prince,  of  a  royal  courage,  and  hath  a  princely  heart :  and 
rather  than  he  will  either  miss,  or  want  any  part  of  his  will 

•    Fuller's  Church  History,  book  v.  f  The  divorce. 

K  K   3 


502 


EEIGN   OF   HENRY   VIII. 


CHAP. 
XXIX. 

A.D.  1530. 


Nov.  29. 


He  dies. 


His  burial. 


or  appetite,  he  will  put  the  loss  of  one  half  of  his  realm  In 
danger.  For,  I  assure  you,  I  have  often  kneeled  before  him 
in  his  Privy  Chamber,  on  my  knees,  the  space  of  an  hour  or 
two,  to  persuade  him  from  his  will  and  appetite  ;  but  I  could 
never  bring  to  pass  to  dissuade  him  therefrom.  Therefore, 
Master  Kingston,  If  it  chance  hereafter  you  to  be  one  of  his 
Privy  Council,  as  for  your  wisdom  and  other  qualities  ye  are 
meet  to  be,  I  warn  you  to  be  well  advised  and  assured  what 
matter  ye  put  in  his  head,  for  ye  shall  never  put  It  out  again." 
After  a  strong  admonition  to  the  King  to  suppress  the  Lu- 
theran heresy,  he  thus  concluded :  "  Master  Kingston,  fare- 
well. I  can  no  more,  but  wish  all  things  to  have  good  success. 
My  time  draweth  on  fast.  I  may  not  tarry  with  you.  And 
forget  not,  I  pray  you,  what  I  have  said  and  charged  you 
withal;  for,  when  I  am  dead,  ye  shall,  peradventure,  re- 
member my  words  much  better."  * 

He  was  then  annealed  by  the  Father  Abbot ;  and,  as  the 
great  Abbey  Clock  struck  eighty  he  expired  —  "  Kingston  " 
standing  by  his  bedside. 

His  body  was  immediately  laid  in  a  coffin,  dressed  In  his 
pontificals,  with  mitre,  crosses,  ring,  and  pall ;  and,  lying 
there  all  day  open  and  barefaced,  was  viewed  by  the  Mayor 
of  Leicester  and  the  surrounding  gentry,  that  there  might  be 
no  suspicion  as  to  the  manner  of  his  death.  It  was  then 
carried  Into  the  Lady  Chapel,  and  watched,  with  many 
torches,  all  night ;  —  whilst  the  monks  sung  dirges  and  other 
devout  orisons.  At  six  In  the  morning  mass  was  celebrated 
for  his  soul ;  and  as  they  committed  the  body  of  the  proud 
Cardinal  to  its  last  abode,  the  words  were  chaunted,  "  Earth 
to  earth,  ashes  to  ashes,  dust  to  dust ! "  No  stone  was 
erected  to  his  memory ;  and  the  spot  of  his  interment  is  un- 
known. 

"  Here  is  the  end  and  fall  of  pride  and  arrogancy.""f 

I  shall  not  attempt  to  draw  any  general  character  of  this 
eminent  man.  His  good  and  bad  qualities  may  best  be 
understood  from  the  details  of  his  actions,  and  are  immor- 
talised by  the  dialogue  between  Queen  Catherine  and  Griffith, 
her  secretary,  which  Is  familiar  to  every  reader.  $ 

•   Cavendish,  392.  f   Ibid.  394.  %  Hen.  VIII.  act  iv.  sc.  2. 


CARDINAL   WOLSET.  503 

But  the  nature  of  this  work  requires  that  I  should  more     chap. 

V  V  T  V 

dcHberately  consider  him  as  a  Judge  ;  for,  although  he  held 


the  Great  Seal  uninterruptedly  for  a  period  of  fourteen  years,  m^  j.(,„. 
and  greatly  extended  its  jurisdiction,  and  permanently  in-  duct  as  a 
fluenced  our  juridical  institutions,  not  only  historians,  but       °  ' 
his   own  biographers,   in  describing  the   politician  and  the 
churchman,  almost  forget  that  he  ever  was  Lord  Chancellor. 

From  his  conference  with  Justice  Shelley  respecting  York  His  no- 
Place,  we  know  exactly  his  notions  of  the  powers  and  duties  *|,''"^.  °^  , 
of  the  Chancellor  as  an  Equity  Judge.  When  pressed  by 
the  legal  opinion  upon  the  question,  he  took  the  distinction 
between  law  and  conscience,  and  said,  "  it  is  proper  to  have 
a  respect  to  conscience  before  the  rigour  of  the  common  law, 
for  laus  estfacere  quod  decet  non  quod  licet.  The  King  ought 
of  his  royal  dignity  and  prerogative  to  mitigate  the  rigour 
of  the  law  where  conscience  has  the  most  force ;  therefore, 
in  his  royal  place  of  equal  justice  he  hath  constituted  a  Chan- 
cellor, an  officer  to  execute  justice  with  clemency,  where 
conscience  is  opposed  to  the  rigour  of  the  law.  And  there- 
fore the  Court  of  Chancery  hath  been  heretofore  commonly 
called  the  Court  of  Conscience,  because  it  hath  jurisdiction 
to  command  the  high  ministers  of  the  Common  Law  to  spare 
execution  and  judgment,  where  conscience  hath  most  effect."  * 
With  such  notions  he  must  have  been  considerably  more 
arbitrary  than  a  Turkish  Kadi,  who  considers  himself  bound 
by  a  text  of  the  Koran  in  point,  and  we  are  not  to  be  sur- 
prised when  we  are  told  that  he  chose  to  exercise  his  equitable 
authority  over  every  thing  which  could  be  a  matter  of  judicial 
inquiry. 

In  consequence,  bills  and  petitions  multiplied  to  an  un-   Increase  of 
precedented  degree,  and  notwithstanding  his  despatch  there  bulhlels 
was  a  great  arrear  of  business.      To  this  grievance  he  applied 
a  very  vigorous  remedy,  without  any  application  to  parliament 
to  appoint  Vice-chancellors ;  —  for  of  his  own  authority  he  at  Establishes 
once  established  four  new  Courts  of  Equity  by  commission  ay'li^ry 
in  the  King's  name.     One  of  these  was  held  at  Whitehall 
before  his  own  deputy ;  another  before  the  King's  almoner, 

*   Cavendish,  p.  283. 

K   K    4 


504  EEIGN   OF    HENRY   VIII. 

CHAP.  Dr.  Stoherby,  afterwards  Bishop  of  London;  a  third  at  the 
Treasury  Chamber  before  certain  members  of  the  Council; 
and  a  fourth  at  the  Kolls,  before  Cuthbert  Tunstall,  Master 
of  the  Rolls,  who,  in  consequence  of  this  appointment,  used 
to  hear  causes  there  in  the  afternoon.*  The  Master  of  the 
Rolls  has  continued  ever  since  to  sit  separately  for  hearing 
causes  in  Chancery.  The  other  three  Courts  fell  with  their 
founder. 

Wolsey  himself  used  still  to  attend  pretty  regularly  in  the 
Court  of  Chancery  during  term,  and  he  maintained  his 
equitable  jurisdiction  with  a  very  high  hand,  deciding  without 
the  assistance  of  common  law  judges,  and  with  very  little 
regard  to  the  maxims  of  the  common  law. 
His  com-  If  he  was  sneered  at  for  his  ignorance  of  the  doctrines  and 

th*\°  w  "^rs  P'*^^*^^^  ^^  *he  Court,  he  had  his  revenge  by  openly  com- 
plaining that  the  lawyers  who  practised  before  him  were 
grossly  ignorant  of  the  civil  law  and  the  principles  of  general 
jurisprudence ;  and  he  has  been  described  as  often  inter- 
rupting their  pleadings,  and  bitterly  animadverting  on  their 
narrow  notions  and  limited  arguments.  To  remedy  an  evil 
which  troubled  the  stream  of  justice  at  the  fountain-head,  he, 
with  his  usual  magnificence  of  conception,  projected  an  in- 
stitution to  be  founded  in  London,  for  the  systematic  study  of 
all  branches  of  the  law.  He  even  furnished  an  architectural 
model  for  the  building,  which  was  considered  a  master- 
piece, and  remained  long  after  his  death  as  a  curiosity  in 
the  palace  at  Greenwich.  Such  an  institution  is  still  a 
desideratum  in  England;  for,  with  splendid  exceptions,  it 
must  be  admitted  that  English  barristers,  though  very  clever 
practitioners,  are  not  such  able  jurists  as  are  to  be  found 
in  other  countries  where  law  is  systematically  studied  as  a 
science. 
Wolseyfree  On  Wolscy's  fall  his  administration  of  justice  was  strictly 
bery  and      Overhauled ;   but   no   complaint   was   made   against  him  of 

corruption. 

*  In  Reeves's  History  of  the  Law,  it  is  said  that  this  is  the  first  instance  of 
the  Master  of  the  Rolls  ever  hearing  causes  by  himself,  he  having  been  before 
only  the  principal  of  the  council  of  Masters  assigned  for  the  Chancellor's  assist- 
ance ;  but  there  have  lately  been  found  in  the  Tower  of  London,  bills  addressed 
to  the  Master  of  the  Rolls  as  early  as  the  reign  of  Edward  IV.  —  See  4  Reeves, 
369. 


CARDINAL   WOLSEY.  505 

bribery  or  corruption,  and  the  charges  were  merely  that  he     chap, 
had    examined   many  matters  in   Chancery  after  judgment 


given  at  common  law ;  —  that  he  had  unduly  granted  injunc- 
tions;—  and  that  when  his  injunctions  were  disregarded  by 
the  Judges,  he  had  sent  for  those  venerable  magistrates  and 
sharply  reprimanded  them  for  their  obstinacy.  He  is  cele- 
brated for  the  vigour  with  which  he  repressed  perjury  and 
chicanery  in  his  Court,  and  he  certainly  enjoyed  the  reputation 
of  having  conducted  himself  as  Chancellor  with  fidelity  and 
ability,  —  although  it  was  not  till  a  later  age  that  the  found- 
ation was  laid  of  that  well-defined  system  of  equity  now 
established,  which  is  so  well  adapted  to  all  the  wants  of  a 
wealthy  and  refined  society,  and,  leaving  little  discretion  to 
the  Judge,  disposes  satisfactorily  of  all  the  varying  cases 
within  the  wide  scope  of  its  jurisdiction. 

I  am  afraid  I  cannot  properly  conclude  this  sketch  of  His  natural 
the  Life  of  Wolsey  without  mentioning  that  "  of  his  own  <=^'1^^°- 
body  he  was  ill,  and  gave  the  clergy  111  example."  He  had  a 
natural  son,  named  Winter,  who  was  promoted  to  be  Dean 
of  Wells,  and  for  whom  he  procured  a  grant  of  "  arms " 
from  the  Herald's  College.  The  38th  article  of  his  im- 
peachment shows  that  he  had  for  his  mistress  a  lady  of  the 
name  of  Lark,  by  whom  he  had  two  other  children :  there 
were  various  amours  in  which  he  was  suspected  of  having 
indulged,  —  and  his  health  had  suffered  from  his  dissolute  life. 
But  we  must  not  suppose  that  the  scandal  arising  from  such 
irregularities  was  such  as  would  be  occasioned  by  them  at  the 
present  day.  A  very  different  standard  of  morality  then 
prevailed :  churchmen  debarred  from  marriage,  were  often 
licensed  to  keep  concubines,  and  as  the  Popes  themselves 
were  in  this  respect  by  no  means  infallible,  the  frailties  of  a 
Cardinal  were  not  considered  any  insuperable  bar  either  to 
secular  or  spiritual  preferment.* 

*  Many  gibes,  however,  seem  to  have  been  current  against  the  licentious 
conduct  of  the  Cardinal,  as  we  may  judge  from  Lord  Surrey's  speech  to 
him :  — 

"  I'll  startle  you 
Worse  than  the  sacring  bell,  when  the  brown  wench 
Lay  kissing  in  your  arms,  Lord  Cardinal." 

Skelton  likewise  was  probably  only  embodying  in  rhyme  the  common  talk  of  the 
town  when  he  wrote,  — 


506 


REIGN   OF    HENRY   VIII. 


CHAP. 
XXIX. 

His  re- 
peutancc. 


In  judging  him  we  must  remember  his  deep  contrition  for 
his  backslidings ;  and  the  memorable  lesson  which  he  taught 
with  his  dying  breath,  that,  to  ensure  true  comfort  and 
happiness,  a  man  must  addict  himself  to  the  service  of  God, 
instead  of  being  misled  by  the  lures  of  pleasure  and  am- 
bition. 

The  subsequent  part  of  Henry's  reign  is  the  best  panegyric 
on  Wolsey ;  for,  during  twenty  years,  he  had  kept  free  from 
the  stain  of  blood  or  violence  the  Sovereign,  who  now,  fol- 
lowing the  natural  bent  of  his  character,  cut  off  the  heads  of 
his  wives  and  his  most  virtuous  ministers,  and  proved  himself 
the  most  arbitrary  tyrant  that  ever  disgraced  the  throne  of 
England.* 


"  The  goods  that  he  thus  gaddered 
Wretchedly  he  hath  scattered,  — 
To  make  windows,  walles,  and  dores, 
And  to  maintain  bauds  and  whores." 

See  Fiddes's  Life  of  Wolsey,  folio,  1724.     Gall's  Life  of  Wolsey,  4to.  1812. 


LIFE   OF    SIR    THOMAS   MORE.  607 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

LIFE  OF  SIE  THOMAS  MORE,  LORD  CHANCELLOR  OP  ENGLAND,  FROM 
HIS  BIRTH  TILL  THE  END  OF  THE  REIGN  OF  HENRY  VH. 

The  Great  Seal  having  been  surrendered,  as  we  have  seen,     chap. 
by  Cardinal  Wolsey,  into  the  hands  of  the  Dukes  of  Norfolk      XXX. 
and  Suffolk,  they  delivered  it  to  Taylor,  the  Master  of  the 
Rolls,  to  carry  to  the  King;   who,  having   himself  sealed  1529. 
certain  letters  patent  with  it,  enclosed  it  in  a  bag  under  his 
own  signet  and  under  the  seals  of  the  Master  of  the  Rolls 
and    Stephen  Gardyner,  afterwards   the   famous  Bishop  of 
Winchester.* 

Considerable  difficulty  arose  about  the  appointment  of  a  Difficulty 
new  Chancellor.     Some  were  for  restorincr  the  Great  Seal  to  pf  ^ppomt- 

"  ing  a  suc- 

Ex-chancellor  Archbishop  Warham ;  and  Erasmus  states  that  cessor  to 
he  refused  itf;  but  there  is  reason  to  think  that  a  positive      °^^^' 
resolution  had  been  before  taken  by  Henry  and  his  present 
advisers,  that  it  should  not  be  again  intrusted  to  any  church- 
man.:}: 

There  was  an  individual  designated  to  the  office  by  the 
public  voice.  To  give  credit  to  the  new  administration,  there 
was  a  strong  desire  to  appoint  him,  for  he  was  celebrated  as  a 
scholar  in  every  part  of  Europe ;  he  had  long  practised  with 
applause  as  a  lawyer ;  being  called  to  Court,  he  had  gained 
the  highest  credit  there  for  his  abilities  and  his  manners ;  and 
he  had  been  employed  in  several  embassies  abroad,  which  he 
had  conducted  with  dexterity  and  success.  The  difficulty 
was  that  he  had  only  the  rank  of  a  simple  knight ;  and  there 
had  been  no  instance  hitherto  of  conferring  the  Great  Seal  on 
a  layman  who  was  not  of  noble  birth,  or  had  not  previously 
gained  reputation  by  high  judicial  office.     In  consequence, 

*   Rot.  CI.  21  Hen.  8.  m.  19.  t  Ep.  p.  1347. 

:f  On  the  22d  October  the  Bishop  of  Bayonne  writes  to  his  court,  "  On  ne 
s^ait  encore  qui  aura  le  sccau.  Je  croy  bien  que  les  prestres  n'y  touchcront 
plus,  et  que  en  ce  parliament  ils  auront  de  terribles  alarmcs." 


508  LIFE   OF 

CHAP,  there  was  a  strucforle  in  favour  of  the  selection  of  one  of  the 
chiefs  of  the  Common  Law  Courts  at  Westminster.  But  the 
Sir  Thomas  hopc  that  the  pcrson  first  proposed  was  the  best  fitted  to 
More  ap-  manage  the  still  pending  negotiation  for  the  divorce,  came 
powerfully  in  aid  of  his  claims  on  the  score  of  genius,  learn- 
ing, and  virtue ;  and,  on  the  25th  of  October,  in  a  Council 
held  at  Greenwich,  the  King  delivered  the  Great  Seal  to  Sir 
Thomas  More,  and  constituted  him  Lord  Chancellor  of 
England.* 
His  birth.  This  extraordinary  man,  so  interesting  in  his  life  and  in 
his  death,  was  born  in  the  year  1480,  near  the  end  of  the 
reign  of  Edward  IV.  He  was  the  son  of  Sir  John  More,  a 
Judge  of  the  Court  of  King's  Bench,  who  lived  to  see  him 
Lord  Chancellor.  The  father's  descent  is  not  known,  but  he 
was  of  "  an  honourable  though  not  distinguished  family," 
and  he  was  entitled  to  bear  arms,  a  privilege  which  showed 
him  to  be  of  gentle  blood,  and  of  the  class  which  in  every 
other  country  except  ours  is  considered  noble.  The  old 
Judge  was  famous  for  a  facetious  turn,  which  he  trans- 
mitted to  his  son.  There  is  only  one  of  his  sayings  handed 
down  to  us,  and  this,  we  must  hope,  was  meant  rather 
as  a  compliment  to  the  good  qualities  of  his  own  partner 
for  life  than  as  a  satire  on  the  fair  sex.  "  He  would 
compare  the  multitude  of  women  which  are  to  be  chosen 
for  wives  unto  a  bag  full  of  snakes,  having  among  them 
a  single  eel :  now,  if  a  man  should  put  his  hand  into  this 
bag,  he  may  chance  to  light  on  the  eel ;  but  it  is  a  hun- 
dred to  one  he  shall  be  stung  by  a  snake."  f  The  future 
Chancellor  sprung  from  that  rank  of  life  which  is  most  fa- 
vourable to  mental  cultivation,  and  which  has  produced  the 
greatest  number  of  eminent  men  in  England ;  for,  while  we 
have  instances  of  gifted  individuals  overcoming  the  disad- 
vantages of  high  birth  and  affluence  as  well  as  of  obscurity 
and  poverty,  our  Cecils  and  Walpoles,  our  Bacons  and 
Mores,  have  mostly  had  good  education  and  breeding  under  a 
father's  care,  — with  habits  of  frugality,  and  the  necessity  for 

•   Rot.  Cl.  21  Hen.  8.  m.  19.  f  Camden's  Remains,  p.  251. 


LORD  CHANCELLOR  SIR  THOMAS  MORE.  509 

industry,  energy,  and  perseverance  to  gain  distinction  in  the  CHAP. 

ij  XXX. 

world. 


The  lawyers  in  those  days,  both  judges  and  barristers,  lived 
in  the  City,  and  young  More  first  saw  the  light  in  Milk  Street, 
Cheapside,  then  a  fashionable  quarter  of  the  metropolis. 
He  received  the  early  rudiments  of  his  education  at  St.  His  educa- 
Anthony's  school,  in  Threadneedle  Street,  a  seminary  which 
gained  great  and  well-deserved  repute,  having  produced  Arch- 
bishop Pleath,  Archbishop  Whitgift,  and  many  other  eminent 
men.  In  his  fifteenth  year,  according  to  the  custom  of  which 
we  have  seen  various  examples,  he  became  a  page  in  the  Page  to 
family  of  Cardinal  Morton,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  and  jyjorton 
Lord  Chancellor  under  Henry  VII.  Here,  along  with  sons 
of  the  best  families  in  England,  he  waited  at  table,  and  was 
instructed  in  all  learning  and  exercises.  His  lively  parts 
soon  attracted  the  notice  of  his  master,  who,  though  turned 
of  eighty,  and  filling  such  dignified  ofiices,  still  encouraged 
amusement,  and  had  the  sagacity  to  discover  the  extra- 
ordinary merit,  and  to  foretell  the  future  celebrity  of  his 
page.  "  For  the  Cardinal  often  would  make  trial  of  his 
present  wit,  especially  at  Christmas  merriments,  when  having 
plays  for  his  recreation,  this  youth  would  suddenly  step  up 
among  the  players,  and,  never  studying  before  upon  the 
matter,  make  often  a  part  of  his  own  invention,  which  was  so 
witty  and  so  full  of  jests,  that  he  alone  made  more  sport  than 
all  the  players  besides ;  for  which  his  towardllness,  the  Car- 
dinal much  delighted  in  him,  and  would  often  say  of  him, 
unto  divers  of  the  nobility  who  at  sundry  times  dined  with 
him,  '  This  child  here,  waiting  at  the  table,  whosoever  shall  live 
to  see  it,  will  prove  a  marvellous  rare  man.'' "  *  The  youthful 
page  was  not  behind  in  penetration  of  character,  and  duly  ap- 
preciated the  qualities  of  the  wary  courtier,  who,  the  model  for 
future  Talleyrands,  had  continued  to  flourish  amid  all  the  vicis- 
situdes of  the  state,  and  having  united  the  Red  and  the  White 
Roses,  still  enjoyed  without  abatement  the  confidence  of  the 
founder  of  the  House  of  Tudor.  The  historian  of  Rich- 
ard III.,  drawing  the  character  of  Morton,  says  (no  doubt 

•   More's  Life,  19.      Roper,  4. 


510  LIFE   OF 

CHAP,     from  early  recollections),  "  He  was  a  man  of  great  natural 

J_ '      wit,  very  well  learned,  honourable  in  behaviour,  lacking  in  no 

wise  to  win  favour y* 
A.D.  1496.  But,  by  the  kind  advice  of  his  patron,  who  had  great  care 
University,  of  his  bringing  up,  and  was  afraid  that  he  might  not  profit  in 
sound  learning  so  much  as  might  be  desired  amid  the  dis- 
tractions of  the  archiepiscopal  palace,  he  was  removed  to 
the  University  of  Oxford.  He  lodged  at  New  Hall,  but  studied 
at  Canterbury  College,  afterwards  Christ  Church.  He  must 
now  have  led  a  very  different  life  from  what  he  had  enjoyed 
at  Lambeth ;  for,  "  in  his  allowance,  his  father  kept  him  very- 
short,  suffering  him  scarcely  to  have  so  much  money  in  his  own 
custody  as  would  pay  for  the  mending  of  his  apparel ;  and,  for 
his  expenses,  he  would  expect  of  him  a  particular  account."  f 
Though  much  pinched,  and  somewhat  dissatisfied  at  the  time, 
he  often  spoke  of  this  system  with  much  praise  when  he 
came  to  riper  years;  affirming,  that  he  was  thereby  curbed 
from  all  vice,  and  withdrawn  from  gaming  and  naughty 
company.  \ 

Here  More  remained  above  two  years,  devoting  himself  to 
study  with  the  utmost  assiduity  and  enthusiasm.  Erasmus, 
invited  to  England  by  Lord  Mountjoy,  who  had  been  his 
pupil  at  Paris,  was  now  residing  at  Oxford,  and  assisting  in 
spreading  a  taste  for  Greek  literature  recently  introduced 
there  by  Grocyn,  Linacre,  and  Collet,  who  had  studied  it  in 
Italy  under  Politian  and  Chalcondylas.  More  and  Erasmus, 
resembling  each  other  in  their  genius,  in  their  taste,  in  their 
acute  observation  of  character  and  manners,  in  their  lively 
sense  of  the  ridiculous,  in  their  constant  hilarity,  and  in  their 
devotion  to  classical  lore,  soon  formed  a  close  friendship 
which  lasted  through  life  without  interruption  or  abatement, 

*  In  his  Utopia  he  praises  him  more  liberally,  but  still  with  a  touch  of  satire, 
as  "of  incomparable  judgment,  a  memory  more  than  credible,  eloquent  in 
speech,  and,  which  is  more  to  be  wished  in  clergymen,  of  singular  wisdom  and 
virtue." 

t  More's  Life  of  Sir  T.  More,  18. 

i  His  great  grandson,  who  wrote  in  the  reign  of  Charles  I.,  more  than  two 
centuries  ago,  in  describing  how  his  ancestor  when  at  College  escaped  "  play 
and  riot,"  adds,  "wherein  most  young  men  in  these  our  lamentable  days  plunge 
themselves  too  timely,  to  the  utter  overthrow  as  well  of  learning  as  all  future 
virtue." 


LORD   CHANCELLOR   SIR   THOMAS   MORE.  511 

and  which  was  fostered  during  absence  by  an  epistolary  cor-     chap. 

"Y  "V  "Y 

respondence  still  extant,   affording  to  us  the  most  striking   '__ 


sketches  of  the  history  and  customs  of  the  times  in  which 
they  lived. 

At  the  University,  while  More  "  profited  exceedingly  in  His  early 
rhetoric,  logic,  and  philosophy,"  he  likewise  distinguished  p**^*"^- 
himself  very  much  by  the  composition  of  poems,  both  Latin 
and  English.  Some  of  these  are  to  be  found  in  collections  of 
his  works  ;  and,  though  inferior  to  similar  efforts  in  the  suc- 
ceeding age,  they  wiU  be  found  interesting,  not  only  as 
proofs  of  his  extraordinary  precocity,  but  as  the  exercises  by 
which  he  became  the  earliest  distinguished  orator,  and  the 
earliest  elegant  prose-writer  using  the  English  language.* 

More  had  been  destined  by  his  father  to  wear  the  long  a.d.  1498. 
robe ;  and,  having  completed  his  course  at  Oxford,  he  was  court. 

*  As  a  specimen  I  will  give  a  few  extracts  from  that  which  is  considered  the 
most  successful  of  his  poetical  effusions  in  Latin.  It  proceeds  on  the  idea,  that 
become  an  old  man,  he  sees  again  a  lady  whom  he  had  loved  when  they  were 
both  very  young,  and  who  is  still  charming  in  his  eyes, 

"  Gratulatur  quod  earn  reperit  incolumem  quam  olim  ferme  puer  amaverat, 

"  Vivis  adhuc,  primis  6  me  mihi  charior  annis, 

Redderis  atque  oculis  Elizabetha  meis : 
Quae  mala  distinuit  mihi  te  fortuna  tot  annos, 

Pene  puer  vidi,  pene  reviso  senex. 
Tempora  quae  tenera  numquam  non  invida  formae 

Te  rapuere  tibi,  non  rapuere  mihi," 

He  afterwards  refers  in  touching  language  to  their  first  interview,  and  gives  a 
description  of  her  charms,  after  the  fashion  of  the  Song  of  Solomon  :  — 

"  Jam  subit  ilia  dies  quas  ludentem  obtulit  olim 
Inter  virgineos  te  mihi  prima  choros, 
Lactea  cum  flavi  decuerunt  colla  capilli, 

Cum  gena  par  nivibus  visa,  labella  rosis. 
Cum  tua  perstringunt  oculos  duo  sydera  nostros, 
Perque  oculos  intrant  in  mea  corda  meos." 
Their  flirtation  was  very  marked :  — 

"  Cum  sociis  risum  exhibuit  nostrisque  tuisque 
Tam  rudis  et  simplex  et  male  tectus  amor." 
Now  comes  the  constancy  of  his  attachment ;  — 

"  Ergo  ita  disjunctos  diversaque  fata  seciitos 
Tot  nunc  post  hyemes  reddidit  ista  dies, 
Ista  dies  qua  rara  mco  mihi  laetior  aevo, 

Contigit  accursu  sospitis  alma  tui. 
Tu  praedata  meos  olim  sine  crimine  sensus. 
Nunc  quoque  non  uUo  crimine  chara  manes." 
Let  it  be  remembered  that  these  verses  were  written  in  the  middle  of  the 
reign  of  Henry  VII.,  when  the  war  of  the  Roses  had  almost  extinguished  in 
England  the  remembrance  of  Chaucer,  and  no  other  poetical  genius  had  yet 
arisen. 


512  LIFE    OP 

CHAP,     transferred  to  London,  that  he  might  apply  to  the  study  of 
^^^"      the  law.     According  to  the  practice  then  generally  followed. 


he  began  at  New  Inn,  "  an  Inn  of  Chancery,"  where  was  ac- 
quired the  learning  of  writs  and  procedure ;  and  he  after- 
wards belonged  to  Lincoln's  Inn,  "  an  Inn  of  Court,"  where 
were  taught  the  more  profound  and  abstruse  branches  of  the 
science.  With  us  a  sufficient  knowledge  of  jurisprudence  is 
supposed  to  be  gained  by  eating  a  certain  number  of  dinners 
in  the  hall  of  one  of  the  Inns  of  Court,  whereby  men  are 
often  called  to  the  bar  wholly  ignorant  of  their  profession  ; 
and,  being  pushed  on  by  favour  or  accident,  or  native  vigour 
of  mind,  they  are  sometimes  placed  in  high  judicial  situations, 
having  no  acquaintance  with  law  beyond  what  they  may  have 
picked  up  as  practitioners  at  the  bar.  Then  the  Inns  of 
Court  and  Chancery  presented  the  discipline  of  a  well-con- 
stituted University ;  and,  through  Professors,  under  the  name 
of  "  Readers,"  and  exercises,  under  the  name  of  "  Mootings," 
law  was  systematically  taught,  and  efficient  tests  of  pro- 
ficiency were  applied,  before  the  degree  of  barrister  was 
conferred,  entitling  the  aspirant  to  practise  as  an  advocate. 
His  great  More  SO  much  distinguished  himself,  that  he  was  early  ap- 

fn'law.^"'^^    pointed  Reader  to  Furnival's  Inn,  an  Inn  of  Chancery,  under 
the  superintendence  of  Lincoln's  Inn  ;  and  there  he  delivered 
lectures,  with  great  applause,  for  three  years. 
A.n.  1500.         It  rather  puzzles  us  to  understand  the  nature  of  his  next 

Gives  leC" 

tures  in  a  appearance  in  public.  "  After  this,  to  his  great  commend- 
church.  ation,  he  read  for  a  good  space  a  public  lecture  of  St. 
Augustine,  De  Civitate  Dei,  in  the  church  of  St.  Lawrence, 
in  the  Old  Jewry  ;  whereunto  there  resorted  Doctor  Grocyn, 
an  excellent  cunning  man,  and  all  the  chief  learned  of  the 
city  of  London."  *  We  cannot  understand  a  parish  church 
converted  into  a  lecture- room ;  and  a  young  lawyer  mounting 
the  pulpit,  and  discoursing  to  a  large  congregation  on  things 
sacred  and  secular.  It  is  said,  that  he  did  not  so  much  dis- 
cuss points  of  divinity,  as  moral  philosophy  and  history.  He 
was  run  after  by  the  great,  the  learned,  and  the  fashionable ; 
and  Collet,  his  Oxford  friend,  now  Dean  of  St.  Paul's,  and 
the  future  founder  of  St.  Paul's  School,  was  wont  to  say  at 

*   Roper,  16. 


LORD   CHANCELLOR   SIR   THOMAS   MORE.  513 

this  time,  that  "there  was  but  one  wit  in  England,  and  that     CHAP, 
was  young  Thomas  More."  *  xxx. 

Though  called  to  the  degree  of  barrister,  he  had  not  begun  -wishes  to 
to  plead  in  Court ;  and  he  was  now  disposed  for  ever  to  re-  become  a 
nounce  the  pomp  and  vanity  of  the  world,  and  to  bury  himself 
in  a  convent.  His  modern  biographers  very  improperly  shrink 
from  this  passage  of  his  life  ;  for  if  it  were  discreditable  to  him 
(which  it  really  is  not),  still  it  ought  to  be  known,  that  we  may 
justly  appreciate  his  character.  He  was  so  transported  with  the 
glory  of  St.  Augustine,  and  so  enraptured  with  the  pleasures 
of  piety,  and  so  touched  with  the  peace,  regularity,  and 
freedom  from  care  of  a  monastic  life,  that  he  resolved  to  enter 
the  order  of  St.  Francis.  But  before  taking  the  irrevocable 
vow  of  celibacy,  shaving  his  crown,  putting  on  the  grey  serge 
garment  fastened  by  a  twisted  rope,  and  walking  barefoot  in 
quest  of  alms,  he  prudently  made  an  experiment  how  strict 
monastic  discipline  would  permanently  suit  him.  "  He  began 
to  wear  a  sharp  shirt  of  hair  next  his  skin.  He  added  also  to 
his  austerity  a  whip  every  Friday  and  high  fasting  days, 
thinking  that  such  cheer  was  the  best  alms  that  he  could 
bestow  upon  himself.  He  used  also  much  fasting  and  watch- 
ing, lying  often  upon  the  bare  ground  or  upon  some  bench, 
laying  a  log  under  his  head,  allotting  himself  but  four  or  five 
hours  in  a  night  at  the  most  for  his  sleep,  imagining,  with 
the  holy  saints  of  Christ's  church,  that  his  body  was  to  be 
used  as  an  ass,  with  strokes  and  hard  fare,  lest  provender 
might  pride  it,  and  so  bring  his  soul,  like  a  headstrong  jade, 
to  the  bottomless  pit  of  hell."  f  With  this  view  he  took  a 
lodging  close  by  the  Carthusian  monastery,  now  the  site  of 
the  Charterhouse  school,  and  as  a  lay  brother  practised  all  the 
austerities  which  prevail  in  this  stem  order.  He  found  these  On  trial 
after  a  time  not  edifying  to  his  piety,  and  he,  a  rigid  Roman  Car'timslan 
Catholic,  doubted  the  advantages  supposed  to  l)e  conferred  discipline, 
on  religion  by  the  monastic  orders,  which  a  certain  section  of 
professing  Protestants  are  now  so  eager  to  re-establish.  | 

*  "  Augustini  libros  de  civitate  Dei  publice  professus  est,  adhuc  pene  ado- 
lesccns  auditorio  frcquenti ;  nee  puduit  nee  pcenituit  saccrdotes  ac  senes  a 
juvene  profane  sacra  discere." — Eras.  Ep. 

t  More,  p.  25. 

\  Although  Sir  Thomas  More  thenceforth  renounced  most  of  these  austerities, 

VOL.  I,  L  L 


514 


LIFE  OF 


CHAP. 
XXX. 


Resolves  to 
marry. 


His  court- 
ship. 


He  then  wished  to  become  a  priest ;  and,  as  such,  he  might, 
according  to  received  notions,  have  enjoyed,  with  little  re- 
straint, all  the  pleasures  of  the  world ;  but  he  was  too  con- 
scientious to  avail  himself  of  licences  or  dispensations,  or  to 
consider  custom  an  excuse  for  violating  the  engagements  of 
the  clerical  state  if  he  should  enter  into  It.  Finding  that 
these  would  not  permanently  suit  him,  he  resolved  to  marry, 
and,  having  returned  to  his  profession,  to  exert  all  his  energies 
in  It,  that  he  might  rise  to  distinction  and  be  able  creditably 
to  maintain  his  family.  "  God  had  allotted  him  for  another 
state,  —  not  to  live  solitary  —  but  that  he  might  be  a  pattern 
to  reverend  married  men  how  they  should  carefully  bring  up 
their  children ;  how  dearly  they  should  love  their  wives  ;  how 
they  should  employ  their  endeavours  wholly  for  the  good  of 
their  country,  yet  excellently  perform  the  virtues  of  religious 
men,  as  piety,  humility,  obedience,  yea  conjugal  chastity."  * 
Owing  to  the  tenderness  of  his  nature,  the  sweetness  of  his 
disposition,  his  equal  flow  of  mirthful  thoughts,  as  well  as  his 
habits  of  regularity  and  industry,  he  was  singularly  well 
adapted  to  domestic  life ;  and  no  one  ever  more  exquisitely 
enjoyed  Its  blessings. 

From  his  descendant  we  have  the  following  curious  account 
of  his  courtship.  "  Sir  Thomas  having  determined,  by  the 
advice  and  direction  of  his  ghostly  father,  to  be  a  married 
man,  there  was  at  that  time  a  pleasant  conceited  gentleman 
of  an  ancient  family  in  Essex,  one  Mr,  John  Colt,  of  New 
Hall,  that  invited  him  unto  his  house,  being  much  delighted 
in  his  company,  proffering  unto  him  the  choice  of  any  of  his 
daughters,  who  were  young  gentlewomen  of  very  good 
carriage,  good  complexions,  and  very  religiously  inclined ; 
whose  honest  and  sweet  conversation  and  virtuous  education 
enticed  Sir  Thomas  not  a  little ;  and  although  his  affection 
most  served  him  to  the  second,  for  that  he  thought  her  the 


he  appears  to  have  worn  a  hair  shirt  next  his  skin  for  the  rest  of  his  life.  A 
few  days  before  his  execution  he  gave  one  which  he  had  been  wearing  to  his 
daughter  Margaret.  She  bequeathed  it  to  her  cousin,  Margaret  Clements, 
an  Augustinian  nun,  at  Louvaine.  There  it  remained  till  the  French  revolution, 
and  it  is  now  carefully  preserved  as  a  relic  in  a  convent  established  at  Spilsburg, 
near  Blandford. 

*  More,  26.     "  Maluit  maritus  esse  castas  quam  sacerdos  impurus." — Eras. 
Ep. 


LOKD   CHANCELLOR   SIR   THOMAS   MORE.  515 

fairest  and  best  favoured,  yet  when  he  thought  with  himself    CHAP, 
that  it  would  be  a  grief  and  some  blemish  to  the  eldest  to 


have  the  younger  sister  preferred  before  her,  he,  out  of  a  kind 
of  compassion,  settled  his  fancy  upon  the  eldest,  and  soon 
after  married  her  with  all  her  friends'  good  liking."  * 

Some  have  said  that  he  selected  a  rustic  girl  whom  he 
might  fashion  according  to  his  own  notions  of  female  pro- 
priety f ;  but  the  probability  is,  that  he  was  exceedingly  de- 
lighted to  exchange  the  company  of  the  Carthusian  brethren 
for  that  of  the  "  Mistress  Colts,"  having  been  long  a  stranger 
to  female  society  ;  —  that  he  preferred  the  conversation  and 
manners  of  Jane,  the  eldest,  although  the  second  was  a  more 
showy  beauty ;  and  that,  although  he  had  a  good  deal  to 
teach  his  bride  when  he  brought  her  to  London,  she  was  as 
well  educated  and  accomplished  as  country  Squires'  daughters 
generally  were  in  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century. 

There  never  was  a  happier  union.  He  settled  her  in  a  Happily 
house  in  Bucklersbury,  where  they  lived  in  uninterrupted  ™°'''"'^  • 
harmony  and  affection. 

He  now  applied  himself  with  unremitted  assiduity  to  the  Rapid  pro- 
business  of  his  profession,  being  stimulated,  and  cheered,  and  profession, 
comforted,  and  rewarded  by  her  smiles.     When  he  was  Lord 
High  Chancellor,  he  must  have  looked  back  with  a  sigh  to 
this  portion  of  his  career.     He  rose  very  rapidly  at  the  bar, 
and  was  particularly  famous  for  his  skill  in  international  law. 

It  seems  strange  to  us  that  he  at  the  same  time  accepted  ad.  1502. 
and  retained  the  office  of  under-sheriff  of  the  city  of  London,  der-sheriff 
This  office  was  then  judicial,  and  of  considerable  dignity.     I  °^  London, 
conjecture  that  the  under-sheriff,  besides  his  other  duties,  sat 
in  the  Court  of  the  Lord  Mayor  and  of  the  Sheriffs,  in  which 
causes  of  importance  were  then  determined,  and  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  which,  by  the  process  of  foreign  attachment,  was  very 
extensive.     Erasmus,  after  stating  that  his  Court  was  held 
every  Thursday,  observes,  that  no  judge  of  that  Court  ever 

*  More,  39. 

■f  This  notion  is  an  improvement  on  Erasmus,  who  is  silent  on  the  sacrifice 
of  inclination  to  compassion.  "  Virginem  duxit  admodum  puellam,  claro  genere 
natam,  rudcm  adhuc  utpote  ruri  inter  parentes  ac  sorores  semper  habitam,  quo 
magis  illi  liceret  illam  ad  suos  mores  fingerc.  Hanc  et  Uteris  instruendam 
curavit,  et  omni  musices  genere  doctam  reddidit." — Eras.  Ep. 

I.  L  2 


516 


LIFE   OF 


CHAP. 
XXX. 

A.D.  1504, 

Returned 
to  parlia- 
ment, 
Jan.  16. 


Excessive 
subsidy  de- 
manded by- 
Henry  to 
marry  his 
daughter. 


went  through  more  causes ;  none  decided  them  more  up- 
rightly, —  often  remitting  the  fees  to  which  he  was  entitled 
from  the  suitors.  His  deportment  in  this  capacity  endeared 
him  extremely  to  his  fellow-citizens.* 

But  he  was  now  to  make  a  figure  in  a  new  line.  After  an 
intermission  of  parliaments  for  about  seven  years,  one  was 
called  in  the  beginning  of  the  year  1504,  for  the  purpose  of 
obtaining  a  subsidy  on  the  marriage  of  Margaret,  the  King's 
eldest  daughter,  with  James  IV.,  King  of  Scots.  More  was 
returned  to  the  House  of  Commons,  "for  many  had  now 
taken  notice  of  his  suflSciency ;  "  and  he  is  recorded  as  the 
first  member  of  that  assembly  who  gained  celebrity  by  public 
speaking,  and  who,  as  a  successful  leader  of  opposition, 
incurred  the  enmity  of  the  Court.  Henry  was  entitled,  ac- 
cording to  the  strictest  feudal  law,  to  a  grant  on  this  occa- 
sion t ;  but  he  thought  it  a  favourable  opportunity  for  grati- 
fying his  avarice,  and  he  required  a  much  greater  sum  than 
he  intended  to  bestow  upon  the  Scottish  Queen.  "  When  the 
consent  of  the  Lower  House  was  demanded  to  these  impo- 
sitions, most  of  the  rest  either  holding  their  peace  or  not 
daring  to  gainsay  them,  though  they  seemed  unwilling.  Sir 
Thomas,  making  a  grave  speech,  pronounced   such  urgent 


Proofs  that  *  Eras.  Ep.  Although  Roper,  himself  a  lawyer,  distinctly  narrates  that  his 
More  held  father-in-law  was  under-sheriff,  some,  from  an  affected  regard  for  the  dignity  of 
the  office  of  the  Chancellor,  have  tried  to  deny  that  he  held  an  office  which  would  now  be 
under-  declined  by  an  eminent  solicitor  ;  but  in  his  epitaph,  prepared  by  himself,  we  find 

sheriff.  these  words  :  "  In  urbe  sua  pro  Shyrevo  dixit ; "  and  an  entry  has  been  found  in 

the  records  of  the  common  council,  "that  Thomas  More,  gent.,  one  of  the  under- 
sheriffs  of  London,  should  occupy  his  office  and  chamber  by  a  sufficient  deputy 
during  his  absence  as  the  King's  ambassador  in  Flanders."  Edward  Dudley 
Attorney  General  to  Henry  VII.,  was  one  of  the  under-sheriffs,  and  Thomas 
Marrow,  one  of  the  greatest  lawyers  of  his  day,  filled  the  office  about  the  same 
time.  More  himself  set  the  highest  value  on  this  office  ;  for  he  informs  Erasmus 
that,  on  his  return  from  Flanders,  he  declined  a  handsome  pension  offered  him  by 
the  King,  which  he  could  not  hold  without  resigning  his  under-sheriffship,  for 
in  case  of  a  controversy  with  the  King  about  the  privileges  of  the  city,  he  might 
be  deemed  by  his  fellow-citizens  to  be  disabled  by  dependence  on  the  Crown 

from  securely  and  manfully  maintaining  their  rights INIorus  Erasmo,  1516. 

In  the  first  edition  of  the  Utopia,  printed  at  Louvain  by  Theodore  3Iartin  in 
1516,  the  woik  is  stated  to  be  "  Per  clarissimum  et  eruditissimum  Virum 
D.  Tliomam  Morum,  Civem  et  Vice-comitem  Londinensem," — from  which  some 
have  supposed  that  he  had  reached  the  dignity  of  High  Sheriff;  but  this  de- 
signation must  have  proceeded  from  ignorance  of  the  different  degrees  of 
thrieoal  dignity  in  England. 

t  The  King,  like  every  feudal  lord,  could  claim  an  aid  to  knight  his  eldest 
son,  to  marry  his  eldest  daughter,  or  to  redeem  himself  from  captivity. 


LORD   CHANCELLOR   SIR   THOMAS   MORE.  517 

arguments  why  these  exactions  were  not  to  be  granted,  that     CHAP. 
thereupon   all   the   King's    demands    were    crossed,  and  his 
request  denied ;  so  that  Mr.  Tyler,  one  of  the  King's  Privy   ^^  „  15Q4 
Chamber,  went  presently    from   the   House,   and   told  his  Mo-e's 
Majesty  that  a  beardless  boy  had  disappointed  him  of  all  his  speech 
expectations."  *     "  Whereupon  the  King,  conceiving  great  in-  *^^'°f  *^^ 
dignation  towards  him,  could  not  be  satisfied  until  he  had 
some  way  revenged  it."  f 

According  to  the  Tudor  practice  established  in  subsequent  indigna- 
reigns.  More  ought  to  have  been  sent  to  the  Tower  for  his  ^^"^  ^  '^ 
presumption ;  but  Henry  had  always  a  view  to  his  Ex- 
chequer, "  and  forasmuch  as  he,  nothing  having,  nothing  could 
lose,  his  grace  devised  a  causeless  quarrel  against  his  father, 
keeping  him  in  the  Tower  till  he  had  made  him  pay  to  him  a 
hundred  pounds  fine.  Shortly  hereupon  it  fortuned  that 
Sir  Thomas  More  coming  in  a  suit  to  Dr.  Fox,  Bishop  of 
Winchester,  one  of  the  King's  Privy  Council,  the  Bishop 
called  him  aside,  and  pretending  great  favour  towards  him, 
promised  that  if  he  would  be  ruled  by  him  he  would  not  fail 
into  the  King's  favour  again  to  restore  him,  —  meaning,  as  it 
was  afterwards  conjectured,  to  cause  him  thereby  to  confess 
his  offences  against  the  King,  whereby  his  Highness  might 
with  the  better  colour  have  occasion  to  revenge  his  dis- 
pleasure against  him  ;  but  Avhen  he  came  from  the  Bishop  he 
fell  into  communication  with  one  Maister  Whitforde,  his 
familiar  friend,  then  chaplain  to  that  Bishop,  and  showed  him 
what  the  Bishop  had  said,  praying  for  his  advice.  Whitforde 
prayed  him  by  the  passion  of  God  not  to  follow  the  counsel, 
for  my  Lord,  to  serve  the  King's  turn,  will  not  stick  to  agree 
to  his  own  father's  death.  So  Sir  Thomas  More  returned  to 
the  Bishop  no  more."  |  To  show  that  More  acted  wisely  in 
not  making  confessions  to  the  King  in  the  hope  of  pardon, 
it  is  related  that  Avhen  Dudley  was  afterwards  led  to  execu- 
tion, along  with  Empson,  meeting  Sir  Thomas  More,  he  said 

•  More,  4.5.  To  adfl  to  the  marvel  of  this  brilliant  success  in  the  House  of 
Commons,  More's  biographers  roundly  assert  tiiat  he  was  then  only  twenty-one 
years  of  age ;  but  it  appears  from  the  Statute  Book  and  the  Parliament  Roll, 
that  this  parliament  met  on  the  16th  of  January,  1.504,  so  that  he  was  full 
twenty-four,  and  as  old  as  William  Pitt  when  Prime  Minister  of  Great  Britain. 

t   Roper,  7.  t   Ibid.  8. 

L  L   3 


518 


LIFE   OF 


CEIAP. 
XXX. 


More  re- 
solves to 
go  into 
exile. 


>.D.  1509. 


Death  of 

Henry 

VII. 


to  him,  —  "  Oh,  More,  More !  God  was  your  good  friend  that 
you  did  not  ask  the  King  forgiveness,  as  manie  would  have 
had  you  do,  for  if  you  had  done  so,  perhaps  you  should  have 
been  in  the  like  case  with  us  now." 

Henry  VII.  continued  to  regard  the  young  patriot  with 
an  evil  eye,  and  watched  for  an  opportunity  of  effectually 
wreaking  his  vengeance  upon  him,  insomuch  that  "  he  was 
determined  to  have  gone  over  sea,  thinking  that  being  in  the 
King's  indignation  he  could  not  live  in  England  without 
great  danger."  *  In  the  meanwhile  he  almost  entirely  with- 
drew from  his  practice  at  the  bar,  and  devoted  himself  to 
study,  "  perfecting  himself  in  most  of  the  liberal  sciences,  as 
music,  arithmetic,  geometry,  and  astronomy,  and  growing  to 
be  a  perfect  historian."  f  With  a  view  to  his  foreign  re- 
sidence, "  he  studied  the  French  tongue  at  home,  sometimes 
recreating  his  tired  spirits  on  the  viol."  J  —  But  while  he  was 
meditating  exile,  the  death  of  the  tyrant  preserved  him  to  his 
country. 


•   Roper,  9. 


t  More,  47. 


if  Roper,  9. 


LORD   CHANCELLOR   SIR   THOMAS  MORE.  519 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 


LIFE   OF   SIB   THOMAS   MORE   FROM   THE   ACCESSION  OF   HENRY   VHI. 
TILL  HIS   APPOINTMENT   AS   LORD   CHANCELLOR. 

More  hailed  the  commencement  of  the  new  reign  In  a  Latin     chap, 

XXXI 

poem,  which  contained  lines  not  only  praising  the  good  qua- 


lities  of  the   youthful   sovereign,   but  reflecting  with  great  ^p^ii  22. 
bitterness    on   the   oppression   from  which  the  nation  had  i509. 
escaped ;  — 

"  Meta  hffic  servitii  est,  haec  libertatis  origo, 

Tristitiae  finis,  lEetitiaeque  caput. 
Nam  juvenem  secli  decus  O  raemorabile  nostri 

Ungit  et  in  Regem  prseficit  ista  tuum. 
Regem  qui  cunctis  lachrymas  detergat  ocellis, 

Gaudia  pro  longo  substituat  gemitu. 
Omnia  discussis  arrident  pectora  curis, 

Ut  solet,  excussa  nube,  nitere  dies.  — 
Leges  invalidae  prius,  imo  nocere  coacta. 

Nunc  vires  gaudent  obtinuisse  suas. 
Non  metus  occultos  insibilat  aure  susurros 

Nemo  quod  taceat,  quodve  susurret,  habet." 

Little  did  the  poet  foresee  that  this  was  to  be  the  most 
tyrannical  and  bloody  reign  in  the  annals  of  England,  and 
that  he  himself  was  to  be  doomed  to  a  cruel  death  by  him 
whose  clemency  he  celebrates.* 

Meanwhile,  More  resumed  his  profession,  and  rose  in  West-  More  re- 
minster  Hall  to  still  greater  eminence  than  he  had  before  ^^™^^  his 

°  ^  ^  ^  practice  at 

attained.     "  There  was  at  that  time  in  none  of  the  Prince's  the  bar. 
Courts  of  the  laws  of  this  realm,  any  matter  of  importance  in 
controversy   wherein   he   was   not  with    the    one    party  of 
counsel."  t     "  He  now  gained,  without  grief,  not  so  little  as 
400/.  by  the  year,"  an  income  which,  considering  the  relative 

*  A  poem  on  the  union  of  the  red  and  white  roses,  entitled  "  De  utraque 
Rosa  in  unum  Coalita,"  written  by  him  soon  after,  he  thus  prophetically 
concludes  (whether  through  accident  or  second  sight,  I  know  not) : 

"  At  qui  tain  fcrus  est,  ut  non  amet,  ille  timebit. 
Nenipe  etium  spinas  Jlos  habet  iste  suas." 
f  Roper,  9. 

I,  L   4 


520 


KEIGN   OF    HENRY   VIII. 


CHAP. 
XXXI. 

Introduced 
to  the  King 
and  VVol- 
sey. 


Counsel  for 
the  Pope 
in  a  great 
cause. 


Enters  the 
service  of 
the  King, 


profits  of  the  bar  and  the  value  of  money,  probably  indicated 
as  high  a  station  as  10,000/.  a  year  at  the  present  day. 

He  was  ere  long  introduced  to  the  young  King  and  to 
Wolsey,  now  the  prime  favourite  rising  rapidly  to  greatness. 
They  were  both  much  pleased  with  him,  and  were  desirous 
that  he  should  give  up  the  law  for  politics,  and  accept  an 
office  at  Court,  —  the  Cardinal  thinking  that,  from  his  retired 
habits  and  modest  nature,  he  never  could  be  dangerous  as  a 
rival.  More  long  resisted  these  solicitations,  truly  thinking 
his  situation  as  an  eminent  barrister  more  independent  as  well 
as  more  profitable. 

He  was  about  this  time  engaged  in  a  cause  celebre,  of 
which  a  circumstantial  account  has  come  down  to  us.  A 
ship  belonging  to  the  Pope  having  been  seized  at  Southampton, 
as  forfeited  to  the  Crown  for  a  breach  of  the  law  of  nations, 
the  Pope's  Nuncio  at  the  Court  of  London  instituted  pro- 
ceedings to  obtain  restitution,  and  retained  More,  "  at  which 
time  there  could  none  of  our  law  be  found  so  meet  to  be  of 
counsel." 

The  hearing  was  in  the  Star  Chamber  before  the  Chan- 
cellor, the  Chief  Justices,  the  Lord  Treasurer,  and  other 
officers  of  state.  To  plead  against  the  Crown  before  such  a 
tribunal  was  rather  an  arduous  task ;  but  More  displayed 
great  firmness  and  zeal,  and,  availing  himself  not  only  of  his 
own  learning,  but  of  the  authorities  and  arguments  furnished 
to  him  by  his  client  (himself  a  great  civilian),  he  made  such 
an  unanswerable  speech  for  his  Holiness  that  the  judgment 
was  in  his  favour,  and  restitution  was  decreed. 

The  King  was  present  at  the  trial ;  and  to  his  credit  be  it 
spoken,  instead  of  being  mortified  by  the  loss  of  his  prize, 
and  indignant  against  the  counsel  who  had  been  pleading 
against  him,  he  joined  all  the  hearers  in  praising  More  for 
"  his  upright  and  commendable  demeanor  therein  ;  and  for  no 
entreaty  would  henceforth  be  induced  any  longer  to  forbear 
his  service."  * 

In  the  early  part  of  his  reign,  Henry  VIII.  was  one  of  the 
most  popular  Sovereigns  that  ever  filled  the  throne  of  Eng- 


Roper,  11. 


LORD   CHANCELLOR   SIR   THOMAS   MORE.  521 

land,  and  deserved  to  be  so  ;  for,  beyond  his  fine  person,  his  chap. 
manly  accomplishments,  his  agreeable  manners,  and  the  con- 
trast he  presented  to  his  predecessor,  he  showed  a  disposition 
to  patronise  merit  wherever  it  could  be  found ;  and  his  Court 
was  the  resort  of  the  learned  and  the  witty,  as  well  as  the 
high  born  and  chivalrous. 

More  still  retained  his  office  in  the  city,  but  was  prevailed  a.d  1514. 
upon  to  give  up  his  practice  at  the  bar.  He  was  made  ^^^"^'^  ^^^ 
Master  of  the  Requests,  knighted,  and  sworn  of  the  Privy  Master  of 

/^  •!  *  the  Re- 

Council.*  ^       quests,  &c. 

He  now  removed  from  Bucklersbury,  and  took  up  his  His  house 
residence  at  Chelsea,  in  what  might  then  be  considered  a  **  Chelsea, 
country-house,  which  he  built  for  himself,  and  where  he 
amused  himself  with  an  extensive  garden  and  a  farm.  To 
his  inexpressible  grief,  he  had  lost  his  first  wife  after  she  had 
brought  him  four  children  ;  and  he  had  entered  into  a  second  His  second 
matrimonial  union,  not  of  sentiment  but  convenience,  with  ^^^' 
Mrs.  Alice  Middleton,  a  widow  lady,  "  of  good  years,  and  of 
no  good  favour  or  complexion."  She  was  seven  years  older 
than  himself,  and  it  is  to  be  feared  not  always  of  the  sweetest 
disposition.  "  This  he  did  because  she  might  have  care  of 
his  children ;  and  she  proved  a  kind  step-mother  to  them." 
Erasmus,  who  was  often  an  inmate  in  the  family,  speaks  of 
her  as  a  keen  and  watchful  manager,  with  whom  More  lived 
on  terms  of  as  much  respect  and  kindness  as  if  she  had  been 
fair  and  young.  "  No  husband  ever  gained  so  much  obedience 
from  a  wife  by  authority  and  severity,  as  More  by  gentleness 
and  pleasantry.  Though  verging  on  old  age,  and  not  of  a 
yielding  temper,  he  prevailed  on  her  to  take  lessons  on  the 
lute,  the  cithara,  the  viol,  the  monochord,  and  the  flute,  which 
she  daily  practised  to  him."  f 

Yet  from  some  of  their  conjugal  dialogues,  recorded  by 
members  of  the  family,  we  are  made  to  doubt  whether  the 
sweetness  of  their  intercourse  was  not  occasionally  flavoured 
with  a  little  acid.  He  would  say  of  her,  "  that  she  was  penny- 
wise  and  pound-foolish,  saving  a  candle's  end  and  spoiling 
a  velvet  gown."     She  rated  him  for  not  being  sufficiently 

*    Roper,  13.  f  Erasni.  Ep. 


522  REIGN   OF   HENRY  VIII. 

CHAP,  ambitious;  and,  because  he  had  no  mind  to  set  himself  for- 
ward In  the  world,  saying  to  him,  "  Tillie  vallie !  Tillie 
valUe  I  Will  you  sit  and  make  goslings  in  the  ashes :  my 
mother  hath  often  said  unto  me,  It  is  better  to  rule  than  to  be 
ruled." — "  Now,  In  truth,"  answered  he,  "that  is  truly  said, 
good  wife ;  for  I  never  found  you  yet  willing  to  be  ruled."  * 

He  had  soon  a  very  numerous  household ;  for,  his  daugh- 
ters marrying,  they  and  their  husbands  and  their  children  all 
resided  under  his  roof,  and  constituted  one  affectionate  family ; 
which  he  governed  with  such  gentleness  and  discretion  that  it 
was  without  broils  or  jealousies. 
His  do-  The  course  of  his  domestic  life  is  minutely  described  by 

eye-witnesses.  "  His  custom  was  daily  (besides  his  private 
prayers  with  his  children)  to  say  the  seven  psalms,  the  litany, 
and  the  suffrages  following ;  so  was  his  guise  with  his  wife 
and  children,  and  household,  nightly,  before  he  went  to  bed ; 
to  go  to  his  chapel,  and  there  on  his  knees  ordinarily  to  say 
certain  psalms  and  collects  with  them."t  Says  Erasmus, 
*'  You  might  imagine  yourself  in  the  academy  of  Plato.  But 
I  should  do  injustice  to  his  house  by  comparing  It  to  the 
academy  of  Plato,  where  numbers  and  geographical  figures, 
and  sometimes  moral  virtues,  were  the  subjects  of  discussion ; 
it  would  be  more  just  to  call  It  a  school  and  exercise  of  the 
Christian  religion.     All  Its  Inhabitants,  male  or  female,  ap- 

*  Rop.  More.  In  the  metrical  inscription  which  he  wrote  for  his  own  monu- 
ment, there  is  a  laboured  commendation  of  Alice,  which  in  tenderness  is  out- 
weighed by  one  word  applied  to  Jane,  the  beloved  companion  of  his  youth  : 

"  Chara  Thomas  jacet  hie  Joanna  uxorcula  Mori." 

On  the  other  hand  the  following  epigram,  which  he  composed  after  his  second 
marriage,  shows  a  bitter  feeling  towards  Alice  as  a  shrew  : 

"  Some  man  hath  good, 
But  children  hath  he  none ; 
Some  man  hath  both, 
But  he  can  get  none  health ; 
Some  hath  ail  three, 
But  up  to  honor's  throne 
Can  he  not  creep  by  no  manner  of  stealth. 
To  some  she  sendeth  children, 
Riches,  wealth. 

Honour,  worship,  and  reverence,  all  his  life, 
Bttt  yet  she  pincheth  him 
With  a  shrewd  wife. 
Be  content 
With  such  reward  as  fortune  hath  you  sent." 
f  Roper.  Sir  Thomas  More. 


LORD  CHANCELLOR  SIR  THOMAS  MOKE.  523 

plied  their  leisure  to  liberal  studies  and  profitable  reading,     CHAP, 
although  piety  was  their  first  care.     No  wrangling,  no  angry   ' 


word  was  heard  in  it ;  no  one  was  idle ;  every  one  did  his 
duty  with  alacrity,  and  with  a  temperate  cheerfulness."* 

But  the  most  charming  picture  of  More  as  a  private  man  His  letter 
is  carelessly  sketched  by  himself  in  a  hurried  Latin  letter  to  Gjigg*^'^ 
Peter  Giles,  his  friend  at  Antwerp,  lamenting  the  little  time 
he  could  devote  to  literary  composition :  — 

"  For  while  in  pleading,  in  hearing,  in  deciding  causes,  or  com- 
posing disputes  as  an  arbitrator,  in  waiting  on  some  men  about 
business,  and  on  others  out  of  respect,  the  greatest  part  of  the  day 
is  spent  on  other  men's  affairs,  the  remainder  of  it  must  be  given 
to  my  family  at  home  ;  so  that  I  can  reserve  no  part  to  myself, 
that  is,  to  study.  I  must  gossip  with  my  wife  and  chat  with  my 
children,  and  find  something  to  say  to  my  servants  f ;  for  all  these 
things  I  reckon  a  part  of  my  business,  unless  I  were  to  become  a 
stranger  in  my  own  house  ;  for  with  whomsoever  either  nature  or 
choice  or  chance  has  engaged  a  man  in  any  relation  of  life,  he  must 
endeavour  to  make  himself  as  acceptable  to  them  as  he  possibly 
can.  In  such  occupations  as  these,  days,  months,  and  years  slip 
away.  Indeed  all  the  time  which  I  can  gain  to  myself  is  that 
which  I  steal  from  my  sleep  and  my  meals,  and  because  that  is  not 
much  I  have  made  but  a  slow  progress."} 

His  time  was  now  more  than  ever  broke  in  upon  by  visits 
from  distinguished  foreigners,  who  were  eager  to  see  him  from 
his  great  reputation  abroad,  and  whose  opinion  of  him  he 
still  farther  exalted  by  the  charms  of  his  manner  and  con- 
versation. 

To  his  great  grief  he  was  often  obliged  to  lodge  in  the  intimacy 
palace,  and  his  favour  with  the  King  and  the  Court  threatened  ^'j^V'"^ 
utterly  to  interfere  with  all  his  domestic  enjoyments,  and  to 
ruin  his  literary  projects.  "  The  King's  custom  was,  upon 
holydays,  wlien  he  had  done  his  own  devotions,  to  send  for 
Sir  Thomas  into  his  traverse,  and  there,  sometimes  in  matters 
of  astronomy,  geometry,  and  divinity,  and  such  other  faculties, 

*  Eras.  Ep. 

f  He  curiously  adapted  his  conversation  to  the  different  members  of  his  esta- 
blishment. "  Cum  uxore  fabulandum  est,  garriendum  cum  liberis,  coUoqucndum 
cum  ministris,"  &c. 

t   Morus  Aegedio. 


524 

CHAP. 
XXXI. 


Literary 
occupa- 
tions. 


Embassies. 


Residence 
at  Calais. 


KEIGN   OF   HENRY   VIII. 

to  sit  and  confer  with  him ;  otherwhiles  also,  in  the  clear 
night,  he  would  have  him  walk  with  him  on  the  leads,  there 
to  discourse  with  him  of  the  diversity  of  the  courses,  motions, 
and  operations  of  the  stars ;  and,  because  he  was  of  a  very 
pleasant  disposition,  it  pleased  his  Majesty  and  the  Queen, 
after  the  council  had  supped,  commonly  to  call  for  him  to 
hear  his  pleasant  jests."  There  was  no  remedy  but  to  be 
dull.  "  When  Sir  Thomas  perceived  his  pleasant  con- 
ceits so  much  to  delight  them  that  he  could  scarce  once 
in  a  month  get  leave  to  go  home  to  his  wife  and  children, 
and  that  he  could  not  be  two  days  absent  from  the  Court 
but  he  must  be  sent  for  again,  he  much  misliking  this 
restraint  of  his  liberty,  began  therefore  to  dissemble  his 
mirth,  and  so  little  by  little  to  disuse  himself,  that  he  from 
thenceforth  at  such  seasons  was  no  more  so  ordinarily  sent 
for."* 

In  spite  of  all  these  distractions  he  not  only  most  cre- 
ditably performed  all  his  public  duties,  but  wrote  works 
which  gained  the  highest  degree  of  celebrity  in  his  own  time, 
and  are  now  interesting  and  instructive. 

Between  the  years  1514  and  1523  More  was  repeatedly 
employed  on  embassies  to  the  Low  Countries,  chiefly  to  settle 
disputes  about  trade  and  to  negotiate  commercial  treaties,  an 
employment  which  he  seems  particularly  to  have  disliked. 
On  the  first  occasion  he  was  consoled  for  a  long  detention  at 
Bruges  by  the  company  of  his  colleague,  Tunstal,  then 
Master  of  the  Eolls,  and  afterwards  Bishop  of  Durham, 
whom  he  celebrates  as  one  not  only  fraught  with  all  learning, 
and  sincere  in  his  life  and  morals,  but  inferior  to  no  man  as 
a  delightful  companion.  Subsequently  he  had  no  one  asso- 
ciated with  him ;  and  although  he  was  pleased  to  meet  the 
friends  of  Erasmus,  and  was  struck  by  the  wealth  and  civiHsa- 
tion  he  saw  among  the  Flemings,  he  longed  much  for  the  re- 
pose of  his  retreat  at  Chelsea,  and  for  the  embraces  of  his 
children. 

He  was  much  annoyed  by  being  stationed  a  long  time  at 
Calais,  a  place  from  which  negotiations  could  be  conveniently 


More. 


LORD   CHANCELLOR   SIR   THOMAS   MORE.  525 

carried  on  with  the  Continental  states.     On  this  occasion     CHAP. 

XXXI 
Erasmus  writes  to  Peter  Giles,  their  common  friend,  "  More 


is  still  at  Calais,  of  which  he  is  heartily  tired.  He  lives  at 
great  expense,  and  is  engaged  in  business  most  odious  to  him. 
Such  are  the  rewards  reserved  by  kings  for  their  favourites."* 
Afterwards  More  himself  writes  to  Erasmus:  "  I  approve 
your  determination  never  to  be  engaged  in  the  busy  trifling 
of  princes ;  from  which,  as  you  love  me,  you  must  wish  that 
I  were  extricated.  You  cannot  imagine  how  painfully  I  feel 
myself  plunged  in  them,  for  nothing  can  be  more  odious  to 
me  than  this  legation.  I  am  here  banished  to  a  petty  sea- 
port, of  which  the  air  and  the  earth  are  equally  disagreeable 
to  me.  Abhorrent  as  I  am  by  nature  from  strife,  even  when 
it  is  profitable,  as  at  home,  you  may  judge  how  wearisome  it 
is  here,  where  it  actually  causes  a  loss  to  me."  He  must  have 
been  much  relieved  by  the  agreeable  society  of  Wolsey,  who 
crossed  the  Channel,  for  a  short  time,  to  superintend  the 
King's  nejTotiations  and  his  own. 

In  1519  he  was  reluctantly  obliged  to  resign  his  favourite  a.d.  1519. 
office  of  under-sheriff,  the  city  being  tired   of  giving   him  officfoHhe 
leave  of  absence  when  he  went  upon  the  King's  business ;  but  sheriff. 
in  1521  he  was  rewarded  with  the  office  of  Treasurer  of  the  a.d.  1521. 
Exchequer,   which   was    of   considerable   profit  as   well  as 
dignity,  t 

The  next  step  in  More's  advancement  was  the  chair  of  the  Elected 
House  of  Commons.     The  great,  or  rather  the  only,  object   jj'oysg  ^f 
of  calling  the  Parliament  which  met  in  April,  1523,  being  to   Commons, 
obtain  money,  some  management  was  thought  necessary  to 
provide  against  the  parsimonious  turn  always  shown  by  the 
representatives  of  the  people;  for,  though  generally  willing 
to  comply  with  any  other  demand  of  the  Crown, — when  their 
pockets  were  touched,  they  were  stem  and  resolute,  granting 

*  Eras.  Ep. 

f  This  ai)pointment  gave  great  satisfaction  to  all  More's  friends.  Erasmus 
writing  to  Budmus,  says,  "  Est  quod  Moro  gratuleris,  nam  Rex  ilium  nee 
ambientem  nee  flagitantem  munere  magnifico  honestavit,  addito  salario  nequa- 
quam  penitendo,  est  enim  principi  suo  a  thesauris."  He  adds,  "  Nee  hoc  con- 
tentus,  equitis  aurati  dignitatem  adjecit."  But  Iloper,  who  coidd  not  be 
mistaken,  states  that  he  was  knighted  within  a  month  after  he  was  made  Master 
of  Requests. 


626  REIGN   OF   HENEY  VIII. 

CHAP,     only  moderate  and  temporary  supplies.*     A  good  deal  de- 
XXXI.     pended   on   the  Speaker,  who  not  only  exercised  influence 


A.I).  1523. 


over  the  assembly  as  president,  but  himself  was  in  the  habit 
of  taking  an  active  part  in  the  discussions.  Although  the 
choice  of  Speaker  was  nominally  with  the  Commons  them- 
selves, in  reality  it  was  dictated  by  the  Court ;  and  on  this 
occasion  Sir  Thomas  More  was  selected  from  his  great  fame 
and  popularity,  and  from  his  having  hitherto  co-operated  in 
the  administration  of  Wolsey,  as  yet  not  liable  to  much  ex- 
ception, and  from  the  dread  of  his  again  acting  the  part  of  a 
popular  leader.  The  Commons  were  much  gratified  by  the 
recommendation,  and  joyfully  presented  their  favourite  as 
their  Speaker  to  the  King  sitting  on  his  throne  in  the  House 
of  Lords. 
He  (lis-  More  disqualified  himself,  referring  to  the  story  of  Phormio 

himseir  *^®  philosopher,  "who  desired  Hannibal  to  come  to  his  lectures, 
which,  when  he  consented  to  and  came,  Phormio  began  to 
read  De  Re  Militari — of  chivalry  ;  but  as  soon  as  Hannibal 
heard  this,  he  called  the  philosopher  an  arrogant  fool  to 
presume  to  teach  him  who  was  already  master  of  chivalry  and 
all  the  arts  of  war."  "  So,"  says  Sir  Thomas,  "  if  I  should 
presume  to  speak  before  his  Majesty  of  learning  and  the  well 
ordering  of  the  government,  or  such  like  matters,  the  King, 
who  is  so  deeply  learned,  such  a  master  of  prudence  and 
experience,  might  say  to  me  as  Hannibal  to  Phormio." 
Wherefore  he  humbly  besought  his  Majesty  to  order  the 
Commons  to  choose  another  Speaker. 

To  this  the  Chancellor,  by  the  King's  command,  replied, 
that  "  His  Majesty,  by  long  experience  of  his  service,  was 
well  acquainted  with  his  wit,  learning,  and  discretion,  and 
that  therefore  he  thought  the  Commons  had  chosen  the  fittest 
person  of  them  all  to  be  their  Speaker."! 

More  then  delivered  a  prepared  speech,  which  was  published 
by  his  son-in-law,  as  is  supposed  from  the  original  MS.,  and 

*  To  this  stinginess  of  the  Commons  we  must  ascribe  the  liberties  of  Eng- 
land ;  for  large  and  permanent  grants  would  have  led  to  the  disuse  of  national 
assemblies  in  this  island,  as  well  as  on  the  Continent  of  Europe.  Except  the 
Customs,  no  permanent  tax  was  imposed  before  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth 
century. 

t   1  Pari.  Hist.  486. 


LORD   CHANCELLOR   SIR   THOMAS   MORE.  527 

which  is  curious  as  an  authentic  specimen  of  the  state  of  the     CHAP. 
English  language  in  the  beginning  of  the  16th  century,  and 


of  the  taste  in  oratory  which  then  prevailed :  —  ^  ^  2523. 

"  Sith  I  perceive,  most  redoubted  Sovereign,  that  it  standeth  His  oration 
not  with  your  pleasure  to  reform  this  election,  and  cause  it  to  be  to  the  King, 
changed,  but  have,  by  the  mouth  of  the  most  reverend  father  in 
God,  the  Legate,  your  Highness's  Chancellor,  thereunto  given 
your  most  royal  assent,  and  have  of  your  benignity  determined  far 
above  that  I  may  bear  for  this  office  to  repute  me  meet,  rather  than 
that  you  should  seem  to  impute  unto  your  Commons  that  they  had 
unmeetly  chosen,  I  am  ready  obediently  to  conform  myself  to  the 
accomplishment  of  your  Highness's  pleasure  and  commandment." 

Having  begged  a  favourable  construction  on  all  his  own 
words  and  actions,  he  apologises  for  the  rusticity  of  the 
Commons,  and  prays  privilege  of  speech.  He  says  that  great 
care  had  been  taken  to  elect  discreet  men  according  to  the 
exigency  of  the  writs,  and  thus  proceeds  :  — 

"  Whereby  it  is  not  to  be  doubted  but  that  there  is  a  very  sub- 
stantial assembly  of  right,  wise,  meet,  and  politique  persons  ;  yet 
most  precocious  Prince,  sith  among  so  many  wise  men,  neither  is 
every  man  wise  alike,  nor  among  so  many  alike  well  witted,  every 
man  well  spoken  ;  and  it  often  happeth  that  as  much  folly  is 
uttered  with  pointed  polished  speech,  so  many  boisterous  and  rude 
in  language  give  right  substantial  counsel ;  and  sith  also  in  matters 
of  great  importance  the  mind  is  often  so  occupied  in  the  matter 
that  a  man  rather  studieth  what  to  say  than  how :  by  reason 
whereof  the  wisest  man  and  best  speaker  in  a  whole  country 
fortuneth,  when  his  mind  is  fervent  in  the  matter,  somewhat  to 
speak  in  such  wise  as  he  would  afterwards  wish  to  have  been  ut- 
tered otherwise,  and  yet  no  worse  will  had  when  he  spake  it,  than 
he  had  when  he  would  so  gladly  change  it.  Therefore,  most 
generous  Sovereign,  considering  that  in  your  high  court  of  par- 
liament is  nothing  treated  but  matter  of  weight  and  importance 
concerning  your  realm  and  your  own  rSyal  estate,  it  could  not  fail 
to  put  to  silence  from  the  giving  of  their  advice  and  counsel  many 
of  your  discreet  Commons,  to  the  great  hindrance  of  your  common 
affairs,  unless  every  one  of  your  Commons  were  utterly  discharged 
of  all  doubt  and  fear  how  any  thing  that  it  should  happen  them  to 
speak  should  happen  of  your  Highness  to  be  taken.  And  in  this 
point,  though  your  well  known  and  proved  benignity  putteth  every 
man  in  good  hope,  yet  such  is  the  weight  of  the  matter,  such  is 


528  REIGN   OF   HENKY   VIII. 

CHAP,      the  reverend  dread  that  the  timorous  hearts  of  your  natural  sub- 
jects  conceive  towards  your  Highness  our  most  redoubted  King 


A.D.  1523. 


and  undoubted  Sovereign,  that  they  cannot  in  this  point  find  them- 
selves satisfied,  except  your  gracious  bounty  therein  declared  put 
away  the  scruple  of  their  timorous  minds,  and  put  them  out  of 
doubt.  It  may  therefore  like  your  most  abundant  Grace  to  give 
to  all  your  Commons  here  assembled,  your  most  gracious  license 
and  pardon  freely,  without  doubt  of  your  dreadful  displeasure, 
every  man  to  discharge  his  conscience,  and  boldly  in  every  thing 
incident  among  us  to  declare  his  advice;  and  whatsoever  hap- 
peneth  any  man  to  say,  that  it  may  like  your  noble  Majesty,  of 
your  inestimable  goodness,  to  take  all  in  good  part,  interpreting 
every  man's  words,  how  uncunningly  however  they  may  be 
couched,  to  proceed  yet  of  good  zeal  towards  the  profit  of  your 
realm  and  honour  of  your  royal  person  ;  and  the  prosperous  estate 
and  preservation  whereof,  most  excellent  Sovereign,  is  the  thing 
which  we  all,  your  Majesty's  humble,  loving  subjects,  according  to 
the  most  bounden  duty  of  our  natural  allegiance,  most  highly  de- 
sire and  pray  for."  * 

This  address  has  been  blamed  for  servility ;  but  the  epithets 
applied  to  the  King  are  merely  in  conformity  to  the  esta- 
blished usage  of  the  times,  and  in  pleading  for  the  necessity 
of  liberty  of  speech  More  shows  considerable  boldness,  while 
he  indulges  in  a  few  sarcasms  on  the  country  squires  over 
whom  he  was  to  preside. 

To  please  him  still  more,  and  to  ensure  his  services  in  the 
subsidy.  Judge  More,  his  father,  in  spite  of  very  advanced 
age,  was  named  in  the  Lords  one  of  the  "  Triers  of  Petitions 
for  Gascogny,"  an  office  which  is  still  filled  up  at  the  com- 
mencement of  every  parliament,  and  which,  although  become 
a  sinecure,  was  then  supposed  to  confer  great  dignity. 
Hisiauda.        "\Ye  have  seen  in  the  life  of  Wolseyf  the  independent 

ble  cjnduct         ..         i-i-  •.  r>i  ii        ti  •  o  t 

as  Speaker.  Spirit  which,  in  spite  01  these  blandishments,  in  a  lew  days 
after.  More  displayed ;  and  the  noble  stand  he  made  for  the 
privileges  of  the  House  of  Commons.  A  reasonable  supply, 
constitutionally  asked,  he  was  willing  to  have  supported  ;  but 
the  extortionate  demand  which  Wolsey  thought,  by  his  per- 
sonal appearance  in  the  House,  surrounded  by  all  his  pa- 
geantry, violently  to  enforce,  was  dexterously  resisted,  to  the 

•    Roper  13.  f  Ante,  p.  473. 


LORD   CHANCELLOR   SIR   THOMAS   MORE.  529 

disgrace  and  ridicule  of  the  chief  actor  in  the  scene.     Well     CHAP, 
might  the  wish  have  been  entertained,  "  that  More  had  been 


at  Rome  when  he  was  made  Speaker."  *  ^  j,  j523. 

Wolsey  who,  according  to  Erasmus,  had  "rather  feared  Woisey's 
than  loved  More"  after  this  time,  became  seriously  iealous  of  ^"^™P*  *° 

'  J  J  send  nim 

him  as  a  rival  f;  and  meditating  a  refined  vengeance,  attempted  to  Spain, 
to  banish  him  to  Spain  under  the  title  of  ambassador,  with 
strong  professions  of  admiration  for  the  learning  and  wisdom 
of  the  proposed  diplomatist,  and  his  peculiar  fitness  for  a  con- 
ciliatory adjustment  of  the  difficult  matters  which  were  at 
issue  between  the  King  and  his  kinsman  the  Emperor.  The 
overture  being  made  to  More,  he  immediately  perceived  the 
artifice  of  it ;  but  resisted  it  on  the  allegation  that  the  Spanish 
climate  would  be  fatal  to  his  constitution,  beseeching  Henry 
"  not  to  send  a  faithful  servant  to  his  grave."  It  is  believed 
that  the  King  saw  into  Woisey's  motives,  and  wished  to  have 
near  him  a  man,  whom  he  destined,  at  some  future  period,  to 
become  his  chief  minister.  He  kindly  answered,  therefore, 
"  It  is  not  our  meaning,  Mr.  More,  to  do  you  any  hurt ;  but 
to  do  you  good  we  should  be  glad.  We  shall,  therefore, 
employ  you  otherwise.  "| 

He  continued  in  great  favour  with  the  King ;  and,  in  the  Made 
end  of  the  year  1525,  on  the  death  of  Sir  R.  Wingfield,  he  jf  D^uchy"^ 
was  appointed  Chancellor  of  the  Duchy  of  Lancaster,  an  ofLan- 
office  illustrated  by  distinguished  lawyers  and  statesmen  down  ^  ^  1*525. 
to  our  own  time§,  and  which  More  continued  to  hold  till  he 
received  the  Great  Seal  of  England. 

As  he  was  reluctant  to  visit  the  Palace,  and  seemed  not  King's 
quite  happy  when  he  was  there,  "the  King  would,  on  a  sud-  ^'j^^t 
den,  come  over  to  his  house  at  Chelsea,  and  be  merry  with  Chelsea, 
him  —  even  dining  with  him  without  previous  invitation  or 
notice."     On  such  occasions,  from  a  true  sense  of  hospitality, 

*   Roper,  20. 

+   More  has  been  censured  for  having,  while  comparatively  obscure,  flattered 
the  great  man  ;  but  I  think  without  reason,  as  he  confined  his  commendation  to 
Woisey's  love  of  learning  and  patronage  of  the  learned.      Thus  : 
"  Unice  doctorum  pater  ac  patrone  virorum, 
Pieridum  pendet  cujus  ab  ore  chorus." 

X  Roper,  21. 

§  Be  it  remembered  that  I  wrote  the  text  in  the  year  1843,  before  I  held, 
and  when  I  little  expected  ever  to  hold,  this  office.  —  Note  to  Third  Edition, 
1848. 

VOL.  I.  MM 


530 


REIGN   OP   HENRY   Vlll. 


CHAP. 
XXX  I. 


More's 
early  in- 
sight into 
character 
of  Henry 
VIII. 


More,  the 
mouth- 
piece of 
the  King. 


His  literary 
reputation. 


More  did  his  best  to  entertain  his  royal  guest,  and  put  forth 
all  his  powers  of  pleasing.  Roper  particularly  celebrates  one 
of  these  visits,  when  the  King  was  so  much  delighted  with 
his  conversation  that,  after  dinner,  he  walked  with  him  in  the 
garden  by  the  space  of  an  hour,  holding  his  arm  about  his 
neck.  As  soon  as  his  Majesty  was  gone.  Roper  congratulated 
his  father-in-law  on  the  distinguished  honour  that  had  been 
paid  to  him ;  saying,  "  how  happy  must  he  be  with  whom  the 
King  was  so  lovingly  familiar,  the  like  of  which  had  never 
been  seen  before  except  once,  when  he  walked  arm  in  arm 
with  Cardinal  Wolsey."  "  I  thank  our  Lord,"  quoth  he,  "  I 
find  his  Grace  my  very  good  Lord  indeed  ;  and  I  believe  he 
doth  as  singularly  favour  me  as  any  subject  within  this  realm. 
Howbeit,  son  Roper,  I  may  tell  thee  I  have  no  cause  to  be 
proud  thereof;  for  if  my  head  would  win  him  a  castle  in 
France,  it  should  not  fail  to  go."* 

This  authentic  anecdote  shows,  in  a  very  striking  manner, 
how  More  had  early  penetrated  the  intense  selfishness,  levity, 
heartlessness,  and  insensibility  to  remorse  which  constituted 
the  character  of  the  King,  while  these  bad  qualities  were  yet 
disguised  by  a  covering  of  affability,  hilarity,  and  apparent 
good  humour,  and  before  they  had  shed  the  blood  of  a  wife 
or  a  friend.  The  world  could  little  anticipate  that  Henry 
would  actually  one  day  cut  off  More's  head,  even  without 
any  such  substantial  advantage  as  the  winning  of  a  castle. 
For  the  present  his  Majesty  delighted  to  honour  him. 

On  account  of  his  facetiousness  and  his  learning  he  was 
generally  obliged  to  attend  the  Court  in  the  royal  progresses, 
and  at  Oxford  and  Cambridge  he  was  always  the  person  ap- 
pointed to  answer  the  Latin  addresses  to  the  King  by  the 
University  orators.  Attending  Henry  to  France,  he  was 
employed  to  make  the  speech  of  congratulation  when  the 
English  and  French  monarchs  embraced.  So,  when  the  Em- 
peror landed  in  England,  he  welcomed  him  in  the  King's 
name  with  such  eloquence  and  grace,  as  to  call  forth  the  ad- 
miration of  Charles  as  well  as  of  all  his  Flemish  and  Spanish 
attendants. 

More's  European  reputation  was  now  at  its  height.    He  had 

*  Roper,  22. 


LORD   CHANCELLOR   SIR  THOMAS   MORE,  531 

published  his  "Epigrams,"  his  "Utopia,"  and  his  "Eefutation  CHAP, 
of  the  Lutherans,"  all  of  which  had  been  frequently  reprinted 
in  Germany  and  France.  He  carried  on  an  epistolary  corre- 
spondence with  all  the  most  celebrated  foreign  literati,  and 
he  had  spread  his  fame  in  a  way  of  which  we  can  now  have 
but  an  imperfect  notion,  by  academical  disputations.  Visiting 
every  university  which  he  approached  in  his  travels,  "  he 
would  learnedly  dispute  among  them,  to  the  great  admi- 
ration of  the  auditory."  On  one  occasion,  when  at  Bruges, 
he  gained  no  small  applause  by  putting  down  an  arrogant 
pedant,  who  published  a  universal  challenge  to  dispute  with 
any  person  "  in  omni  scibili  et  de  quolibet  ente."  The 
Englishman  who  studied  at  Lincoln's  Inn,  proposed  the  His  famous 
question  —  An  averia  caruccB  capta  in  vetito  namio  sint  irre-  l^^^t'^n  to 

■^       _    _  _  -*  ^  a  pedant  at 

plegihilia  ?     "  This  Thraso  or  braggadocio  not  so  much  as   Bruges, 
understanding  those  terms  of  our  common  law,  knew  not 
what  to  answer  to  it,  and  so  he  was  made  a  laughing-stock  to 
the  whole  city  for  his  presumptuous  bragging."  * 

Now  began   the   controversy  about   the  King's   divorce,  ad.  1525. 
which  entirely  changed  the  aspect  of  affairs,  both  civil  and  ^■^^^^^ 
ecclesiastical  in  England,  and  had  a  lasting  effect  upon  the 
destinies  of  the  nation.     More  lies  under  the  suspicion  of  More  con- 
some  dissimulation  or  culpable  concealment  of  his  sentiments  '^e'^''*.  ^^'^ 

i^  _  opinion. 

upon  this  subject.  When  consulted  by  Henry  respecting  the 
legality  of  his  marriage  with  his  brother's  widow,  he  said  it 
was  a  question  only  fit  for  theologians,  and  referring  him  to 
the  writings  of  St.  Augustine  and  other  luminaries  of  the 
Western  Church,  never  would  give  any  explicit  opinion  from 
himself.  It  is  possible  that,  unconsciously  to  himself.  More 
dissembled  from  prudence  or  ambition,  and  that  he  cherished 
a  secret  hope  of  farther  advancement,  which  would  have  been 
extinguished  by  a  blunt  opposition  to  the  royal  inclination  ; 
but  it  is  likewise  possible  that  he  sincerely  doubted  on  a  ques- 
tion which  divided  the  learned  world,  and  we  are  not  hastily 
to  draw  inferences  against  him  from  his  subsequent  condemn- 
ation of  the  King's  union  with  Anne  Boleyn  before  his  mar- 
riage with  Catherine  had  been  canonically  dissolved  according 

•  3  Black.  Com.  148. 

M  M    2 


532 


EEIGN   OF   HENRY   VIII. 


CHAP. 
XXXI. 

Preserves 
neutrality. 


Scene  at 
the  council 
table  be- 
tween 
Wolsey 
and  More. 


More,  am- 
bassador at 
Cambrav. 


to  the  rules  of  the  Romish  Church,  which  he  most  potently 
believed  to  be  binding  on  all  Christians.* 

While  the  suit  for  the  divorce  was  going  on  at  Rome  through 
negotiations  with  Clement,  and  before  the  Legatine  Court 
opened  its  sittings  after  the  arrival  of  Campeggio,  More  ap- 
pears to  have  observed  a  strict  neutrality,  and  he  enjoyed  the 
confidence  of  both  parties.  Queen  Catherine  said,  —  "  The 
King  had  but  one  sound  councillor  in  his  kingdom.  Sir  Thomas 
More  ;  and  as  for  Cardinal  Wolsey,  then  the  greatest  subject 
in  the  realm,  for  his  own  benefit  or  end  he  cared  not  what 
counsel  he  gave."  On  the  other  hand,  the  Duke  of  Norfolk, 
the  uncle  of  Anne  Boleyn,  the  Earl  of  Wiltshire,  her  father, 
and  Anne  herself,  who  now  secretly  directed  the  King's 
councils,  had  great  hopes  of  bringing  More  into  their  designs 
as  an  active  partisan,  and  intended  that  he  should  be  the 
successor  to  Wolsey,  whom  they  doomed  to  destruction  if  the 
divorce  was  not  speedily  pronounced. 

The  Chancellor  of  the  Duchy  was  still  very  submissive  to 
the  Lord  High  Chancellor ;  but  we  have  an  account  of  a 
scene  at  the  council-board  about  this  time,  which  proves  that 
there  was  "  no  love  lost  between  them."  The  Cardinal  showed 
Sir  Thomas  the  draught  of  a  treaty  with  a  foreign  power, 
asking  his  opinion  of  it,  and  pressing  him  so  heartily  to  say 
"  whether  there  were  any  thing  therein  to  be  misliked,"  that 
he  believed  there  was  a  desire  to  hear  the  truth,  and  pointed 
out  some  great  faults  committed  in  it.  Whereupon  the  Car- 
dinal, starting  up  in  a  rage,  exclaimed, — "  By  the  Mass,  thou 
art  the  veriest  fool  of  all  the  Council ;  "  at  which  Sir  Thomas, 
smiling,  said,  —  "  God  be  thanked,  the  King  our  Master  hath 
but  one  fool  in  his  Council." 

Nevertheless,  being  again  associated  with  Tunstal,  now 
Bishop  of  Durham,  he  was  sent  Ambassador  to  Cambray  to 
treat  of  a  general  peace  between  England,  France,  and  the 


*  In  his  gratulatory  verses  on  the   King's  accession,  he  had  pronounced  this 
marriage  to  be  most  auspicious  : 

"  Conjugio,  superi  quod  decrevere  benigni, 
Quo  tibi,  quoque  tuis  consuluere  bene." 

He  then  goes  on  to  compare  Catherine  to  Penelope,   Cornelia,  and  the  most 
meritorious  matrons  of  antiquity,  showing  that  she  excelled  them  all. 


LORD   CHANCELLOR   SIR   THOMAS   MORE.  533 

extensive  states  ruled  over  by  Charles  V.     In  this  his  last     CHAP. 

"V  Y  X  T 

foreign  mission  he  was  supposed  to  have  displayed  the 
highest  diplomatic  skill,  and  "  he  so  worthily  handled  him- 
self, that  he  procured  far  more  benefits  unto  this  realm  than 
by  the  King  or  the  Council  had  been  thought  possible  to  be 
compassed."  *  During  his  stay  abroad  he  became  very  home- 
sick, but  wrote  thus  merrily  to  Erasmus  :  —  "  I  do  not  like 
my  office  of  an  ambassador ;  it  doth  not  suit  a  married  man 
thus  to  leave  his  family :  it  is  much  fitter  for  you  eccle- 
siastics, who  have  no  wives  and  children  at  home,  or  who 
find  them  wheresoever  you  go?"*  f 

Soon  after  his  return  he  paid  a  visit  to  the  King  at  Wood-   a.d.  1529. 

•         H- 1      b 
stock,  where  he  heard  of  the  great  misfortune  of  the  principal  ^^^  °^   ^ 

part  of  his  house  at  Chelsea,  and  all  his  outhouses  and  barns 

filled  with   corn  being  consumed   by   a  fire,  raised  by  the 

negligence  of  a  neighbour's  servant.     The  letter  he  wrote  to 

his  old  wife  on  this  occasion  excites  our  admiration  of  him 

more  than  all  his  learned  works,  his  public  despatches,  or  his 

speeches  in  parliament.     I  must  likewise  observe,  that  for 

style  it  is  much  better  and  much  nearer  the  English  of  the 

present  day  than  the  elaborate  compositions  which  he  wrote 

for  publication.     But  besides  the  delightful  glance  that  it 

gives  of  the  manners  and  customs  of  private  life  in  a  remote 

age,  its  great  charm  will  be  found  in  the  unaffected  piety,  in 

the  gaiety  of  heart,  and  in  the  kindness  of  disposition  which 

it  evinces : 

"  Mistress  Alyce,  — In  my  most  harty  will,  I  recommend  me  Beautiful 
to  you.  And  whereas  I  am  enfourmed  by  my  son  Heron  of  the  "^'  "* 
loss  of  our  barnes,  and  our  neighbours  also,  w'  all  the  corne  that 
was  therein,  albeit  (saving  God's  pleasure)  it  is  gret  pitie  of  so 
much  good  corne  lost,  yet  sith  it  hath  liked  hym  to  send  us  such  a 
chance,  we  must  not  only  be  content,  but  also  be  glad  of  his  visi- 
tation. He  sent  us  all  that  we  have  lost :  and  sith  he  hath  by 
such  a  chance  taken  it  away  againe,  his  pleasure  be  fulfilled.  Let 
us  never  grudge  thereat,  but  take  it  in  good  worth,  and  hartely 
thank  him,  as  well  for  adversitie,  as  for  prosperitie.  And  par 
adventure  we  have  more  cause  to  thank  him  for  our  losse,  than 

•   Roper,  36. 

t  "  Qui  primum  uxores  ac  liberos  aut  domi  non  liabetis  aut  uhique  reperitis." 

—  Ep.  227. 

M  H    3 


A.D.  1529. 


534  REIGN   OP   HENRY   VIII. 

CHAP,  for  our  winning.  For  his  wisedom  better  seeth  what  is  good  for 
XXXI.  ^g  ij^j^jj  ^g  ^Q  ourselves.  Therefore  I  pray  you  be  of  good  cheer e, 
and  take  all  the  howsold  with  you  to  church,' and  there  thank  God 
both  for  that  he  hath  given  us,  and  for  that  he  hath  left  us,  which 
if  it  please  hym,  he  can  increase  when  he  will.  And  if  it  please 
him  to  leave  us  yet  lesse,  at  hys  pleasure  be  it.  I  praye  you  to 
make  some  good  ensearche  what  my  poor  neighbours  have  loste, 
and  bidde  them  take  no  thought  therefore,  and  if  I  shold  not  leave 
myself  a  spone,  there  shall  no  poore  neighbour  of  mine  here  no 
losse  by  any  chance  happened  in  my  house.  I  pray  you  be  with 
my  children  and  household  mery  in  God.  And  devise  somewhat 
with  your  friends,  what  way  wer  best  to  take,  for  provision  to  be 
made  for  corne  for  our  household  and  for  sede  thys  yere  coming, 
if  ye  thinke  it  good  that  we  keepe  the  ground  still  in  our  handes. 
And  whether  ye  think  it  good  y*  we  so  shall  do  or  not,  yet  I  think 
it  were  not  best  sodenlye  thus  to  leave  it  all  up,  and  to  put  away 
our  folk  of  our  farme,  tiU  we  have  somewhat  advised  us  thereon. 
Howbeit  if  we  have  more  nowe  than  ye  shall  neede,  and  which  can 
get  the  other  maister's,  ye  may  then  discharge  us  of  them.  But  I 
would  not  that  any  man  wer  sodenly  sent  away  he  wote  nere  wether. 
At  my  coming  hither,  I  perceived  none  other,  but  that  I  shold  tary 
still  with  the  kinges  grace.  But  now  I  shall  (I  think),  because  of 
this  chance,  get  leave  this  next  weke  to  come  home  and  se  you ; 
and  then  shall  we  further  devise  together  uppon  all  thinges,  what 
order  shall  be  best  to  take ;  and  thus  as  hartely  fare  you  well  with 
all  our  children  as  you  can  wishe.  At  Woodstok  the  thirde  daye 
of  Septembre,  by  the  hand  of 

"  Your  loving  husband, 

"  Thomas  More,  Knight." 

He  is  made  The  Court  was  HOW  sojournIng  at  Woodstock  after  its 
Chancellor  ^^tum  from  Grafton,  where  Henry  had  taken  his  final  leave 
of  Wolsey.*  More  having  rendered  an  account  of  his  em- 
bassy was  allowed  to  visit  his  family  at  Chelsea,  and  Henry, 
with  the  Lady  Anne,  first  moved  to  Richmond,  and  then  to 
Greenwich,  where,  as  we  have  seen,  Wolsey  being  deprived 
Oct.  25.  of  the  Great  Seal  and  banished  to  Esher,  the  new  arrange- 
ments were  completed,  and  Sir  Thomas  More  was  sworn  in 
Lord  Chancellor,  f 

*   Ante,  p.  488.  f  Ante,  p.  508. 


SIR   THOMAS  MORE,    LORD   CHANCELLOR. 


535 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 


LIFE     OF     SIR    THOMAS     MORE     FROM    HIS    APPOINTMENT     AS    LORD 
CHANCELLOR  TILL   HIS   RESIGNATION. 

The  merit  of  the  new  Lord  Chancellor  was  universally  ac-     chap. 

XXXII 

knowledgedj  and  Wolsey  himself  admitted  "  that  he  was  the 


fittest  man  to  be  his  successor;"*  but  there  was  a  great  ap-   Oct.  1529. 
prehension  lest,  having  no  ecclesiastical  dignitv,  no  crosses  to   Installation 

1     n         1.  1  -..  ^  -.  .     -1.   •   1  of  the  new 

carry  betore  him,  no  hereditary  rank,  and  no  judicial  reputa-  chancellor, 
tion  beyond  what  he  had  acquired  when  under-sheriff  of 
London,  —  from  the  prejudices  of  the  vulgar,  the  office  might 
be  considered  lowered  in  dignity  after  being  held  by  a  Car- 
dinal-Archbishop, the  Pope's  Legate,  and  prime  minister  of 
the  Crown. 

To  guard  against  this  impression,  a  very  splendid  pageant 
was  got  up  for  More's  installation.  The  procession  was 
headed  by  the  Duke  of  Norfolk,  the  first  Peer  in  the  realm, 
and  the  Duke  of  Suffolk,  the  King's  brother-in-law,  —  all 
the  nobility  and  courtiers  in  and  near  London,  and  all  the 
judges  and  professors  of  the  law  following. 

When  they  had  reached  Palace  Yard  the  new  Chancellor, 
in  his  robes,  was  led  between  the  Dukes  of  Norfolk  and 
Suffolk  up  Westminster  Hall  to  the  Stone  Chamber,  at  the 
south-west  corner  of  it,  where  were  the  marble  table  and 
marble  chair, — and  there  being  placed  in  the  high  judgment- 

*  Shakspeare  has  rather  lowered  the  terms  of  the  compliment,  although  he 
makes  the  Cardinal  behave  very  gracefully  when  he  hears  of  the  new  appoint- 
ment. 

"  Crom.  '  Sir  Thomas  More  is  chosen 

Lord  Chancellor  in  your  place," 

"  Wols,  That's  somewhat  sudden  : 

But  he's  a  learned  man.      May  he  continue 
Long  in  his  Highness'  favour,  and  do  justice 
For  truth's  sake,  and  his  conscience ;   that  his  bones, 
When  he  has  run  his  course,  and  sleeps  in  blessings, 
May  have  a  tomb  of  orphans'  tears  wept  on  'em." 

Henry  VIII.  act  iii.  scene  2. 
M  M  4 


536  REIGN   OF    HENRY   VIII. 


xxxir 


A.D. 


CHAP,     seat  of  Chancellor,  the  Duke  of  Norfolk,  by  the  command  of 
the  King,  spoke  thus  unto  the  people  there  with  great  ap- 
1529.    plause  and  joy  gathered  together : 


S"Viu^  "  '^^®  King's  Majesty  (which  I  pray  God  may  prove  happy  and 

speech.  fortunate  to  the  whole  realm  of  England)  hath  raised  to  the  most 
high  dignity  of  Chancellorship  Sir  Thomas  More,  a  man  for  his 
extraordinary  worth  and  suflBciency  well  known  to  himself  and  the 
whole  realm,  for  no  other  cause  or  earthly  respect,  but  for  that  he 
hath  plainly  perceived  all  the  gifts  of  nature  and  grace  to  be 
heaped  upon  him,  which  either  the  people  could  desire,  or  himself 
wish  for  the  discharge  of  so  great  an  office.  For  the  admirable 
wisdom,  integrity,  and  innocency,  joined  with  most  pleasant  fa- 
cility of  wit,  that  this  man  is  endued  withal,  have  been  sufficiently 
known  to  all  Englishmen  from  his  youth,  and  for  these  many  years 
also  to  the  King's  majesty  himself.  This  hath  the  King  abun- 
dantly found  in  many  and  weighty  affairs,  which  he  hath  happily 
despatched  both  at  home  and  abroad  ;  in  divers  offices,  which  he 
hath  borne  in  most  honourable  embassages,  which  he  hath  under- 
gone, and  in  his  daily  counsel  and  advices  upon  all  other  occasions. 
He  hath  perceived  no  man  in  his  realm  to  be  more  wise  in  de- 
liberating, more  sincere  in  opening  to  him  what  he  thought,  nor 
more  eloquent  to  adorn  the  matter  which  he  uttered.  Wherefore 
because  he  saw  in  him  such  excellent  endowments,  and  that  of  his 
especial  care  he  hath  a  particular  desire  that  his  kingdom  and 
people  might  be  governed  with  all  equity  and  justice,  integrity 
and  wisdom :  he  of  his  own  most  gracious  disposition  hath 
created  this  singular  man  Lord  Chancellor ;  that  by  his  laudable 
performance  of  this  office,  his  people  may  enjoy  peace  and  justice, 
and  honour  also  and  fame  may  redound  to  the  whole  kingdom. 
It  may  perhaps  seem  to  many  a  strange  and  unusual  matter,  that 
this  dignity  should  be  bestowed  upon  a  lay-man,  none  of  the  no- 
bility, and  one  that  hath  wife  and  children ;  because  heretofore 
none  but  singular  learned  prelates,  or  men  of  greatest  nobility, 
have  possessed  this  place  ;  but  what  is  wanting  in  these  respects, 
the  admirable  virtues,  the  matchless  gifts  of  wit  and  wisdom  of 
this  man  doth  most  plentifully  recompense  the  same.  For  the 
King's  majesty  hath  not  regarded  how  great,  but  what  a  man  he 
was  :  he  hath  not  cast  his  eyes  upon  the  nobility  of  his  blood,  but 
on  the  worth  of  his  person  ;  he  hath  respected  his  sufficiency,  not 
his  profession  ;  finally  he  would  show  by  this  his  choice,  that  he 
hath  some  rare  subjects  amongst  the  gentlemen  and  lay- men,  who 
deserve  to  manage  the  highest  offices  of  the  realm,  which  bishops 


A.D.  1529. 


SIR   THOMAS   MORE,   LORD   CHANCELLOR.  537 

and  noblemen  think  they  only  can  deserve  :  which  the  rarer  it  is,      CHAP. 
so  much  he  thought  it  would  be  to  you  the  more  acceptable,  and  to    X-^XII. 
the  whole  kingdom  most  grateful.     Wherefore  receive  this  your 
Chancellor  with  joyful  acclamations,  at  whose  hands  you  may  ex- 
pect all  happiness  and  content." 

"  Sir  Thomas  More,"  says  his  great-grandson,  "  according 
to  his  wonted  modesty,  was  somewhat  abashed  at  this  the 
Duke's  speech,  in  that  it  sounded  so  much  to  his  praise  ;  but 
recollecting  himself  as  that  place  and  time  would  give  him 
leave,  he  answered  in  this  sort :  — 

"  Although,  most  noble  Duke,  and  you  right  honourable  Lords,  Sir  Thomas 
and  worshipful  gentlemen,  I  know  all  these  things  which  the  ^""^^^ 
King's  majesty,  it  seemeth,  hath  been  pleased  should  be  spoken  of 
me  at  this  time  and  place,  and  your  Grace  hath,  with  most  eloquent 
words  thus  amplified,  are  as  far  from  me  as  I  could  wish  with  all 
my  heart  they  were  in  me  for  the  better  performance  of  so  great 
a  charge :  and  although  this  your  speech  hath  caused  in  me  greater 
fear  than  I  can  well  express  in  words,  yet  this  incomparable  fa- 
vour of  my  dread  Sovereign,  by  which  he  showeth  how  well,  yea 
how  highly  he  conceiveth  of  my  weakness,  having  commanded  that 
my  meanness  should  be  so  greatly  commended,  cannot  be  but  most 
acceptable  unto  me  ;  and  I  cannot  chuse  but  give  your  most  noble 
Grace  exceeding  thanks,  that  what  his  Majesty  hath  willed  you 
briefly  to  utter,  you  of  the  abundance  of  your  love  unto  me  have, 
in  a  large  and  eloquent  oration,  dilated.  As  for  myself,  I  can  take 
it  no  otherwise  but  that  his  Majesty's  incomparable  favour  towards 
me,  the  good  will  and  incredible  propension  of  his  royal  mind 
(wherewith  he  hath  these  many  years  favoured  me  continually) 
hath  alone,  without  any  desert  of  mine  at  all,  caused  both  this  my 
new  honour,  and  these  your  undeserved  commendations  of  me  ; 
for  who  am  I,  or  what  is  the  house  of  my  father,  that  the  King's 
highness  should  heap  upon  me,  by  such  a  perpetual  stream  of 
affection,  these  so  high  honours?  I  am  far  less  than  any  the 
meanest  of  his  benefits  bestowed  on  me  ;  how  can  I  then  think 
myself  worthy  or  fit  for  this  so  peerless  dignity  ?  I  have  been 
drawn  by  force,  as  the  King's  majesty  often  professeth,  to  his 
Highness's  service,  to  be  a  courtier ;  but  to  take  this  dignity  upon 
me,  is  most  of  all  against  my  will ;  yet  such  is  his  Highness's  be- 
nignity, such  is  his  bounty,  that  he  highly  esteemeth  the  small 
dutifulness  of  his  meanest  subjects,  and  seeketh  still  magnificently 
to  recompense  his  servants ;  not  only  such  as  deserve  well,  but 
even  such  as  have  but  a  desire  to  deserve  well  at  his  hands.    "In 


A.S.  1529. 


538  REIGN   OF   HENRY   VIII. 

CHAP,  which  number  I  have  always  wished  myself  to  be  reckoned,  be- 
XXXII.  cause  I  cani;iot  challenge  myself  to  be  one  of  the  former ;  which 
being  so,  you  may  all  perceive  with  me,  how  great  a  burden  is 
laid  upon  my  back,  in  that  I  must  strive  in  some  sort  with  my 
diligence  and  duty  to  correspond  with  his  royal  benevolence,  and 
to  be  answerable  to  that  great  expectation  which  he  and  you  seem 
to  have  of  me ;  wherefore  those  so  high  praises  are  by  so  much  the 
more  grievous  unto  me,  by  how  much  I  know  the  greater  charge 
I  have  to  render  myself  worthy  of,  and  the  fewer  means  I  have  to 
make  them  good.  This  weight  is  hardly  suitable  to  my  weak 
shoulders ;  this  honour  is  not  correspondent  to  my  poor  deserts ; 
it  is  a  burthen,  not  glory  ;  a  care,  not  a  dignity  ;  the  one  there- 
fore I  must  bear  as  manfully  as  I  can,  and  discharge  the  other  with 
as  much  dexterity  as  I  shall  be  able.  The  earnest  desire  which  I 
have  always  had,  and  do  now  acknowledge  myself  to  have,  to 
satisfy  by  all  means  I  can  possible  the  most  ample  benefits  of  his 
Highness,  will  greatly  excite  and  aid  me  to  the  diligent  perform- 
ance of  all ;  which  I  trust  also  I  shall  be  more  able  to  do,  if  I  find 
all  your  good  wills  and  wishes  both  favourable  unto  me,  and  con- 
formable to  his  royal  munificence  ;  because  my  serious  endeavours 
to  do  well,  joined  with  your  favourable  acceptance,  will  easily  pro- 
cure that  whatsoever  is  performed  by  me,  though  it  be  in  itself  but 
small,  yet  will  it  seem  great  and  praiseworthy,  for  those  things  are 
always  achieved  happily  which  are  accepted  willingly ;  and  those 
succeed  fortunately  which  are  received  by  others  courteously.  As 
you  therefore  do  hope  for  great  matters,  and  the  best  at  my  hands, 
so  though  I  dare  not  promise  any  such,  yet  do  I  promise  truly  and 
affectionately  to  perform  the  best  I  shall  be  able."  —  When  Sir 
Thomas  had  spoken  these  words,  turning  his  face  to  the  high 
judgment-seat  of  the  Chancery,  he  proceeded  in  this  manner : 
"  But  when  I  look  upon  this  seat,  when  I  think  how  great  and 
what  kind  of  personages  have  possessed  this  place  before  me,  when 
I  call  to  mind  who  he  was  that  sat  in  it  last  of  all ;  a  man  of  what 
singular  wisdom,  of  what  notable  experience,  what  a  prosperous 
and  favourable  fortune  he  had  for  a  great  space,  and  how,  at  last 
dejected  with  a  heavy  downfall,  he  hath  died  inglorious ;  I  have 
cause  enough,  by  my  predecessor's  example,  to  think  honour  but 
slippery,  and  this  dignity  not  so  grateful  to  me  as  it  may  seem  to 
others ;  for  both  it  is  a  hard  matter  to  follow  with  like  paces  or 
praises  a  man  of  such  admirable  wit,  prudence,  authority,  and 
splendour,  to  whom  I  may  seem  but  as  the  lighting  of  a  candle 
when  the  sun  is  down  ;  and  also  the  sudden  and  unexpected  fall 
of  so  great  a  man  as  he  was  doth  terribly  put  me  in  mind  that  this 


Aj).  1529. 


SIR   THOMAS  MORE,   LORD   CHANCELLOR.  539 

honour  ought  not  to  please  me  too  much,  nor  the  lustre  of  this  glis-  CHAP. 
tering  seat  dazzle  mine  eyes.  Wherefore  I  ascend  this  seat  as  a  .XXXII. 
place  full  of  labour  and  danger,  void  of  aU  solid  and  true  honour  ; 
the  which  by  how  much  the  higher  it  is,  by  so  much  greater  fall 
I  am  to  fear,  as  well  in  respect  of  the  very  nature  of  the  thing  it- 
self, as  because  I  am  warned  by  this  late  fearful  example.  And 
truly  I  might  even  now  at  this  very  first  entrance  stumble,  yea 
faint,  but  that  his  Majesty's  most  singular  favour  towards  me,  and 
all  your  good  wills,  which  your  joyful  countenance  doth  testify 
in  this  most  honourable  assembly,  doth  somewhat  recreate  and  re- 
fresh me ;  otherwise,  this  seat  would  be  no  more  pleasing  to  me 
than  that  sword  was  to  Damocles,  which  hung  over  his  head,  and 
tied  only  by  a  hair  of  a  horse's  tail,  seated  him  in  the  chair  of  state 
of  Denis,  the  tyrant  of  Sicily ;  this,  therefore,  shall  be  always  fresh 
in  my  mind  ;  this  will  1  have  still  before  mine  eyes  —  that  this 
seat  will  be  honourable,  famous,  and  full  of  glory  unto  me,  if  I 
shall  with  care  and  diligence,  fidelity  and  wisdom,  endeavour  to  do 
my  duty,  and  shall  persuade  myself  that  the  enjoying  thereof 
may  chance  to  be  but  short  and  uncertain ;  the  one  whereof  my 
labour  ought  to  perform,  the  other,  my  predecessor's  example  may 
easily  teach  me.  All  which  being  so,  you  may  easily  perceive 
what  great  pleasure  I  take  in  this  high  dignity,  or  in  this  noble 
Duke's  praising  of  me."  * 

More's  elevation  was  not  only  very  popular  in  England,   More's  ap- 
but  was  heard  with  great  satisfaction  by  the  learned  in  foreign  appll^ded 


*  These  inaugural  speeches,  as  here  given,  are  taken  from  More's  Life  by  his 
great-grandson,  and  are  adopted  without  suspicion  by  his  subsequent  biogra- 
phers, —  among  others  by  the  acute  Sir  James  Mackintosh  ;  —  but  there  is  reason 
to  question  their  genuineness.  Unless  the  expression,  "  dejected  with  a  heavy 
downfall,  h?.  hath  died  inglorious,"  means,  by  way  of  figure,  his  political  death, 
it  betrays  fabrication  and  a  gross  anachronism,  for  Wolsey  was  now  alive  (if 
not  merry)  at  Esher,  and  he  did  not  meet  his  natural  death  at  Leicester 
Abbey  till  late  in  the  following  year.  The  Chancellor's  great-grandson  is 
exceedingly  inaccurate  about  dates,  and  ignorant  of  history.  He  really  does 
suppose  that  Sir  Thomas  More  was  not  made  Chancellor  till  after  Wolsey's 
death  (edition  1828,  by  Hunter,  p.  169.),  which  may  afford  a  fair  inference 
that  the  speeches  are  of  his  manufacture.  Roper  gives  a  very  brief  sketch  of 
tlie  Duke  of  Norfolk's  speech,  being  charged  by  the  King  to  make  declaration 
"  how  much  all  England  was  beholden  to  Sir  Thomas  More  for  his  good 
service,  and  how  worthy  he  was  to  have  the  highest  room  (office)  in  the  realm, 
and  how  dearly  his  Grace  loved  and  trusted  him."  In  return.  Sir  Thomas 
"  disabled  himself  to  be  unmeet  for  that  room,  wherein  considering  how 
wise  and  honourable  a  Prelate  had  lately  before  taken  so  great  a  fall,  he  had 
no  cause  thereof  to  rejoice."  More,  the  great-grandson,  had  so  much  dege- 
nerated in  historical  lore  as  to  assert  that  his  ancestor  was  the  first  layman 
who  ever  held  the  Great  Seal,  —  forgetting  not  only  the  Scropes  and  the  Arundels, 
but  the  Parnynges  and  the  Knyrets,  celebrated  by  Lord  Coke,  his  own  con- 
temporary. 


abroad. 


540 


REIGN   OF    HENRY    VIII. 


CHAP. 
XXXII. 

A.D.  1529. 


The  em- 
barrass* 
ments  of 
his  situa- 
tion. 


countries.  To  prove  this  it  will  be  enough  to  copy  a  single 
sentence  addressed  by  Erasmus  to  John  Fabius,  Bishop  of 
Vienna.  "  Concerning  the  new  increase  of  honour  expe- 
rienced by  Thomas  More,  I  should  easily  make  you  believe 
it,  were  I  to  show  you  the  letters  of  many  famous  men, 
rejoicing  with  much  alacrity,  and  congratulating  the  King, 
the  realm,  himself,  and  also  me,  on  his  promotion  to  be  Lord 
Chancellor  of  England."  * 

When  the  fleeting  flutter  of  pleasurable  excitement  from 
the  first  entrance  into  high  office  had  passed  away.  More 
himself  must  have  looked  back  with  regret  to  the  period  of 
his  life  when  he  was  first  making  way  in  his  profession  as  an 
advocate,  or  when  he  was  quietly  engaged  in  his  literary 
pursuits;  and  as  nothing  happened  which  might  not  easily 
have  been  foreseen,  we  may  rather  feel  surprise  that,  with  a 
delicate  conscience  and  a  strong  sense  of  duty,  he  should 
accept  this  dangerous  office,  and  associate  himself  with  such 
unscrupulous  colleagues.  He  well  knew  the  violent  and 
reckless  character  of  the  King  ;  he  must  have  expected  very 
painful  work  in  the  pending  proceedings  against  his  pre- 
decessor ;  he  was  sure  that  the  divorce  would  be  prosecuted ; 
and  other  subjects  of  dispute  were  springing  up  with  the  See 
of  Rome  to  cause  a  conflict  between  his  interest  and  his  duty. 
He  probably  hoped,  either  that  the  divorce  would  be  finally 
sanctioned  and  decreed  by  the  Pope,  or  that  Henry,  tired  of 
Anne  Boleyn,  would  abandon  the  project  of  making  her  his 
wife ;  and  that  all  minor  difficulties  might  disappear  or  be 
overcome. 

During  the  two  years  and  a  half  he  held  the  Great  Seal, 
he  must  have  enjoyed  the  most  solid  satisfaction  in  the 
assiduous,  honest,  and  admirable  discharge  of  his  duties  as  a 
Judge ;  but,  except  when  sitting  in  the  Court  of  Chancery, 
his  mind  must  have  been  filled  with  doubts,  scruples,  appre- 
hensions, and  antagonist  wishes  —  sometimes  overborne  by 
an  inclination  to  support  the  plans  of  the  King,  and  some- 

*  Erasm.  Epist.  More,  177.  In  a  letter  to  another  correspondent,  written 
at  the  same  time,  Erasmus,  after  stating  that  on  W^olsey's  disgrace  the  office  of 
Chancellor  was  declined  by  Warham,  says,  "  Itaque  provincia  delegata  est 
Thomae  Moro  magno  omnium  applausu,  nee  minore  bonorum  omnium 
lEBtitia  subvectus,  quam  dejectus  Cardinalis." — Ep.  1115. 


SIR  THOMAS  MORE,  LORD  CHANCELLOR.  541 

times  struck  with  the  conviction  that  they  were  inconsistent  CHAR' 

•  XXXII 
with  his  allegiance  to  the  Head  of  the  Church ;  —  sometimes 


thinking  that  he  should  add  to  the  splendour  of  his  reputation, 
by  directing,  in  high  office,  the  government  of  a  great  empire, 
and  sometimes  dreading  lest  the  fame  he  had  already  ac- 
quired should  be  tarnished  by  his  acquiescence  in  measures 
which  would  be  condemned  by  posterity ;  —  sometimes  regard- 
ing only  the  good  he  did  by  the  improved  administration  of 
justice,  and  sometimes  shocked  by  the  consideration  that 
this  might  be  greatly  overbalanced  by  the  sanction  he  might 
be  supposed  to  give  to  tyrannical  acts  in  other  departments 
of  the  government  over  which  he  had  no  control ;  —  sometimes 
carried  away  by  the  desire  to  advance  his  family  and  his 
friends,  and  at  last  seeing  that  he  could  only  continue  to  have 
the  means  of  serving  them  by  sacrificing  his  country. 

A  few  days  after  his  installation  he  was  called  upon,  as   a  parlia- 
Chancellor,  to  open  the  parliament,  which  had  been  sum-  ^^"^'irog 
moned  for  the  impeachment  of  Wolsey.     The  King  being 
on  the  throne,  and  the  Commons  attending  at  the  bar,  the 
new  Chancellor  spoke  to  this  effect  * :  — 

"  That,  like  as  a  good  shepherd,  who  not  only  tendeth  and  Chancel- 
keepeth  well  his  sheep,  but  also  foreseeth  and  provideth  against  '•'"^^P^^*^ 
every  thing  which  either  may  be  hurtful  or  noisome  to  his  flock, 
or  may  preserve  and  defend  the  same  against  all  chances  to  come ; 
so  the  King,  who  was  the  shepherd,  ruler,  and  governor  of  this 
realm,  vigilantly  foreseeing  things  to  come,  considered  how  divers 
laws,  by  long  continuance  of  time  and  mutation  of  things,  were 
now  grown  insufficient  and  imperfect ;  and  also  that,  by  the  frail 
condition  of  man,  divers  new  enormities  were  sprung  up  amongst 
the  people  for  the  which  no  law  was  made  to  reform  the  same,  he 
said,  was  the  very  cause  why,  at  this  time,  the  King  had  sum- 
moned his  High  Court  of  Parliament.  He  resembled  the  King  to 
a  shepherd  or  herdsman  also  for  this  cause  ;  if  a  King  is  esteemed 
only  for  his  riches,  he  is  but  a  rich  man  ;  if  for  his  honour,  he  is 
but  an  honourable  man  ;  but  compare  him  to  the  multitude  of  his 
people  and  the  number  of  his  flock,  then  he  is  a  ruler,  a  governor 
of  might  and  power ;  so  that  his  people  maketh  him  a  prince,  as 
of  the  multitude  of  sheep  cometh  the  name  of  a  shepherd.  And 
as  you  see  that  amongst  a  great  flock  of  sheep  some  be  rotten  and 

•   1  Pari.  Hist.  491. 


542 


REIGN    OP   HENRY   VIII. 


CHAP,  faulty,  which  the  good  shepherd  sendeth  from  the  sound  sheep,  so 
XXXII.  |.}jg  great  wether  which  is  late  fallen,  as  you  all  know,  juggled 
with  the  King  so  craftily,  scabbedly,  and  untruly,  that  all  men 
must  think  that  he  imagined  himself  that  the  King  had  no  sense  to 
perceive  his  crafty  doings,  or  presumed  that  he  would  not  see  or 
understand  his  fraudulent  juggling  and  attempts.  But  he  was  de- 
ceived ;  for  his  Grace's  sight  was  so  quick  and  penetrable,  that  he 
not  only  saw  him  but  saw  through  him,  both  within  and  without  ; 
so  that  he  was  entirely  open  to  him.  According  to  his  desert,  he 
hath  had  a  gentle  correction  ;  which  small  punishment  the  King 
would  not  should  be  an  example  to  other  offenders  ;  but  openly 
declareth  that  whosoever  hereafter  shall  make  the  like  attempt, 
or  commit  the  like  offences,  shall  not  escape  with  the  like  punish- 
ment." * 

It  must  be  confessed  that  he  does  not  here  mention  his 
predecessor  with  the  same  generosity  and  good  taste  as  in  his 
inaugural  discourse  in  the  Court  of  Chancery,  but  he  might 
feel  obliged  to  consult  the  feelings  of  those  whom  he  ad- 
dressed, particularly  the  members  of  the  Upper  House,  to 
whom  the  Ex-chancellor's  name  was  most  odious,  and  who 
were  impatient  to  see  a  severe  sentence  pronounced  upon 
him. 
Prosecu-  gjj,  Thomas  Audley,  the  future  Lord  Chancellor,  being 

tion  of  .  .  , 

Woisey  not  elected  Speaker,  the  business  of  the  session  began  by  the 
creditable  appointment  of  a  committee,  of  which  Lord  Chancellor  More 
was  chairman,  to  prepare  articles  of  charge  against  Woisey. 
It  is  a  curious  fact,  that  the  two  Chief  Justices,  Fitzherbert 
and  Fitzjames,  were  called  in  to  serve  on  this  committee,  and 
signed  the  articles.  These,  to  the  number  of  forty-four, 
were  immediately  agreed  to  by  the  House  of  Lords,  and  sent 
down  to  the  Commons.  I  have  already  observed  that,  con- 
sidering how  many  of  these  articles  were  frivolous  or  were 
unfounded  in  fact,  and  that  Wolsey's  violations  of  the  law 
and  constitution  by  raising  taxes  without  the  authority  of 
parliament,  and  other  excesses  of  the  prerogative,  were  en- 
tirely passed  over,  the  proceeding  is  not  very  creditable  to 
the  memory  of  Sir  Thomas  More ;  and  seeing  the  subsequent 
fate  of  the  accusation  in  the  other  House,  we  cannot  help 


*   1  Pari.  Hist.  490. 


SIR   THOMAS   MORE,    LORD   CHANCELLOR.  543 

suspecting  that  he  was  privy  to  a  scheme  for  withdrawing     CHAP. 
Wolsey  from  the  judgment  of  parliament,  and  leaving  him 


entirely  at  the  mercy  of  his  arbitrary  master.  1529— 

We  must  give  praise  to  the  Chancellor,  however,  for  having  i532. 
suggested  several  statutes,  which  were  now  passed,  to  put  passed, 
down  extortion  on  the  probate  of  wills  *,  and  in  the  demands 
for  mortuaries  f,  and  to  prevent  clerical  persons  from  engaging 
in  trade.  J  Other  ecclesiastical  reforms  were  loudly  called  for, 
but  he  did  not  venture  to  countenance  them;  and,  to  his 
great  relief,  on  the  17th  of  December,  the  session  was  closed. 
Not  being  a  member  of  the  House,  he  did  not  openly  take  any 
part  in  the  debates,  but  he  was  named  on  committees,  and  the 
proceedings  of  the  Lords  were  entirely  governed  by  him. 

He  had  now  leisure  to  attend  to  the  business  of  Chancery.   Admirable 
Notwithstanding  the  great  abilities  of  Wolsey  as  a  Judge,  j^j^^^J^^^ 
abuses  had  multiplied  and  strengthened  during  his  adminis-   Chancery, 
tration,  and  a  very  loud  cry  arose  for  equity  reform.     To 
the  intolerable  vexation  of  the  subject,  writs  of  subpoena  had 
been  granted  on  payment  of  the  fees,  without  any  examin- 
ation as  to  whether  there  were  any  probable  cause  for  involv- 
ing innocent  individuals  in  a  Chancery  suit ;  a  heavy  arrear 
of  causes  stood  for  adjudication,  some  of  which  were  said  to 
have  been  depending  for  twenty  years ;  and  the  general  say- 
ing went,  that  "  no  one  could  hope  for  a  favourable  judgment 
unless  his  fingers  were  tipt  with  gold ; "  —  which  probably 
arose,  not  from  the  bribes  received  directly  by  the  Chancellor 
himself,  but  from  the  excessive  fees  and  gratuities  demanded 
by  his  officers  and  servants. 

The  new  Chancellor  began  by  an  order  that  "  no  subpoena 
should  issue  till  a  bill  had  been  filed,  signed  by  the  attorney ; 
and,  he  himself  having  perused  it,  had  granted  a  fiat  for  the 
commencement  of  the  suit." 

It  is  related  that,  acting  under  this  order,  he  showed  his  Anecdote, 
characteristic   love   of  justice   and  jesting.     When   he   had  ^*i°Tovf  of 
perused  a  very  foolish  bill,  signed  "  A.  Tubbe,"   he  wrote  justice  and 
immediately  above  the  signature  the  words  "  A  Tale  of."  ^^^ '"°' 
The  luckless  attorney  being  told  that  the  Lord  Chancellor 

*  21  Hen.  8.  c.  5.  f  Ibid.  c.  6.  t  Ibid.  c.  13. 


544 


REIGN    OF    HENRY   VIII. 


CHAP. 
XXXII. 

1529— 
1532. 
His  dilU 
gence. 


llemon- 
strance  of 
son-in-law 
against  his 
impar- 
tiality. 


had  approved  his  bill,  carried  it  joyfully  to  his  client,  who, 
reading  it,  discovered  the  gibe.  * 

Having  heard  causes  in  the  forenoon  between  eight  and 
eleven,  —  after  dinner  he  sat  in  an  open  hall,  and  received  the 
petitions  of  all  who  chose  to  come  before  him ;  examining 
their  cases,  and  giving  them  redress  where  it  was  in  his 
power,  according  to  law  and  good  conscience ;  and  "  the 
poorer  and  the  meaner  the  suppliant  was,  the  more  affably 
he  would  speak  unto  him,  the  more  heartily  he  would  hearken 
to  his  cause,  and,  with  speedy  trial,  despatch  him."  f  This 
was  looked  upon  as  a  great  contrast  to  the  demeanour  of  the 
haughty  Cardinal. 

The  present  Chancellor  not  only  himself  refused  all  cor- 
rupt offers  that  were  made  to  him,  but  took  effectual  measures 
to  prevent  any  one  dependent  upon  him,  or  connected  with 
him,  from  interfering  improperly  with  the  even  march  of 
justice.  This  rigour  called  forth  a  remonstrance  from  his 
son-in-law,  Dancey,  who,  on  a  time,  merrily  said  unto  him : 
"  When  Cardinal  Wolsey  was  Lord  Chancellor,  not  only 
divers  of  his  Privy  Chamber,  but  such  also  as  were  his  door- 
keepers, got  great  gains  by  him ;  and  sith  I  have  married  one 
of  your  daughters,  I  might  of  reason  look  for  some  com- 
modity ;  but  you  are  so  ready  to  do  for  every  poor  man,  and 
keep  no  doors  shut,  that  I  can  find  no  gains  at  all,  which  is  to 
me  a  great  discouragement ;  whereas  else,  some  for  friend- 
ship, some  for  profit,  and  some  for  kindred,  would  gladly  use 
my  furtherance  to  bring  them  to  your  presence ;  and  now,  if 
I  should  take  any  thing  of  them,  I  should  do  them  great 
wrong,  because  they  may  daily  do  as  much  for  themselves ; 
which  thing,  though  it  is  in  you,  sir,  very  commendable, 
yet  to  me  I  find  it  nothing  profitable."  The  first  part 
of  the  Chancellor's  answer  can  only  be  accounted  for  by 
supposing  that  he  wished  not  only  to  mollify,  but  to 
mystify  his  son-in-law;  or,  that  such  practices  as  would 
now  be  matter  of  severe  censure  or  impeachment,  were  then 
considered  praiseworthy  by  the  most  virtuous:  he  winds 
up,   in   a   manner   to   convince   us,   that   in  no  particular. 


*  More,  182. 


t  Ibid,  178. 


i 


SIE  THOMAS  MORE,   LORD   CHANCELLOR.  545 

however  small,  would  he  hare  swerved  from  what  he  con-     chap. 
sidered  right :  "  I  do  not  mislike,  son,  that  your  conscience 


is  so  scrupulous  * ;  but  there  be  many  other  ways  wherein  I  1529— 
may  both  do  yourself  good,  and  pleasure  your  friends ;  for  1^32. 
sometime,  by  my  word,  I  may  stand  your  friend  in  stead ; 
sometime  I  may  help  him  greatly  by  my  letter ;  if  he  hath 
a  cause  depending  before  me,  I  may  hear  it  before  another, 
at  your  entreaty ;  if  his  cause  he  not  all  the  best,  I  may 
move  the  parties  to  fall  to  some  reasonable  end  by  arbitrament. 
But  this  one  thing  I  assure  thee,  on  my  faith,  that  if  the 
parties  will  at  my  hands  call  for  justice  and  equity,  then, 
although  it  were  my  father,  whom  I  reverence  dearly,  that 
stood  on  the  one  side,  and  the  devil,  whom  I  hate  extremely, 
were  on  the  other  side,  his  cause  being  just,  the  devil  of  me 
should  have  his  right."  f 

Of  this  stern  impartiality  he  soon  after  gave  a  practical  Decree 
proof ;  for  another  son-in-law.  Heron,  having  a  suit  depending  sf,^!in.iaw. 
before  him,  and  refusing  to  agree  to  any  reasonable  accom- 
modation, because  the  Judge  was  the  most  affectionate  father 
to  his  children  that  ever  was  in  the  world,  "  then  made  he, 
in  conclusion,  a  flat  decree  against  him."  J 

He  was  cautious  in  granting  injunctions,  yet  granted  and  Hisprac- 
maintained  them  with  firmness  where  he  thought  that  justice  injunctions, 
required  his  interference  with  the  judgments  of  the  Courts  of 
common  law.  Differing  from  Lord  Bacon  in  the  next  age, 
he  was  of  opinion  that  law  and  equity  might  be  bene- 
ficially administered  by  the  same  tribunal,  and  he  made  an 
effort  to  induce  the  common-law  Judges  to  relax  the  rigour 
of  their  rules,  with  a  view  to  meet  the  justice  of  particular 
cases;  but,  not  succeeding  in  this,  he  resolutely  examined 
their  proceedings,  and  stayed  trials  and  executions  wherever 
it  seemed  to  him  that  wrong  would  be  done  from  their  refusal 
to  remedy  the  effects  of  accident,  to  enforce  the  performance 
of  trusts,  or  to  prevent  secret  frauds  from  being  profitable  to 
the  parties  concerned  in  them. 

These   injunctions   issued,   however   cautiously,  from  the   Grumbling 
Court  of  Chancery,  having  on  the  other  side   of  the  Hall  °    "  ^^^' 

•   That  is,  not  taking  a  bribe  when  he  could  do  no  service  for  it. 
t  More,  179.  \  Ibid.  180. 

VOL.  I.  N  N 


546 


REIGN   OF   HENRY   VIII. 


CHAP. 
XXXII. 

1529— 
1532. 


Dinner  to 
the  Judges. 


His  offer 
to  them 
about  in- 
junctions. 


His  criti- 
cism on 
Judges. 


caused  much  grumbling,  which  reached  the  ears  of  the  Chan- 
cellor, through  Roper,  his  son-in-law  and  biographer, — "  there- 
upon caused  he  one  Master  Crooke,  chief  of  the  Six  Clerks, 
to  make  a  docket,  containing  the  whole  number  and  causes  of 
all  such  injunctions,  as  either  in  his  time  had  already  passed, 
or  at  that  present  depended,  in  any  of  the  King's  Courts  at 
Westminster,  before  him.  Which  done,  he  invited  all  the 
Judges  to  dine  with  him  in  the  Council  Chamber  at  West- 
minster ;  where,  after  dinner,  when  he  had  broken  with  them 
what  complaints  he  had  heard  of  his  injunctions,  and  more- 
over showed  them  both  the  number  and  causes  of  every  one 
of  them,  in  order  so  plainly,  that  upon  full  debating  of  those 
matters  they  were  all  enforced  to  confess  that  they,  in  like 
case,  could  have  done  no  otherwise  themselves."*  At  this 
same  compotation,  he  again  offered,  "  that  if  the  Justices  of 
every  Court  unto  whom  the  reformation  of  the  rigour  of  the 
law,  by  reason  of  their  office,  most  especially  appertained, 
would,  upon  reasonable  considerations,  by  their  own  dis- 
cretions (as  they  were  as  he  thought  in  conscience  bound), 
mitigate  and  reform  the  rigour  of  the  law  themselves,  there 
should,  from  thenceforth,  by  him  no  more  injunctions  be 
granted."  They  still  refusing,  he  said  to  them,  "  Forasmuch 
as  yourselves,  my  Lords,  drive  me  to  that  necessity  for  award- 
ing out  injunctions  to  relieve  the  people's  injury,  you  cannot 
hereafter  any  more  justly  blame  me.'.'  f 

When  these  reverend  sages  had  swallowed  a  proper  allow- 
ance of  Gascony  wine,  and  taken  their  departure,  the  Chan- 
cellor intimated  to  Roper  his  private  opinion  that  they  were 
not  guided  by  principle,  and  merely  wished  to  avoid  trouble 
and  responsibility.  "  I  perceive,  son,  why  they  like  not  so 
to  do.  For  they  see  that  they  may,  by  the  verdict  of  the 
jury,  cast  off  all  quarrels  from  themselves,  and  therefore  am 
I  compelled  to  abide  the  adventure  of  all  such  reports."  J 


•  Roper,  42.  f  Ibid. 

\  Ibid.  43.  I  know  not  whether  the  art  had  been  then  invented  which  is 
said  in  later  times  to  have  been  occasionally  practised  by  Judges  for  the  purpose 
of  "casting  off  quarrels,"  i.e.  avoiding  bills  of  exceptions  and  motions  for  new 
trials, — of  deciding  fact  themselves,  and  leaving  the  law  to  the  jury,  —  or  of 
mixing  up  the  law  and  the  fact  so  ingeniously  as  to  render  it  difficult  at  the 
trial  to  discover  what  the  direction  to  the  jury  was,  and  afterwards  very  easy 
for  the  Judges  to  give  any  convenient  representation  of  it. 


SIR  THOMAS  MORE,  LORD  CHANCELLOR. 


547 


The  commissions  for  hearins:  causes  issued  in  Wolsey's     CHAP. 

XXXII 
time  were  not  renewed,  and  very  little  assistance  was  re-   ^ 


quired  from  Taylor,  the  Master  of  the  Rolls ;  yet  the  Chan-   1529— 
cellor  himself,  from  his  assiduity,  quickness,  and  early  ex-   ^p^ 
perience  as  a  judge,  in  the  course  of  a  few  terms,  completely  despatch, 
subdued  all  the  arrears,  and  during  the  rest  of  his  Chan- 
cellorship every  cause  was  decided  as  soon  as  it  was  ripe  for 
hearing.     Nor  did  he  acquire  a  reputation  for  despatch  by 
referring  every  thing  to  the  Master,  but,  on  the  contrary, 
"  he  used  to  examine  all  matters  that  came  before  him,  like 
an  arbitrator ;  and  he  patiently  worked  them  out  himself  to 
a  final  decree,  which  he  drew  and  signed."* 

One  morning  before  the  end  of  term,  having  got  through  Entry  on 
his  paper,  he  was  told  by  the  officers  that  there  was   not  J^^^^  J^^^j^ 
another  cause  or  petition  to  be  set  down  before  him ;  where-  no  arrears 
upon,  with  a  justifiable  vanity,  he  ordered  the  fact  to   be  CQu^t  ^f 
entered  of  record,  as  it  had  never  happened  before; — and  Chancery. 
a  prophecy  was  then  uttered  which  has  been  fully  verified : 

"  When  More  some  time  had  Chancellor  been, 
No  more  suits  did  remain  ; 
The  same  shall  never  more  be  seen, 
Till  More  be  there  again." 

But  there  is  no  circumstance   during  his   Chancellorship  Daily  re- 
that  aflfects  our  imagination  so  much,  or  gives  us  such  a  father's  '* 
lively  notion  of  the  manners  of  the  times,  as  his  demeanour  blessing  in 
to  his  father.     Sir  John  More,  now  near  ninety  years  of  age,  of^jng's 
was  hale  in  body  and  sound  in  understanding,  and  continued  Bench, 
vigorously  to  perform  the  duties  of  senior  puisne  Judge  in 
the  Court  of  King's  Bench.     Every  day  during  term  time, 
before  the  Chancellor  began  business  in  his  own  Court,  he 
went  into  the  Court  of  King's  Bench,  and,  kneeling  before 
his  father,  asked  and  received  his  blessing,  f     So  if  they  met 
together  at  readings  in  Lincoln's  Inn,  notwithstanding  his 
high  office,  he  offered  the  pre-eminence  in  argument  to  his 
father,  though,  from  a  regard  to  judicial  subordination,  this 
oflfer  was  always  refused. 

*  Roper,  44. 

f  I  am  old  enough  to  remember  that  when  the  Chancellor  left  his  Court,  if 
the  Court  of  King's  Bench  was  sitting,  a  curtain  was  drawn,  and  bows  were 
exchanged  between  him  and  the  Judges,  so  that  I  can  easily  picture  to  myself 
the  "  blessing  scene  "  between  the  father  and  son. 

M  N   2 


548  REIGN   OF   HENBY   VIII. 

CHAP.         In  about  a  year  after  Sir  Thomas's  elevation,  the  old  Judge 
*     was  seized  with  a  mortal  illness — (as  it  was  supposed)  from  a 
1529—        surfeit  of  grapes.     *'  The  Chancellor,  for  the  better  declara- 
1 532.  tion  of  his  natural  affection  towards  his  father,  not  only  while 

death.  be  lay  on  his  death-bed,  according  to  his  duty,  ofttimes  with 

kindly  words  came  to  visit  him,  but  also,  at  his  departure  out 
of  the  world,  with  tears  taking  him  about  the  neck,  most 
lovingly  kissed  and  embraced  him,  commending  his  soul  into 
the  merciful  hands  of  Almighty  God."  * 
Simplicity         Instead  of  imitating  Wolsey's  crosses,  pillars,  and  poll- 
habits,  axes.  More  was  eager  to  retreat  into  privacy,  and  even  in 
public  to  comport  himself  with  all  possible  simplicity.    On 
Sundays,  while  he  was  Lord  Chancellor,  instead  of  marching 
with  great  parade  through  the  city  of  London  to  outrival 
While         ii^Q  nobles  at  the  court  at  Greenwich,  he  walked  with  his 
on  Sundays  family  to  the  parish  church  at  Chelsea,  and  there,  putting  on 
walked  to     ^  surplicc,  sung  with  the  choristers  at  matins  and  high  mass. 

church  and  r         ^  o  o    ^ 

sang  among  It  happened  one  day  that  the  Duke  of  Norfolk,  coming  to 
Chelsea  to  dine  with  him,  found  him  at  church,  with  a  sur- 
plice on  his  back,  singing.  As  they  walked  homeward  to- 
gether arm  in  arm,  after  service,  the  Duke  said,  "  God's 
body !  God's  body !  My  Lord  Chancellor  a  parish  clerk ! 
a  parish  clerk !  You  dishonour  the  King  and  his  office." 
*'  Nay,"  quoth  he,  smiling ;  "  your  Grace  may  not  think 
that  the  King,  your  master  and  mine,  will,  with  me,  for 
serving  his  Master,  be  offended,  or  thereby  account  his  office 
dishonoured."! 

In  religious  processions  he  would  himself  carry  the  cross  ; 

and  in  "  Rogation  Week,"  when  they  were  very  long,  and  he 

had  to  follow  those  who  carried  the  rood  round  the  parish, 

being  counselled  to  use  a  horse  for   his   dignity,  he  would 

answer,  "  It  beseemeth  not  the  servant  to  follow  his  master 

prancing  on  cockhorse,  his  master  going  on  foot." 

His  judg-         After  diligently  searching  the  books,  I  find  the  report  of 

great  case^^  ^'^^^  °^®  judgment  which  he  pronounced  during  his  chancel- 

ot  "  The       lorship,  and  this  I  shall  give  in  the  words  of  the  reporter :  — 

Little 

Dog."  "  It  happened  on  a  time  that  a  beggar-woman's  little  dog,  which 

*  More,  184.  f  Roper,  49. 


the  cho- 
risters. 


SIR   THOMAS   MORE,    LORD   CHANCELLOR.  549 

she  had  lost,  was  presented  for  a  jewel  to  Lady  More,  and  she  had  CHAP, 
kept  it  some  se'nnight  very  carefully  ;  but  at  last  the  beggar  had  ■^^■^^l- 
notice  where  the  dog  was,  and  presently  she  came  to  complain  to 
Sir  Thomas,  as  he  was  sitting  in  his  hall,  that  his  lady  withheld  1532. 
her  dog  from  her.  Presently  my  Lady  was  sent  for,  and  the  dog 
brought  with  her  ;  which  Sir  Thomas,  taking  in  his  hands,  caused 
his  wife,  because  'she  was  the  worthier  person,  to  stand  at  the 
upper  end  of  the  hall,  and  the  beggar  at  the  lower  end,  and  saying 
that  he  sat  there  to  do  every  one  justice,  he  bade  each  of  them  call 
the  dog  ;  which,  when  they  did,  the  dog  went  presently  to  the  beg- 
gar, forsaking  my  Lady.  When  he  saw  this,  he  bade  my  Lady  be 
contented,  for  it  was  none  of  hers ;  yet  she,  repining  at  the  sen- 
tence of  my  Lord  Chancellor,  agreed  with  the  beggar,  and  gave 
her  a  piece  of  gold,  which  would  well  have  bought  three  dogs,  and 
so  all  parties  were  agreed  ;  every  one  smiling  to  see  his  manner  of 
inquiring  out  the  truth."* 

It  must  be  acknowledged  that  Solomon  himself  could  not 
have  heard  and  determined  the  case  more  wisely  or  equitably.f 

But  a  grave  charge  has  been  brought  against  the  conduct  cimrge  of 
of  More  while  Chancellor,  —  that  he  was  a  cruel  and  even  g^heretics" 
bloody  persecutor  of  the  Lutherans.  This  is  chiefly  founded 
on  a  story  told  by  Fox,  the  Martyrologist  —  "  that  Burnham, 
a  reformer,  was  carried  out  of  the  Middle  Temple  to  the 
Chancellor's  house  at  Chelsea,  where  he  continued  in  free 
prison  awhile,  till  the  time  that  Sir  Thomas  More  saw  that 
he  could  not  prevail  in  perverting  of  him  to  his  sect.  Then 
he  cast  him  into  prison  in  his  own  house,  and  whipped  him 
at  the  tree  in  his  garden  called  '  the  tree  of  Troth^  and  after 
sent  him  to  the  Tower  to  be  racked."  |  Burnet  and  other 
very  zealous  Protestants  have  likewise  countenanced  the  sup- 
position that  More's  house  was  really  converted  into  a  sort  of 
prison  of  the  Inquisition,  he  himself  being  the  Grand  In- 
quisitor ;  and  that  there  was  a  tree  in  his  grounds  where  the 
Reformers  so  often  underwent  flagellation  under  his  superin- 
tendence, that  it  acquired  the  appellation  of  "  the  tree  of 
Trothy     But  let  us  hear  what  is  said  on  this  subject  by 

•   More,  121. 

f   For  some  cases  in  pari  materia,  vid.  Rep.  Barat.  Tem.  Sanch.  Pan. 

\  Mart.  vol.  ii.  Hist.  Reform,  vol.  iii.  "  When  More  was  raised  to  the 
cliief  in  the  ministry,  he  became  a  persecutor  even  to  blood,  and  defiled  those 
hands  which  were  never  polluted  with  bribes." 

N  N   3 


1532. 


550  REIGN   OF    HENRY  VIII. 

CHAP.     More  himself —  allowed  on  all  hands  (however  erroneous  his 

XXXII  .    •  .    .  . 

opinions  on  religion)  to  have  been  the  most  sincere,  candid, 
1529—        aiid  truthful  of  men :  — 

"  Divers  of  them  have  said,  that  of  such  as  were  in  my  house 
when  I  was  Chancellor,  I  used  to  examine  them  with  torments, 
causing  them  to  be  bound  to  a  tree  in  my  garden,  and  there 
piteously  beaten.  Except  their  sure  keeping,  I  never  else  did 
cause  any  such  thing  to  be  done  unto  any  of  the  heretics  in  all  my 
life,  except  only  twain  :  one  was  a  child,  and  a  servant  of  mine  in 
mine  own  house,  whom  his  father,  ere  he  came  to  me,  had  nursed 
up  in  such  matters,  and  set  him  to  attend  upon  George  Jay.  This 
Jay  did  teach  the  child  his  ungracious  heresy  against  the  blessed 
sacrament  of  the  altar  ;  which  heresy  this  child,  in  my  house,  be- 
gan to  teach  another  child.  And  upon  that  point  I  caused  a  ser- 
vant of  mine  to  strip  him,  like  a  child,  before  mine  household, 
for  amendment  of  himself  and  ensample  of  others.  Another  was 
one  who,  after  he  had  fallen  into  these  frantic  heresies,  soon  fell 
into  plain  open  frenzy ;  albeit  that  he  had  been  in  Bedlam,  and 
afterwards,  by  beating  and  correction,  gathered  his  remembrance. 
Being  therefore  set  at  liberty,  his  old  frensies  fell  again  into  his 
head.  Being  informed  of  his  relapse,  I  caused  him  to  be  taken  by 
the  constables,  and  bounden  to  a  tree  in  the  street,  before  the 
whole  town,  and  there  striped  him  till  he  waxed  weary.  Verily, 
God  be  thanked,  I  hear  no  harm  of  him  now.  And  of  all  who  ever 
came  in  my  hand  for  heresy,  as  help  me  God,  else  had  never  any 
of  them  any  stripe  or  stroke  given  them,  so  much  as  a  fillip  in  the 
forehead."  * 

We  must  come  to  the  conclusion  that  persons  accused  of 
heresy  were  confined  in  his  house,  though  not  treated  with 
cruelty,  and  that  the  supposed  tortures  consisted  in  flogging 
one  naughty  boy,  and  administering  stripes  to  one  maniac, 
according  to  the  received  notion  of  the  times,  as  a  cure  for 
his  malady. t  The  truth  is,  that  More,  though  in  his  youth 
he  had  been  a  warm  friend  to  religious  toleration,  and  in  his 
"  Utopia"  he  had  published  opinions  on  this  subject  rather 
latitudinarian,  at  last,  alarmed  by  the  progress  of  the  Reform- 

*   Apology,  c.  36.      English  Works,  902. 

•f  At  the  Common  Law  moderate  chastisement  of  a  servant  might  be  justi- 
fied,— and  to  an  action  of  assault,  battery,  and  false  imprisonment,  it  was  a  good 
plea  "  that  the  plaintiff,  being  a  lunatic,  the  defendant  arrested  him,  confined 
him,  and  whipped  him." 


SIR   THOMAS   MORE,   LORD   CHANCELLOR.  551 

ation,  and  shocked  by  the  excesses  of  some  of  its  votaries  in     chap. 
Germany,  became  convinced  of  the  expediency  of  uniformity 


of  faith,  or,  at  least,  conformity  in  religious   observances ;   j^gg 

but  he  never  strained  or  rigorously  enforced  the  laws  against  1532. 
Lollardy.  "  It  is,"  says  Erasmus,  '*  a  sufficient  proof  of  his 
clemency,  that  while  he  was  Chancellor  no  man  was  put  to 
death  for  these  pestilent  dogmas,  while  so  many,  at  the  same 
period,  suffered  for  them  in  France,  Germany,  and  the 
Netherlands."*  That  he  was  present  at  the  examination  of 
heretics  before  the  Council,  and  concurred  in  subjecting  them 
to  confinement,  cannot  be  denied;  for  such  was  the  law, 
which  he  willingly  obeyed  f ;  but  we  ought  rather  to  wonder 
at  his  moderation  in  an  age  when  the  leaders  of  each  sect 
thought  they  were  bound  in  duty  to  Heaven  to  persecute  the 
votaries  of  every  other.  It  was  not  till  More  had  retired 
from  office,  and  was  succeeded  by  the  pliant  and  inhuman 
Audley,  that  heresy  was  made  high  treason,  and  the  scaffold 
flowed  with  innocent  blood. 

But  More's  great  stumbling  block  —  which  he  encountered  Difficulty 
on  entering  into  office,  and  which  caused  his  fall  —  was  the  King's 
divorce.     The  suit  had  been  evoked  before  Clement  VII.   "^i^orce. 
himself  at  Rome,  and  there  it  made  no  progress,  the  only 
object  of  his  Holiness  being  delay,  that  he  might  not  offend 
the  Emperor  on  the  one  hand,  nor,  on  the   other,  tempt 
Henry  to  set  the  Papal  supremacy  at  defiance. 

The  first  expedient  resorted  to,  with  More's  concurrence.   Opinion  of 

,       .       V  •    •  n  n       •        XT    '  •  •  II  t^*^  Umver- 

was  to  obtain  the  opinions  or  foreign  Universities,  as  well  as  sities. 

Oxford  and  Cambridge,  against  the  legality  of  a  marriage 
between  a  man  and  his  brother's  widow,  the  first  marriage 
having  been  consummated! ;  and,  under  the  title  of  fees  or 
honoraries,  large  bribes  were  offered  for  a  favourable  answer. 
Bologna,  Padua,  Ferrara,  and  other  Italian  Universities  re- 
sponded to  Henry's  wishes ;  but  he  met  with  no  success  in 

•   Erasm.  Ep. 

f  He  did  not  disguise  his  earnest  wish  to  put  down  the  new  doctrines  in  reli- 
gion. Thus  in  the  epitaph  which  he  wrote  for  his  own  tomb,  he  describes  him- 
self as  "  furibus,  homicidis,  hcereticisque  molestus;"  and  afterwards,  in  writing  to 
Erasmus,  he  justifies  this  expression  :  "  Quod  in  epitaphio  profiteer  hcereticis  me 
molestum  fuisse,  ambitiose  feci," 

X  This  fact  was  introduced  by  Henry  into  his  case,  but  was  strenuously 
denied  by  Catherine. 

H  N   4 


552 


REIGN   OF   HENRY  VIII. 


CHAP.      Germany,  where  the  influence  of  the  Emperor  was  felt,  and 
XXXIL 

Luther  had  his  revenge  of  "  The  Defender  of  the 
Faith,"  by  declaring,  "  that  it  would  be  more  lawful  for  the 
King  to  have  two  wives  at  the  same  time  than  to  separate 
from  Catherine  for  the  purpose  of  marrying  another  woman."* 
From  France  the  opinions  were  divided.  Thus  the  hope  of 
influencing  Clement  by  the  universal  voice  of  the  Christian 
world  was  abandoned. 
July,  1530.  The  next  experiment,  in  which  More  joined,  was  a  letter 
to  the  Pope,  subscribed  by  the  Lords  spiritual  and  temporal, 
and  certain  distinguished  Commoners,  in  the  name  of  the 
whole  nation,  complaining  in  forcible  terms  of  Clement's  par- 
tiality and  tergiversation.  "  The  kingdom  was  threatened 
with  the  calamities  of  a  disputed  succession,  which  could  be 
averted  only  by  the  King  being  enabled  to  contract  a  lawful 
marriage ;  yet  the  celebration  of  such  a  marriage  was  pre- 
vented by  the  effectual  delays  and  undue  bias  of  the  Pontiff. 
Nothing  remained  but  to  apply  the  remedy  without  his  in- 
terference. This  was  admitted  to  be  an  evil,  but  it  would 
prove  a  less  evil  than  the  precarious  and  perilous  situation  in 
which  England  was  now  placed,  "f 

Clement  mildly  and  plausibly  replied  to  this  threat,  that 
the  danger  of  a  disputed  succession  in  England  would  be 
augmented  by  proceedings  contrary  to  right  and  justice ;  that 
he  was  ready  to  proceed  with  the  cause  according  to  the  rules 
of  the  Church ;  and  that  they  must  not  require  of  him, 
through  gratitude  to  man,  to  violate  the  immutable  com- 
mandments of  God. 

Thomas  Cromwell  had  effectually  insinuated  himself  into 
Henry's  confidence  by  his  boldness,  versatility,  and  un- 
scrupulousness  ;  and  he  strongly  counselled  an  immediate 
rupture  with  Rome,  which  the  King  resolved  upon,  unless 
Clement  should  yield  to  his  menaces. 

With  this  view,  parliament  was  assembled.    Cromwell  had 


A.D.  1531. 

Thomas 
Cromwell, 


A  parlia 
ment, 
Feb.  4. 
1532. 


*  Luther  had  a  great  leaning  towards  polygamy,  and  thought  that  it  would 
be  better  that  a  priest  should  be  allowed  several  wives  than  none  at  all,  and  that 
the  practice  of  the  Patriarchs  and  Jewish  Kings  might  be  safely  followed.  He 
gravely  writes  on  this  occasion,  "  Antequam  tale  repudium  probarem,  potius 
Regi  permitterem  alteram  reginam  quoque  dueere,  et  exeroplo  Patrium  et 
Regum  duas  simul  uxores  seu  Reginas  habere." — Luth.  Epist.  Halae, 

t  Herbert,  331. 


SIR   THOMAS  MORE,   LORD   CHANCELLOR.  553 

SO  well  managed  the  elections,  that  he  had  a  clear  majority  in     CHAP. 

the  Lower  House  ready  to  second  his  purposes ;  and,  among 

the  Peers,  no  one  hazarded  any  show  of  resistance.  ^  j,  J53j^ 

The  plan  was  to  make  it  apparent  to  the  world,  that  the  Threatened 
King  had  both  the  courage  and  the  power  to  throw  off  all  ^^P^^ 
dependence  upon  the  See  of  Rome,  if  such  a  step  should  be 
necessary  for  the  dissolution  of  his  marriage ;  but,  at  the  same 
time,  not  to  run  the  serious  hazard  to  the  stability  of  the 
throne  and  the  public  tranquillity,  which  might  arise  from 
shocking  the  religious  feelings  of  the  people,  and  suddenly 
changing  an  ecclesiastical  polity  as  old  as  the  first  introduction 
of  Christianity  into  England. 

Lord  Chancellor  More  was  now  in  a  very  difficult  dilemma.  Perplexity 
The  great  offices  to  which  he  had  been  raised  by  the  King,  °^  ^^^^^' 
the  personal  favour  hitherto  constantly  shown  to  him,  and  the 
natural  tendency  of  his  gentle  and  quiet  disposition,  combined 
to  disincline  him  to  resistance  against  the  wishes  of  his 
friendly  master.  On  the  other  hand,  his  growing  dread  and 
horror  of  heresy,  with  its  train  of  disorders,  and  his  belief  that 
universal  anarchy  would  be  the  inevitable  result  of  religious 
dissension,  made  him  recoil  from  designs  which  were  visibly 
tending  towards  disunion  with  the  Roman  Pontiff,  the  centre 
of  Catholic  union,  and  the  supreme  magistrate  of  the  spiritual 
commonwealth.  His  opinions,  relating  to  Papal  authority, 
continued  moderate  and  liberal ;  but  he  strongly  thought  that 
it  ought  to  be  respected  and  upheld  as  an  ancient  and  vener- 
able control  on  licentious  opinions,  and  that  the  necessity  for 
it  was  more  and  more  evinced  by  the  increasing  distractions 
in  the  Continental  states,  where  the  Reformation  was  making 
progress.  He  resolved  to  temporise  as  long  as  possible  — 
perhaps  foreseeing  that,  if  he  retired  from  the  King's  councils, 
all  restraint  would  be  at  an  end,  and  the  dreaded  catastrophe 
would  be  precipitated. 

He  agreed  to  an  Act,  which  was  actually  passed,  for  pre-  Act  passed 
venting  appeals  to  the  Court  of  Rome  *  ;   and  other  measures  f^  "'ll'^'^Jgig 
of  the  same  tendency  being  postponed,  he  was  prevailed  upon  to  Rome. 
by  the  King  and  Cromwell,  at  the  close  of  a  short  session,  to 

*  24  Hen.  8.  c.  12. 


554 


REIGN   OF  HENRY  VIII. 


CHAP. 
XXXII. 


More's 
speech  to 
jiouse  of 
Commons 
on  the 
divorce, 
March  30. 
1532. 


His  dis- 
tressed 
state  of 
mind. 


go  down  with  twelve  spiritual  and  temporal  Peers  to  the 
House  of  Commons,  and  there  to  deliver  the  following  ad- 
dress, meant  to  prepare  the  world  for  what  might  follow :  — 

"  You,  of  this  worshipful  House,  I  am  sure  you  be  not  so  ig- 
norant, but  you  know  well  that  the  King,  our  Sovereign  Lord, 
hath  married  his  brother's  wife ;  for  she  was  both  wedded  and 
bedded  by  his  brother  Prince  Arthur,  and  therefore  you  may 
surely  say  that  he  hath  married  his  brother's  wife  if  this  marriage 
be  good  —  as  so  many  clerks  do  doubt.  Wherefore  the  King,  like 
a  virtuous  Prince,  willing  to  be  satisfied  in  his  conscience,  and  also 
for  the  surety  of  his  realm,  hath  with  great  deliberation  consulted 
with  great  clerks,  and  hath  sent  my  Lord  of  London,  here  pre- 
sent, to  the  chief  Universities  of  all  Christendom,  to  know  their 
opinion  and  judgment  in  that  behalf.  And  although  the  Uni- 
versities of  Oxford  and  Cambridge  had  been  sufficient  to  dis- 
cuss the  cause,  yet  they  being  in  his  realm,  and  to  avoid  all 
suspicion  of  partiality,  he  hath  sent  into  the  realms  of  France, 
Italy,  the  Pope's  dominions,  and  the  Venetians,  to  know  their 
judgment  in  that  behalf,  which  have  concluded,  written,  and 
sealed  their  determinations,  according  as  you  shall  hear  read." 

A  box  was  then  opened,  and  many  opinions  were  read — all 
on  one  side,  holding  the  marriage  void.  Whereupon  the 
Chancellor  said  —  "  Now,  you  of  this  Common  House  may 
report  in  your  countries  what  you  have  seen  and  heard,  and 
then  all  men  shall  perceive  that  the  King  hath  not  attempted 
this  matter  of  will  or  pleasure,  as  some  strangers  report,  but 
only  for  the  discharge  of  his  conscience  and  the  security  of 
the  succession  of  his  realm.  This  is  the  cause  of  our  repair 
hither  to  you,  and  now  we  will  depart."*  Whoever  reads 
this  address  must  perceive  the  Chancellor's  great  embarrass- 
ment and  his  distressing  anxiety  to  appear  to  have  spoken  on 
this  subject  without  saying  any  thing  by  which  he  might  be 
compromised,  either  with  the  King  or  the  Church. 

His  state  of  mind  at  this  time  may  be  gathered  from  a 
dialogue  between  him  and  his  son-in-law,  who  thus  relates  it : 
—  "  Walking  with  me  along  the  Thames'  side  at  Chelsea,  he 
said  unto  me,  *  Would  to  our  Lord,  son  Roper,  on  condition 
that  three  things  were  well  established  in  Christendom,  I 


*  1  Pari.  Hist.  515. 


SIB  THOMAS  MORE,   LORD  CHANCELLOR.  555 

were  put  into  a  sack,  and  were  presently  cast  into  the  CHAP. 
Thames.'  '  What  great  things  be  those,  sir,'  quoth  I,  '  that 
should  move  you  so  to  wish  ?'  *  In  faith,  son,  they  be  these,'  ^.j,.  1532. 
said  he.  '  The  first  is,  that  whereas  the  most  part  of 
Christian  princes  be  at  mortal  war,  they  were  at  universal 
peace.  The  second,  that  where  the  Church  of  Christ  is  at 
present  sore  afflicted  with  many  errors  and  heresies,  it  were 
well  settled  in  perfect  uniformity  of  religion.  The  third,  that 
the  matter  of  the  King's  marriage  were,  to  the  glory  of  God 
and  quietness  of  all  parties,  brought  to  a  good  conclusion.' "  * 

He  had  great  misgivings  as  to  the  progress  of  the  re- 
formers, and  even  anticipated  the  time  when,  in  England, 
those  who  adhered  to  the  old  faith  might  be  denied  religious 
liberty.     "  I  pray  God,"  said  he,  "  as  high  as  we  sit  upon  the 
mountains,  treading  heretics  under  our  feet  Hke  ants,  live  not 
the  day  that  we  gladly  would  wish  to  be  at  league  and  com- 
position with  them  to  let  them  have  their  churches,  so  that 
they  would  be  contented  to  let  us  have  ours  quietly." 
.    After  the  prorogation  of  parliament,  he  enjoyed  a  little  Scene  with 
respite  from  the  divorce ;  but  being  again  moved  by  the  King  respecU^e 
to  speed  this  great  matter,  he  fell  down  on  his  knees,  and,  re-  the  divorce, 
minding  Henry  of  his  own  words  on  delivering  the  Great 
Seal  to  him,  "  First  look  upon  God,  and  after  God  upon  me," 
added,  that  nothing  had  ever  so  pained  him  as  that  he  was 
not  able  to  serve  his  Grace  in  that  matter  without  a  breach 
of  that  original  injunction  which  he  had  received  on  the  ac- 
ceptance of  his  office.     The  King  affected  to  promise  that  he 
would  accept  his  service  otherwise,  and  would  continue  his 
favour ;  —  never  with  that  matter  molesting  his  conscience 
afterwards. 

But  More  soon  perceived  that  there  was  no  chance  of  the 
divorce  being  granted  by  the  court  of  Rome  ;  that  the  King's 
marriage  with  Anne  Boleyn  would  nevertheless  be  celebrated ; 
and  that  measures  were  resolved  upon  Avhich  he  could  not,  by 
remaining  in  office,  have  the  appearance  of  countenancing 
without  an  utter  sacrifice  of  his  character. 

He  therefore  made  suit,  through  his  "  singular  good  friend 

*  Roper,  24. 


556 


REIGN   OF    HENRY  VIII. 


CHAP,     the  Duke  of  Norfolk,"  that  he  might  have  leave  to  resign  the 
Great  Seal,  —  the  plea  of  declining  health  being  urged  to 
A.D.  1532.     soften  the  King's  displeasure.     After  much  hesitation  the 
He  resigns   King  Consented,  and  on  the  10th  day  of  May,  1532,  the  ce- 
Seal.  remony  took  place  at  Whitehall,  when  "  it  pleased  his  High- 

ness to  say  to  him,  that  for  the  good  service  which  he  before 
had  done  him,  in  any  suit  which  he  should  after  have  unto  him, 
that  should  either  concern  his  honour  (for  that  word  it  pleased 
his  Highness  to  use  unto  him),  or  that  should  appertain  unto 
his  profit,  he  should  not  fail  to  find  him  a  good  and  gracious 
Lord.''^  "  But,"  says  his  great-grandson,  "  how  true  these 
words  proved  let  others  be  judges,  when  the  King  not  only 
not  bestowed  upon  him  the  value  of  one  penny,  but  took  from 
him  and  his  posterity  all  that  ever  he  had  either  given  him 
by  himself,  or  left  him  by  his  father,  or  purchased  by  him- 
self."* 


*  More,  200.  It  seems  rather  strange  that  the  pious  biographer  should  not 
have  thought  it  worth  while  to  introduce  the  chopping  off  of  his  ancestor's  head 
on  the  most  frivolous  of  pretexts,  as  an  item  in  the  bill  of  particulars  to  prove 
his  Highness's  ingratitude  and  breach  of  promise. 


LIFE   OF   SIR  THOMAS  MORE.  557 


mode  of 
announcing 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

LIFE  OF   SIR   THOMAS  MORE   FROM  HIS  RESIGNATION  OF   THE   GREAT 
SEAL   TILL  HIS  DEATH. 

It  is  said  that  the  two  happiest  days  of  a  man's  life  are  the     CHAP, 
day  when  he  accepts  a  high  office,  and  the  day  when  he      xxiii. 
resigns  it ;  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  with  Sir  Thomas   ^^  ^^32 
More  the  resignation  day  was  by  far  the  more  delightful.    He  More'shigh 
immediately  recovered  his  hilarity  and  love  of  jest,  and  was  h^s"esigna- 
"  himself  again."  tion* 

He  had  not  consulted  his  wife  or  his  family  about  resign-  Jesting 
ing,  and  he  concealed  from  them  the  step  he  had  taken  till 
next  day.  This  was  a  holiday ;  and  there  being  no  Court  itto  his 
Circular  or  Newspaper  on  the  breakfast-table,  they  all  went  to 
church  at  Chelsea,  as  if  nothing  extraordinary  had  happened. 
**  And  whereas  upon  the  holydays  during  his  High  Chancel- 
lorship one  of  his  gentlemen,  when  the  service  at  the  church 
was  done,  ordinarily  used  to  come  to  my  Lady  his  wife's 
pew-door,  and  say  unto  her  '  Madam,  my  Lord  is  gone,^ 
he  came  into  my  Lady  his  wife's  pew  himself,  and  making  a 
low  courtesy,  said  unto  her,  '  Madam,  my  Lord  is  gone,^ 
which  she,  imagining  to  be  but  one  of  his  jests,  as  he  used 
many  unto  her,  he  sadly  affirmed  unto  her,  that  it  was  true. 
This  was  the  way  he  thought  fittest  to  break  the  matter  unto 
his  wife,  who  was  full  of  sorrow  to  hear  it."  * 

He  immediately  set  about  providing  for  his  officers  and 
servants  who  were  to  leave  him,  and  he  succeeded  in  placing 
them  with  bishops  and  noblemen.  His  state  barge,  which 
carried  him  to  Westminster  Hall  and  Whitehall,  he  trans- 
ferred, with  his  eight  watermen,  to  his  successor.  His  Fool,  His  "Fool." 
who  must  have  been  a  great  proficient  in  jesting,  practising 
under  such  a  master,  he  made  over  to  the  Lord  Mayor  of 

•   Roper,  54. 


558 


REIGN  OP   HENRY   VIII. 


More's 
mode  of 
life  in  re- 
tirement. 


CHAP.     London,  with  a  stipulation  that  he  should  continue  to  serve 
XXXIII 
*    the  office  of  fool  to  the  Lord  Mayor  for  the  time  being.* 

A.D.  1532.  After  this  he  called  together  all  his  children  and  grand- 
children who  had  dwelt  with  him,  and  asked  their  advice 
how  he  might  now,  in  the  decay  of  his  ability,  bear  out  the 
whole  charges  of  them  all,  as  he  gladly  would  have  con- 
tinued to  do.  When  they  were  all  silent  —  "  Then  wiU  I 
(said  he)  show  unto  you  my  mind :  I  have  been  brought  up 
at  Oxford,  at  an  Inn  of  Chancery,  at  Lincoln's  Inn,  and  in 
the  King's  Court,  from  the  lowest  degree  to  the  highest ;  and 
yet  have  I,  in  yearly  revenues  at  this  present,  little  left  me 
above  a  hundred  pounds  by  the  year:  so  that  now,  if  we 
wish  to  live  together,  you  must  be  content  to  be  contribu- 
taries  together.  But  my  counsel  is,  that  we  fall  not  to  the 
lowest  fare  first :  we  will  not,  therefore,  descend  to  Oxford 
fare,  nor  to  the  fare  of  New  Inn,  but  we  will  begin  with 
Lincoln's  Inn  diet,  where  many  right  worshipful  men,  of 
great  account  and  good  years,  do  live  full  well;  which,  if 
we  find  ourselves  the  first  year  not  able  to  maintain,  then 
will  in  the  next  year  come  down  to  Oxford  fare,  where  many 
great,  learned,  and  ancient  fathers  and  doctors  are  continually 
conversant ;  which,  if  our  purses  stretch  not  to  maintain 
neither,  then  may  we  after,  with  bag  and  wallet,  go  a  begging 
together,  hoping  that  for  pity  some  good  folks  will  give  us 

Sayings  of         *  "  This  fool,  whose  name  was  Pattison,  appears  in  Holbein's  famous  picture 

Sir  Thomas    of  the  More  family.     One  anecdote  of  him  has  been  often  related.     When  at  a 

More's  fool,    dinner  at  Guildhall,  the  subject  of  his  old   master  having  refused  to  take  the 

oath  of  supremacy  was  discussed,  the  fool  exclaimed,  '  Why,  what  aileth  him 

that  he  will  not  swear ?     Wherefore  should  he  stick  to  swear?     I  have  sworn 

the  oath  myself. '" 

In  the  "  II  Moro,"  an  Italian  account  of  Sir  Thomas  More,  printed  at 
Florence,  and  dedicated  to  Cardinal  Pole,  there  is  another  anecdote  of  this 
jester,  supposed  to  be  related  by  the  Chancellor  himself,  giving  us  not  a  very 
exalted  notion  of  the  merriment  caused  by  these  simpletons.  "  Yesterday, 
while  we  were  dining,  Pattison  seeing  a  guest  with  a  very  large  nose  said 
'  there  was  one  at  table  who  had  been  trading  to  the  promontory  of  noses.  * 
All  eyes  were  turned  to  the  great  nose,  though  we  discreetly  preserved  silence, 
that  the  good  man  might  not  be  abashed.  Pattison,  perceiving  the  mistake  he 
had  made,  tried  to  set  himself  right,  and  said,  '  He  lies  who  says  the  gentle- 
man's nose  is  large,  for  on  the  faith  of  a  true  knight  it  is  rather  a  small  one.' 
At  this  all  being  inclined  to  laugh,  I  made  signs  for  the  fool  to  be  turned  out 
of  the  room.  But  Pattison,  who  boasted  that  he  brought  every  affair  that  he 
commenced  to  a  happy  conclusion,  resisted,  and  placing  himself  in  my  seat  at 
the  head  of  the  table  said  aloud,  with  my  tone  and  gesture,  '  There  is  one  thing 
I  would  have  you  to  know.  That  gentleman  there  has  not  the  least  bit  of  nose 
on  his  face.'" 


LIFE   OF   SIR  THOMAS   MOKE.  559 

their   charity,   and   at   every   man's   door  to  sing   a   Salve     CHAP. 

Regina,  whereby  we  shall  still  keep  company,  and  be  merry  " 

together."  *  ^  ^  a.d.  is32. 

In  those  times  there  were  no  pensions  of  5000Z.  a  year  for 
Ex-chancellors,  nor  sinecures  for  their  sons ;  and  More  might 
truly  have  said  — 

"  Virtute  me  involve,  probamque 
Pauperiem  sine  dote  quasro." 

He  certainly  never  repented  the  step  he  had  taken, 
although,  after  severe  sufferings,  it  led  him  to  the  scaffold ; 
and,  but  for  the  persecutions  of  the  tyrant  whom  he  refused 
to  serve,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  he  would  have  spent 
most  happily  the  remainder  of  his  days  in  the  bosom  of  his 
family,  ardently  engaged  in  those  literary  and  philosophical 
pursuits  which  professional  avocations  and  official  duties  had 
so  often  interrupted.  He  had  not  treated  the  law  as  a  mere 
trade  ;  and  when  the  first  day  of  term  afterwards  came  round, 
he  had  no  inclination  to  join  in  the  procession  to  Westminster 
Hall  —  not  participating  the  feelings  of  the  retired  tallow- 
chandler,  who  could  not  keep  away  from  his  old  shop  on 
"  melting  days.''^  He  now  experienced  the  delightful  calm  which 
he  describes  in  his  letter  of  congratulation  on  the  resignation 
of  Lord  Chancellor  Warham  :  — 

"  I  have  always  esteemed  your  most  reverend  fatherhood  happy   His  letter 
in  your  courses,  not  only  when  you  executed,  with  great  renown  *°  Arch- 
the  office  of  Chancellorship,  but  also  more  happy  now,  when,  being   Warham. 
rid  of  that  great  care,  you  have  betaken  yourself  to  a  most  wished 
quietness,  the  better  to  live  to  yourself,  and  to  serve  God  more 
easily  ;  such  a  quietness,  I  say,  that   is    not   only  more  pleasing 
than  all  these  troublesome  businesses,  but  also  more  honourable 
far,  in  my  judgment,  than  all  those  honours  which  you  there  en- 
joyed.    Wherefore  many,  and  amongst  them  myself,  do  applaud 
and  admire  this  your  act,  which  proceeded  from  a  mind,  I  know 
not  whether  more  modest  in  that  you  would  willingly  forsake  so 
magnificent  a  place,  or  more  heroical  in  that  you  would  condemn 
it,  or  more  innocent  in  that  you  feared  not  to  depose  yourself  from 
it ;  but,  surely,  most  excellent  and  prudent  it  was  to  do  so ;  for 
which,  your  rare  deed,  I  cannot  utter  unto  you  how  I  rejoice  for 

*  More,  203. 


560 


REIGN   OF   HENRY  VIII. 


CHAP. 
XXXII  I. 


Letter  to 
Erasmus. 


His  occu- 
pations. 


A,D.  1532. 


King's 
marriage 
with  Anne 
Boleyn. 


your  sake,  and  how  much  I  congratulate  you  for  it,  sseing  your 
fatherhood  to  enjoy  so  honourable  a  fame,  and  to  have  obtained 
so  rare  a  glory,  by  sequestering  yourself  far  from  all  worldly 
businesses,  from  all  tumults  of  causes,  and  to  bestow  the  rest  of 
your  days,  with  a  peaceable  conscience  for  all  your  life  past,  in 
a  quiet  calmness,  giving  yourself  wholly  to  your  book,  and  to 
true  Christian  philosophy."  * 

"Writing  now  to  Erasmus,  he  says  that  "  he  himself  had 
obtained  what,  from  a  child,  he  had  continually  wished  — 
that,  being  freed  from  business  and  public  affairs,  he  might 
live  for  a  time  only  to  God  and  himself." 

Accordingly,  he  passed  the  first  year  of  his  retirement  in 
reviving  his  recollection  of  favourite  authors,  in  bringing  up 
his  acquaintance  with  the  advancing  literature  of  the  day,  in 
retouching  his  own  writings,  and  planning  new  works  for  the 
further  increase  of  his  fame  and  the  good  of  his  fellow-crea- 
tures. His  happiness  was  only  alloyed  by  witnessing  the 
measures  in  progress  under  his  successor  and  Cromwell, 
which  he  had  the  sagacity  to  foresee  would  soon  lead  to  others 
more  violent  and  more  mischievous. 

The  threats  to  break  off  all  intercourse  with  Rome  having 
proved  ineffectual,  it  was  at  last  openly  resolved  to  carry 
them  into  effect,  and,  without  any  divorce  from  Catherine  by 
the  Pope's  authority,  that  the  King  should  marry  Anne 
Boleyn.  In  September,  1532,  she  was  created  Marchioness 
of  Pembroke,  and,  notwithstanding  the  gallant  defence  of 
Burnet  and  other  zealous  Protestants,  who  think  that  the 
credit  of  the  Reformation  depends  upon  her  purity,  it  seems 
probable  that  Queen  Catherine,  having  been  banished  from 
Court,  and  taken  up  her  abode  at  Ampthill,  Anne,  in  the 
prospect  of  the  performance  of  the  ceremony,  had,  after  a 
resistance  of  nearly  six  years,  consented  to  live  with  Henry 
as  his  wife-t  On  the  25th  of  January,  1533,  she  being  then 
in  a  state  of  pregnancy,  they  were  privately  married.  } 

*  More,  207. 

t  I  must  be  allowed  to  say  that  I  consider  still  more  absurd  the  attempts  of 
Romish  zealots  to  make  her  out  to  have  been  a  female  of  abandoned  character 
from  her  early  youth.      See  Lingard,  vol.  vi.  ch.  iii. 

\  An  attempt  has  been  made  to  show  a  marriage  on  the  1 4th  Nov.  1532,  nine 
months  before  the  birth  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  which  happened  on  the  7th  Sept. 


LIFE   OF    SIR   THOMAS   MORE.  561 

The  marriage  was  kept  secret  till  Easter  following,  when     CHAP. 

.                                       XXXIII. 
she  was  declared  Queen,  and  orders  were  given  for  her  coro-  | 

nation.*  a.d,  15S3. 

The  troubles  of  the  Ex-chancellor  now  began.  To  give  More  re- 
countenance  to  the  ceremony,  he  was  invited  to  be  present  by  ^"^^^^^^j® 
three  Bishops  as  the  King's  messengers,  who  likewise  offered  her  coro- 
him  20/.  to  buy  a  dress  suitable  to  the  occasion.  He  declined  "^***>°- 
the  invitation,  and  thereby  gave  mortal  offence  to  the  new 
Queen,  who  ever  afterwards  urged  violent  proceedings  against 
him.  But  instead  of  considering  him  disloyal  or  morose,  we 
ought  rather  to  condemn  the  base  servility  of  the  clergy  and 
nobility  who  yielded  to  every  caprice  of  the  tyrant  under 
whom  they  trembled,  and  now  heedlessly  acquiesced  in  a 
measure  which  might  have  been  the  cause  of  a  civil  war  as 
bloody  as  that  between  the  houses  of  York  and  Lancaster. 
There  had  as  yet  been  no  sentence  of  divorce,  nor  act  of  par- 
liament, to  dissolve  Henry's  first  marriage ;  all  lawyers,  in 
all  countries,  agreed  that  it  was  valid  till  set  aside  by  com- 
petent authority ;  and  the  best  lawyers  were  then  of  the 
opinion,  at  which  I  believe  those  most  competent  to  consider 
the  question  have  since  arrived,  that  even  upon  the  supposi- 
tion of  the  consummation  of  Catherine's  marriage  with  Arthur, 
(which  she,  a  most  sincere  and  pious  lady,  always  solemnly 
denied,  and  which  Henry  when  she  appealed  to  him  f  did  not 
venture  to  assert,)  the  marriage  was  absolutely  valid,  —  as, 
according  to  the  then  existing  law,  the  Pope's  dispensation 
was  sufficient  to  remove  the  objection  of  affinity ;  and  there 
is  no  ground  for  saying  that  the  Pope,  in  granting  the  dispen- 
sation, exceeded  his  powers  by  expressly  violating  any  divine 
precept.  Little  weight  is  to  be  attributed  to  the  divorce 
pronounced  by  Cranmer,  holding  his  court  at  Dunstable, 
whether  Catherine  appeared  in  it  or  not ;  for  there  was 
another  suit  for  the  same  cause,  which  had  been  regularly 

1533 ;  but  this  is  disproved  by  the  testimony  of  Cranmer  himself.  See 
1  Hallam's  Const.  Hist,  p   84. 

*  It  is  curious  that  Shakspeare,  living  so  near  the  time,  places  the  marriage 
and  coronation  of  Anne  in  the  lifetime  of  Cardinal  Wolsey,  who  died  three 
years  before ;  but  the  dramatist  is  not  more  inaccurate  as  to  dates  than  most 
of  our  prose  historians  of  that  period. — See  Hen.  VIII.  act  iv. 

\  "  De  integritate  corporis  usque  ad  secundas  nuptias  servata." 

VOL.  I.  O  O 


562 


EEIGN   OF   HENRY  VIII. 


CHAP. 
XXXIII. 


A.D.  1534. 

Summoned 

before 

Privy 

Council  on 

charge  of 

bribery. 


April, 
1534. 


commenced  in  England  before  Wolsey  and  Campeggio,  still 
pending  at  Rome.  But  all  doubt  as  to  the  legitimacy  of 
Elizabeth  was  removed,  not  only  by  a  subsequent  marriage 
between  her  parents  after  Cranmer's  divorce,  and  a  judgment 
by  him  that  their  marriage  was  valid,  but  by  an  act  of  the 
legislature  *,  which  in  our  country  has  always  been  su-- 
preme,  notwithstanding  any  opposition  of  bishops,  popes,  or 
councils. 

The  first  attempt  to  wreak  vengeance  on  More  for  his 
obstinacy,  was  by  summoning  him  before  the  Privy  Council 
to  answer  a  charge  of  having  been  guilty  of  bribery  while  he 
was  Lord  Chancellor.  One  Parnell  was  induced  to  complain 
of  a  decree  obtained  against  him  by  his  adversary  Vaughan, 
whose  wife,  it  was  alleged,  had  bribed  the  Chancellor  with  a 
gilt  cup.  The  accused  party  surprised  the  Council  at  first  by 
owning  that  "  he  had  received  the  cup  as  a  new-year's  gift." 
Lord  Wiltshire,  the  King's  father-in-law,  indecently  but  pre- 
maturely exulted,  "  Lo !  did  I  not  tell  you,  my  Lords,  that 
you  would  find  this  matter  true  ? "  "  But,  my  Lords,"  re- 
plied More,  "  hear  the  other  part  of  my  tale.  After  having 
drunk  to  her  of  wine,  with  which  my  butler  had  filled  the 
cup,  and  when  she  had  pledged  me,  I  restored  it  to  her,  and 
would  listen  to  no  refusal."  f 

The  only  other  cases  of  bribery  brought  forward  against 
him  were,  his  acceptance  of  a  gilt  cup  from  a  suitor  of  the 
name  of  Gresham,  after  he  had  given  Gresham  a  cup  of  greater 
value  for  it  in  exchange ;  and  his  acceptance  from  a  Mrs. 
Croker  for  whom  he  had  made  a  decree  against  Lord  Arundel, 
of  a  pair  of  gloves,  in  which  were  contained  401.  in  angels ; 
but  he  had  told  her  with  a  smile,  that  though  it  were  ill 
manners  to  refuse  a  lady's  present,  and  he  should  keep  the 
gloves,  he  must  return  the  gold,  which  he  forced  her  to  carry 
back. X 

The  next  proceeding  against  him,  equally  without  found- 
ation, wore  a  more  alarming  aspect ;  and,  at  one  time,  seemed 
fraught  with  destruction  to  him.  A  bill  was  introduced  into 
parliament  to  attaint  of  high  treason  Elizabeth  Barton,  a 


•  25  Hen.  8.  c,  22. 
^  Ibid.  222. 


t  More,  221. 


LIFE   OF   SIR  THOMAS  MOKE.  563 

woman  commonly  called  "  the  Holy  Maid  of  Kent,"  and  her     CHAP. 

associates,  upon  the  suggestion,  that,  under  pretence  of  re- 


velations and  miracles,  she  had  spoken  disrespectfully  of  the  ^p.  1534. 
King,  and  insisted  that  Catherine  was  still  his  lawful  wife.  Accused  of 
She  had  obtained  a  great  reputation  for  piety ;  and  some  the  affair  of 
sensible  men  of  that  age  were  inclined  to  think,  that  super-  ^^  ^*"^  °^ 
natural  gifts  were  conferred  upon  her  by  heaven.  Among 
these  were  Archbishop  Warham,  Fisher,  Bishop  of  Ro- 
chester, and,  probably.  Sir  Thomas  More.*  Being  in  the 
convent  at  Sion,  More  was  prevailed  upon  to  see  and  con- 
verse with  her  there ;  but  he  most  studiously  prevented  her 
from  saying  a  word  to  him  about  the  King's  divorce,  the 
King's  marriage,  or  the  King's  supremacy,  or  any  such  sub- 
ject. However,  this  interview  being  reported  at  Court, 
More's  name  was  introduced  into  the  bill  of  attainder  as  an 
accomplice ;  not  with  the  intention  at  first  of  making  him  a 
sacrifice,  but  in  the  expectation  that,  under  the  impending 
peril,  his  constancy  would  yield.  He  begged  to  be  heard,  to 
make  his  defence  against  the  bill  openly  at  the  bar ;  but  this 
proposal  raised  great  alarm  from  his  legal  knowledge  and  his 
eloquence,  and  the  influence  of  his  name.  It  was  resolved, 
therefore,  that  he  should  only  be  heard  privately  before  a 
committee  named  by  the  King,  consisting  of  Cranmer,  the 
new  Archbishop,  Audley,  the  new  Chancellor,  the  Duke  of 
Norfolk,  and  Cromwell. 

When  he  came  before  them,  in  respect  of  the  high  office  He  is  heard 
he  had  filled,  they  received  him  courteously,  requesting  him 
to  sit  down  with  them;  but  this  he  would  on  no  account 
consent  to.  Having  got  him  among  them,  instead  of  dis- 
cussing his  guilt  or  innocence,  on  the  charge  of  treason  made 
against  him  by  the  bill  of  attainder,  they  tried  to  make  a 
convert  of  him  to  the  King's  views.  They  began  quietly — 
telling  him  how  many  ways  the  King's  Majesty  had  showed 
his  love  and  favour  towards  him  —  how  gladly  he  would  have 
had  him  continue  in  his  office  —  how  desirous  he  was  to  have 


*  We  need  not  wonder  at  the  credulity  of  the  most  eminent  men  of  that  age' 
when  in  our  own  day  a  nobleman,  distinguished  by  his  talents  and  his  eloquence> 
as  well  as  by  his  illustrious  birth,  has  published  a  pamphlet  to  support  two  con- 
temporaneous miraculous  maids,  the  "  Estatica"  and  the  "  Adolorata." 

o  o  2 


before  a 
committee. 


564 


REIGN    OF   HENRY   VIII. 


CHAP. 

XXXIII. 


A.D.  1534. 


Threats 
used.     His 
constancy. 


History  of 

Henry's 

treatise 

against 

Luther. 


heaped  still  more  aiid  more  benefits  upon  him  —  and,  finally, 
that  he  could  ask  no  worldly  honour  or  profit  at  his  High- 
ness's  hands  but  that  he  should  obtain  it,  so  that  he  would 
add  his  consent  to  that  which  the  King,  the  Parliament,  the 
Bishops,  and  many  Universities  had  pronounced  for  reason 
and  scripture. 

The  Ex-chancellor  fully  admitted  the  many  obligations  the 
King  had  laid  upon  him :  but  mildly  observed,  that  he  hoped 
never  to  have  heard  of  this  matter  any  more,  as  his  Highness, 
like  a  gracious  Prince,  knowing  his  mind  therein,  had  pro- 
mised no  more  to  molest  him  therewith ;  since  which  time,  he 
had  seen  no  reason  to  change ;  and  if  he  could,  there  was  no 
one  in  the  whole  world  would  be  more  joyful. 

Seeing  that  persuasion  would  not  move  him,  "  then  began 
they  more  terribly  to  threaten  him;  saying,  the  King's  Ma- 
jesty had  given  them  in  command  expressly,  if  they  could  by 
no  gentle  means  win  him,  they  should,  in  his  name,  with 
great  indignation  charge  him,  that  never  there  was  servant 
so  villanous  to  his  Sovereign,  nor  any  subject  so  traitorous  to 
his  Prince,  as  he." — And  what  was  this  terrible  accusation? 
—  that  More  had  provoked  the  King  to  set  forth  the  book 
on  the  seven  sacraments,  and  the  maintenance  of  the  Pope's 
authority, —  whereby  the  title  of  "  Defender  of  the  Faith" 
had  been  gained,  but  in  reality  a  sword  had  been  put  into  the 
Pope's  hand  to  fight  against  him,  to  his  great  dishonour  in  all 
parts  of  Christendom. 

His  answer  lets  us  curiously  into  the  secret  history  of 
Henry's  refutation  of  Luther.  "  My  Lords,"  answered  he, 
"  these  terrors  be  frights  for  children,  and  not  for  me :  but 
to  answer  that  wherewith  you  chiefly  burthen  me,  I  believe 
the  King's  Highness,  of  his  honour,  will  never  lay  that  book 
to  my  charge ;  for  there  is  none  that  can,  in  that  point,  say 
more  for  my  clearance  than  himself,  who  right  well  knoweth 
that  I  never  was  procurer,  promoter,  nor  counsellor  of  his 
Majesty  thereunto ;  only  after  it  was  finished,  by  his  Grace's 
appointment,  and  the  consent  of  the  makers  of  the  same. 
I  only  sorted  out,  and  placed  in  order,  the  principal  matters 
therein;  wherein,  when  I  had  found  the  Pope's  authority 
highly  advanced,  and  with  strange  arguments  mightily  de- 


LIFE   OF   SIR   THOMAS   MORE.  565 

fended,  I  said  thus  to  his  grace :  *  I  must  put  your  Hio-hness     CHAP. 

.  f       J  o  XXXIII 

in  mind  of  one  thing  —  the  Pope,  as  your   Majesty  well  * 

knoweth,  is  a  prince,  as  you  are,  in  league  with  all  other  ^^  j,.  1534. 
Christian  princes :  it  may  hereafter  fall  out  that  your  Grace 
and  he  may  vary  upon  some  points  of  the  league,  whereupon 
may  grow  breach  of  amity  between  you  both;  therefore  I 
think  it  best  that  place  be  amended,  and  his  authority  more 
slenderly  touched.'  '  Nay,'  said  the  King,  '  that  shall  it  not ; 
we  are  so  much  bound  to  the  See  of  Rome,  that  we  cannot 
do  too  much  honour  unto  it.  Whatsoever  impediment  be  to 
the  contrary,  we  will  set  forth  that  authority  to  the  utter- 
most ;  for  we  have  received  from  that  See  our  Crown  im- 
perial ! '  which  till  his  Grace  with  his  own  mouth  so  told  me, 
I  never  heard  before.  Which  things  well  considered,  I  trust 
when  his  Majesty  shall  be  truly  informed  thereof,  and  call  to 
his  gracious  remembrance  my  sayings  and  doings  in  that 
behalf,  his  Highness  will  never  speak  more  of  it,  but  will 
clear  me  himself."  Thereupon  they,  with  great  displeasure, 
dismissed  him ;  and  knowing  whom.  In  the  defence  of  his  in- 
nocence, he  taunted  and  defied,  he  well  knew  the  price  he 
was  to  pay  for  his  boldness.* 

Nevertheless,  he  was  in  high  spirits,  and  taking  boat  for  More's  joy 
Chelsea,  his  son-in-law,  Eoper,  who  accompanied  him,  be-  ^jj^"if"ui 
lieved,  from  his  merriment  by  the  way,  that  his  name  had  to  act  with 
been  struck  out  of  the  bill.     When  they  were  landed,  and  *^°"''^S^' 
walking  in  the  garden.  Roper  said,  "  I  trust,  sir,  all  is  well, 
you  are   so  merry."      "  It  Is  so,  indeed,  son,  thank  God." 
"  Are  you,  then,  sir,  put  out  of  the  bill  ?"     "  Wouldest  thou 
know,  son,  why  I  am  so  joyful  ?     In  good  faith  I  rejoice  that 
I  have  given  the  devil  a  foul  fall ;  because  I  have  with  those 
Lords  gone  so  far,  that  without  great  shame  I  can  never  go 
hack.''^     This  heartfelt  exultation  at  having,  after  a  struggle 
to  which  he  felt  the  weakness  of  human  nature  might  have 
been  unequal,  gained   the   victory  In  his    own   mind,   and, 
though  with  the  almost  certain  sacrifice  of  life,  made  it  im- 
possible to  resile,  —  bestows  a   greatness  on  these  simple 

•  More,  225. 
o  o  3 


566  REIGN   OF   HENRY  VIII. 

CHAP,     and  familiar  words  which  belongs  to  few  uninspired  sayings 

XXXTIT  •  J.  ./       o 

in  ancient  or  modern  times.* 
AD  1534.  ^^^  result  of  the  conference  with  the  four  councillors 
being  reported  by  them  to  Henry,  he  flew  into  a  transport  of 
rage,  swore  that  More  should  be  included  in  the  attainder, 
and  said,  when  the  bill  was  to  be  discussed,  he  himself  should 
be  personally  present  to  ensure  its  passing.  They  then  all 
dropped  down  on  their  knees  before  him,  and  implored  him  to 
forbear;  for  if,  sitting  on  the  throne,  he  should  receive  an 
overthrow,  it  would  not  only  encourage  his  subjects  ever  after 
to  contemn  him,  but  also  redound  to  his  dishonour  among 
foreign  nations — adding,  that  "  they  doubted  not  they  should 
find  a  more  meet  occasion  to  serve  his  turn,  for  that  in  this 
case  of  the  Nun  he  was  well  known  to  be  clearly  innocent." 
He  escapes  Henry  was  obliged  to  yield,  and  once  in  his  reign  his  thirst 
for  blood  was  not  immediately  gratified. 

Cromwell  having  next  day  informed  Roper  that  his  father- 
in-law  was  put  out  of  the  bill,  this  intelligence  reached  More 
himself  by  the  lips  of  his  favourite  daughter,  when  he  calmly 
said,  "In  faith,  Meg,  quod  differtur  non  aufertur, — what  is 
postponed  is  not  abandoned." 
Attempts  A  few  days  afterwards  the  Duke  of  Norfolk  made  a  last 

Wmsubmlt.  attempt  upon  him,  saying,  "  By  the  mass.  Master  More, 
it  is  perilous  striving  with  princes ;  therefore  I  could  wish 
you,  as  a  friend,  to  incline  to  the  King's  pleasure,  for,  by 
God's  body.  Master  More,  indignatio  principis  mors  est.^^ 
"  Is  that  all  ?  "  said  Sir  Thomas;  "  why  then  there  is  no  more 
difference  between  your  Grace  and  me,  but  that  I  shall  die 
to-day  and  you  to-morrow."  Norfolk,  it  is  well  known,  was 
attainted,  ordered  for  execution,  and  only  saved  by  Henry's 
death. 
Jhec^Te".  ^^^  More's  other  prophecy  of  the  same  sort  was  literally 

specting       fulfilled.     Having  asked  his  daughter  Roper  how  the  world 
Anne  Bo-     ^g^^^  ^^^j  j^^^  Queen  Anne  did,  « In  faith,  father,"  said  she, 
"  never  better ;  there  is  nothing  else  in  the  Court  but  dancing 
and  sporting."     "  Never  better  !"  said  he.     "  Alas !  Meg,  it 
pitieth  me  to  remember  unto  what  misery,  poor  soul,  she  will 

*  More,  228. 


LIFE   OF   SIR   THOMAS   MORE.  567 

shortly  come.     These  dances  of  hers  will  prove  such  dances     CHAP. 

.        .               XXXIII 
that  she  will  spurn  our  heads  off  like  footballs ;  but  it  will  not  ' 

be  long  ere  her  head  will  dance  the  like  dance."*  a.d.  1534. 

The  policy  of  Henry  and  his  ministers  now  was  to  enforce  Oath  to  the 
submission  by  compelling  people  to  swear  to  conform  to  the  prelacy"' 
new  regime^  a  course  which  More  had  anticipated  with  ap-  required, 
prehension  when  he  was  told  by  Roper  of  the  King's  mar- 
riage and  final  rupture  with  Rome,  saying,  "  God  give  grace, 
son,  that   these  matters  within   a  while   be   not  confirmed 
with  oathsJ'^ 

The  Lord  Chancellor,  Cranmer,  Cromwell,  and  the  Abbot  Commis- 
of  Westminster  were  appointed  commissioners  to  administer  po^^ted^to' 
the  required  oath,  drawn  up  in  a  form  which  the  law  did  not  administer 
then  authorise.  Statutes  had  been  passed  to  settle  the  suc- 
cession to  the  crown  on  the  issue  of  the  King's  present 
marriage,  and  to  cut  off  intercourse  with  Rome  by  prohibiting 
the  accustomed  payment  of  first  fruits,  or  Peter's  pence,  and 
forbidding  appeals  to  the  Pope  or  dispensations  from  him ; 
but  no  statute  had  passed  to  constitute  the  King  supreme 
Head  of  the  Church,  or  to  annex  any  penalty  to  the  denial  of 
his  supremacy,  f  Nevertheless  an  oath  was  framed  "  to  bear 
faith  and  true  obedience  to  the  King,  and  the  issue  of  his 
present  marriage  with  Queen  Anne,  to  acknowledge  him  the 
Head  of  the  Church  of  England,  and  to  renounce  all  obedience 
to  the  Bishop  of  Rome,  as  having  no  more  power  than  any  other 
bishop.''^ 

The  administration  of  this  oath  began  a  few  days  after  the 
Holy  Maid  of  Kent  and  her  associates,  under  the  act  of  at- 
tainder against  them,  had  been  hanged  and  beheaded  at 
Tyburn;  and  it  was  taken  very  freely  by  the  clergy.  It 
had  not  yet  been  propounded  to  any  layman,  and  the  com~ 
missioners  resolved  to  begin  with  Sir  Thomas  More,  knowing 

*   More.  231. 

f  All  the  biographers  of  More,  from  Roper  downwards,  have  fallen  into  a 
mistake  upon  this  subject,  although  they  have  recorded  More's  own  declaration 
that  the  warrant  of  his  commitment  was  bad  in  point  of  law  ;  but  a  reference  to 
the  Statute  Book  makes  the  matter  clear  beyond  all  question ;  for  he  was  com- 
mitted to  the  Tower  in  April,  1534,  and  the  session  of  parliament  in  which  the 
act  of  supremacy  was  passed  did  not  meet  till  the  month  of  November  follow- 
ing.   26  H.  8.  c.  1. 

o  o  4 


568 


REIGN   OF    HENRY   VIII. 


CHAP. 

XXXIII. 

A.D.  1534. 


More  sum- 
moned 
before  com- 
missioners. 


Solemn 
departure 
from  his 
house  at 
Chelsea. 


His  refusal 
to  take 
oath. 


that  If  he  should  submit,  no  farther  resistance  need  be  appre- 
hended. 

For  a  considerable  while  he  had  been  expecting  a  summons 
before  the  inquisitors,  and  that  his  family  might  be  alarmed 
as  little  as  possible  when  it  should  really  come,  he  hired  a 
man  dressed  as  a  poursuivant  suddenly  to  come  to  his  house, 
while  they  sat  at  dinner,  and  knocking  loudly  at  his  door,  to 
warn  him  to  appear  next  day  before  the  commissioners. 
They  were  at  first  in  great  consternation;  but  he  soon 
relieved  them  by  explaining  the  jest. 

In  sad  earnest  early  in  the  morning  of  the  13th  of  April, 
1534,  the  real  poursuivant  entered  the  house,  and  summoned 
him  to  appear  before  the  commissioners  that  day  at  Lambeth. 
According  to  his  custom  when  he  entered  on  any  matter  of 
importance,  (as  when  he  was  first  chosen  of  the  Privy  Coun- 
cil, sent  ambassador,  chosen  Speaker,  made  Lord  Chancellor, 
or  engaged  in  any  weighty  undertaking,)  he  went  to  church 
"  to  be  confessed,  to  hear  mass,  and  to  be  houseled ; "  but 
from  a  foreboding  mind  he  could  not  trust  himself  to  take 
leave  of  his  family  with  his  usual  marks  of  affection :  "whereas 
he  evermore  used  before,  at  his  departure  from  his  wife  and 
children,  whom  he  tenderly  loved,  to  have  them  bring  him  to 
his  boat,  and  there  to  kiss  them  and  bid  them  all  farewell,  — 
then  would  he  suffer  none  of  them  forth  of  the  gate  to  follow 
him,  but  pulled  the  wicket  after  him,  and  shut  them  all  from 
him,  and  with  a  heavy  heart  took  boat  towards  Lambeth." 
On  his  way  he  whispered  into  the  ear  of  his  son-in-law  who 
accompanied  him,  "  1  thank  our  Lord  the  field  is  won,"  *  — 
indicating  an  entire  confidence  in  his  own  constancy. 

Being  brought  before  the  commissioners,  and  the  oath 
being  tendered  to  him,  he  referred  to  the  statute  and  declared 
his  readiness  to  swear  that  he  would  maintain  and  defend  the 
order  of  succession  to  the  crown,  as  established  by  parliament ; 
he  disclaimed  all  censure  on  those  who  had  simply  taken  the 
oath;  but  it  was  impossible  that  he  should  swear  to  the 
whole  contents  of  it  without  wounding  his  conscience.  He 
was  commanded  to  walk  In  the  garden  awhile,  and  the  oath 


*  More,  70. 


LIFE   OF   SIB   THOMAS   MORE.  569 

was  administered  to  many  others.  When  called  in  again,  CHAP. 
the  list  of  those  who  had  taken  it  was  shown  to  him,  and  he 
was  threatened  with  the  King's  special  displeasure  for  his  re-  ^  j^  ^^34^ 
cusancy  without  any  reason  assigned.  He  answered,  that 
"  his  reasons  might  exasperate  the  King  still  more ;  but  he 
would  assign  them  on  his  Majesty's  assurance,  that  they 
should  not  offend  him  nor  prove  dangerous  to  himself."  The 
commissioners  observed,  that  such  assurances  could  be  no 
defence  against  a  legal  charge.  He  oflPered  to  trust  himself 
to  the  King's  honour ;  but  they  would  listen  to  no  qualifica- 
tion or  explanation.  Cranmer,  with  some  subtlety,  argued 
that  his  disclaiming  all  blame  of  those  who  had  sworn,  showed 
that  he  thought  it  only  doubtful,  whether  the  oath  was 
unlawful;  whereas  the  obligation  to  obey  the  King  was 
absolutely  certain.  He  might  have  replied,  that  an  oath  on 
matter  of  opinion  might  be  lawfully  taken  by  one  man,  and 
could  not  be  taken  without  perjury  by  another ;  but  he  con- 
tented himself  with  repeating  his  offer  to  swear  to  the  suc- 
cession, and  his  refusal  to  go  further.  Thereupon  he  was  Committed 
given  in  ward  to  the  Abbot  of  Westminster,  in  the  hope  that  *°  custody 

.  .  .         .  .  .  or  Abbot 

the  King  might  relent.  It  is  said  that,  a  council  being  held,  of  West- 
the  qualified  oath  would  have  been  accepted  had  it  not  been  ""^"s*^'"- 
that  "  Queen  Anne,  by  her  importunate  clamours,  did  ex- 
asperate the  King,"  and  at  the  end  of  four  days,  the  oath 
containing  an  acknowledgment  of  the  King's  supremacy,  and 
an  abjuration  of  the  Bishop  of  Rome  being  again  tendered 
and  refused.  More  was  committed  close  prisoner  to  the  Tower  Sent  to 

of  London.  Tower. 

Having  delivered  his   upper   garment   as  garnish  to  the  April  17. 
porter  standing  at  the  Traitor's  Gate,  by  which  he  entered,   ^'^  recep- 

*  °  .  tion  in  the 

he  was  conducted  by  "  Master  Lieutenant "  to  his  lodging,  Tower, 
where  he  swore  John  a  Wood,  his  servant  appointed  to 
attend  him,  "  that  if  he  should  see  or  hear  him  at  any  time 
write  or  speak  any  matter  against  the  King  or  the  state  of 
the  realm,  he  should  open  it  to  the  Lieutenant,  that  it  might 
incontinent  be  revealed  to  the  CounciL" 

The  Lieutenant  apologising  for  the  poor  cheer  the  place  jest  on 
furnished,  his  prisoner  waggishly  answered,  "  Assure  your-  *!'**  '"^'^^" 


570 


REIGN   OF    HENRY   VIII. 


CHAP. 
XXXIIT. 

A.D.  1534. 
Interview 
with  his 
daughter. 


self  I  do  not  mislike  my  cheer;  but  whenever  I  do,  then 
spare  not  to  thrust  me  out  of  your  doors." 

In  about  a  month  he  was  permitted  to  receive  a  visit  from 
his  dearly  beloved  daughter,  whom  he  tried  to  comfort  by 
saying,  "  I  believe,  Meg,  they  that  have  put  me  here  ween 
they  have  done  me  a  high  displeasure  ;  but,  I  assure  thee  on 
my  faith,  mine  own  good  daughter,  if  it  had  not  been  for  my 
wife,  and  ye  that  be  my  children,  I  would  not  have  failed, 
long  ere  this,  to  have  closed  myself  In  as  straight  a  room,  and 
stralghter  too.  But  since  I  am  come  hither  without  mine 
own  desert,  I  trust  that  God,  by  his  goodness,  will  discharge 
me  of  my  care,  and,  with  his  gracious  help,  supply  my  lack 
among  you."  Having  pointed  out  to  her  the  illegality  of  his 
imprisonment,  there  being  then  no  statute  to  authorise  the 
required  oath,  he  could  not  refrain  from  expressing  some 
indignation  against  the  King's  advisers.  "  And  surely, 
daughter.  It  is  a  great  pity  that  any  Christian  Prince  should, 
by  a  flexible  Council  ready  to  follow  his  affections,  and  by  a 
weak  clergy,  lacking  grace  constantly  to  stand  to  their  learn- 
ing, with  flattery  be  so  shamefully  abused." 

It  unluckily  chanced  while  she  was  with  him  on  another 
occasion,  that  in  their  sight  Reynolds,  the  Abbot  of  Sion, 
and  three  monks  of  the  Charterhouse  were  marched  out  for 
execution  on  account  of  the  supremacy.  He  exclaimed, 
"  Lo !  dost  thou  not  see,  Meg,  that  these  blessed  Fathers 
be  now  as  cheerfully  going  to  their  deaths  as  bridegrooms  to 
their  marriage;"  and  he  tenderly  tried  to  strengthen  her 
mind  for  the  like  destiny  befalling  himself.  Having  con- 
ceived, from  some  expression  she  used,  that  she  wished  him 
to  yield,  he  wrote  her  a  letter,  rebuking  her  supposed  pur- 
pose with  the  utmost  vehemence  of  affection,  and  concluding 
with  an  assurance,  "  that  none  of  the  terrible  things  that 
might  happen  to  him  touched  him  so  near,  or  were  so  griev- 
ous to  him,  as  that  his  dearly  beloved  child,  whose  judgment 
he  so  much  valued,  should  labour  to  persuade  him  to  do  what 
would  be  contrary  to  his  conscience."  Margaret's  reply  was 
worthy  of  herself.  "  She  submits  reverently  to  his  faithful 
and  delectable  letter,  the  faithful  messenger  of  his  vertuous 
mind,"  and  almost  rejoices  In  his  victory  over  all  earth-born 


LIFE    OF    SIR   THOMAS   MORE.  571 

cares.      She   subscribes   herself,    "Your   own   most  loving,     CHAP. 
obedient  daughter  and  bedeswoman,  Margaret  Roper,  who 


deslreth,  above  all  earthly  things,  to  be  in  John  Wood's  stede,  ^  ^  J534 
to  do  you  some  service." 

He  had  a  very  different   subject   to  deal  with  when  he  visit  from 
received  a  visit  from  his  wife,  who  had  leave  to  see  him,  in  ^^^  ^^^^■ 
the  hope  that  she  might  break  his  constancy.     On  her  en- 
trance, like  a  plain  rude  woman,  and  somewhat  worldly,  she 
thus  saluted  him,  "  What,  the  goodyear,  Mr.  More,  I  marvel 
that  you,  who  have  been  hitherto  always  taken  for  a  wise 
man,  will  now  so  play  the  fool  as  to  lie  here  in  this  close, 
filthy  prison,  and  be  content  to  be  shut  up  thus  with  mice 
and  rats,  when  you  might  be  abroad  at  your  liberty,  with  the 
favour  and  good  will  both  of  the  King  and  his  Council,  If 
you  would  but  do  as  the  Bishops   and  best  learned  of  his 
realm  have  done ;  and,  seeing  you  have  at  Chelsea  a  right  fair 
house,  your  library,  your  books,  your  gallery,  and  all  other 
necessaries  so  handsome  about   you,  where  you  might,  in 
company  with  me,  your  wife,  your  children  and  household, 
be  merry,  I  muse  what,  a  God's  name,  you  mean,  here  thus 
fondly  to  tarry."     Having  heard  her  out,  —  preserving  his 
good  humour,  he  said  to  her,  with  a  cheerful  countenance,  "  I 
pray  thee,  good  Mrs.  Alice,  tell  me  one  thing."     "  What  is 
it?"  salth  she.     "Is  not  this  house  as  near  heaven  as  my 
own?"     She  could  only  come  out  with  her  favourite  inter- 
jection, which  she  used,  like  Dame  Quickly,  to  express  im- 
patience, "  Tilly  vally  !  Tilly  vally  ! "  *     By  pointing  out  the 
short  time  he  could  enjoy  his  house  compared  with  the  long 
and  secure  tenure  of  heaven,  and  various  other  arguments  and 
illustrations,  he,  to  no  purpose,  tried  to  convince  her  that  it 
was  better  to  remain  in  the  Tower  than  to  dishonour  him- 
self.    He  was  little  moved  by  her  persuasions,  thinking  (but 
not  saying)  as  Job,  when  tempted  by  his  wife,  "  Quasi  una 
ex  stultis  mulieribus  locuta  es." 

We  must  render  her  the  justice  to  recollect,  however,  that 
she  continued  actively  to  do  what  she  could  for  his  comfort ; 
and  in  a  subsequent  part  of  his  imprisonment,  when  all  his 

*  "  Hostess  {addressing  Falstaff).  Tillyfally  !  Sir  John.  Never  tell  me,  your 
ancient  swaggerer  comes  not  in  my  doors." — 2d  Part  Hen.  IV.,  act  ii.  scene  4. 


572 


REIGN   OF   HENRY   VIII. 


CHAP. 
XXXIII. 

A.D.  1534. 
Act  of 
attainder. 


Farther 
proceed - 
iny:s  against 
More. 


property  had  been  seized,  she  actually  sold  her  wearing  ap- 
parel to  raise  money  to  provide  necessaries  for  him.* 

The  parliament,  which  had  answered  Henry's  purposes  so 
slavishly  that  it  was  kept  on  foot  for  six  years,  met  again  on 
the  4th  of  November,  and  proceeded  to  pass  an  act  of  at- 
tainder for  misprision  of  treason  against  More,  and  Fisher, 
Bishop  of  Rochester,  the  only  surviving  minister  of  Henry 
VII.,  and  the  son's  early  tutor,  councillor,  and  friend,  —  on 
the  ground  that  they  had  refused  to  take  the  oath  of  supre- 
macy, —  for  which  alleged  offence,  created  by  no  law,  they 
were  to  forfeit  all  their  property,  and  to  be  subject  to  per- 
petual imprisonment.!  But  this  was  insuflficient  for  the  royal 
vengeance ;  and  soon  after,  not  only  was  an  act  passed  to 
declare  the  King  the  Supreme  Head  of  the  Church  |,  but 
authority  was  given  to  require  an  oath  acknowledging  the 
supremacy  §,  and  it  was  declared  to  be  high  treason  by  words 
or  writing  to  deny  it.  I 

As  More  was  now  actually  suffering  punishment  by  im- 
prisonment and  forfeiture  of  his  property  for  having  refused 
to  take  the  oath,  it  was  impossible  to  make  the  enactment 
about  oaths  the  foundation  of  a  new  prosecution,  and  the 
plan  adopted  was  to  inveigle  him  into  a  verbal  denial  of  the 
supremacy,  and  so  to  proceed  against  him  for  high  treason. 

With  this  view,  the  Lord  Chancellor,  the  Dukes  of  Nor- 
folk and  Suffolk,  Cromwell,  and  others  of  the  Privy  Council, 
several  times  came  to  him  in  the  Tower,  "  to  procure  him  by 
all  means  and  policies  they  could,  either  to  confess  precisely 
the  King's  supremacy,  or  plainly  to  deny  it."  But  he  was 
constantly  on  his  guard,  and  they  could  get  nothing  more 
from  him  than  "  that  the  statute  was  like  a  two-edged  sword ; 


*  See  her  letter  to  Cromwell,  in  which  she  says,  "  I  pass  weekly  15  shillings 
for  the  bord-wages  of  my  poure  husband  and  his  servant,  for  the  mayntaining 
whereof  I  have  been  compellyd  of  verey  necessyte  to  sell  part  of  myn  ap- 
parell  for  lack  of  other  substance  to  make  money  of."  —  App.  to  Hunter's  ed. 
of  More. 

t  This  act  is  not  in  the  sUtutes  at  large,  but  will  be  found  in  the  Statutes  of 
the  Realm,  vol.  iv.  527,  528. 

I  26  Hen.  8.  c.  1.  §  26  Hen.  8.  c.  2. 

II  26  Hen.  8.  c.  3.  The  offence  described  in  this  last  act  applicable  to 
the  supremacy,  is  to  "  desire  to  deprive  the  King  of  his  dignity,  title,  or  name 
of  his  royal  estates;"— and,  "  Supreme  Head  of  the  Church  "  coming  within 
this  description,  to  deny  the  supremacy  was  thus  ingeniously  made  high  treason. 


LIFE   OF   SIR   THOMAS  MOKE.  573 

if  he  should  speak  affainst  it,  he  should  procure  the  death  of     CHAP. 
.                                                     •                                             XXXIII 
his  body ;  and  if  he  should  consent  unto  it,  he  should  procure  ' 

the  death  of  his  soul."  '  a.d.  1534. 

The  next  contrivance  was  plotted  and  executed  by  one  Infamous 
who  has  brought  a  greater  stain  upon  the  bar  of  England  ^;"^"^1*'^ 
than  any  member  of  the  profession  to  which  I  am  proud  to  Solicitor 
belong, — a  profession  generally  distinguished,  even  in  bad  ^"^"^ 
times,  for  integrity  and  independence,  and  never  before  or 
since  so  far  degraded  as  to  have  its  honours  won  by  palpable 
fraud,  chicanery,  and  perjury.  Rich  (horresco  refer  ens),  — 
afterwards  Lord  Chancellor, — had  just  been  made  Solicitor 
General,  on  an  understanding  that  he  was  effectually  to  put  in 
force  the  recent  acts  against  all  recusants,  and  most  especially 
against  the  refractory  Ex-chancellor.  Accordingly,  fortified 
by  an  order  of  the  Council,  he  accompanied  Sir  Richard 
Southwell  and  a  Mr.  Palmer  to  the  Tower  for  the  avowed 
purpose  of  depriving  More  of  the  small  library  with  which 
he  had  hitherto  been  permitted  to  soothe  his  solitude.  While 
they  were  packing  up  the  books.  Rich,  under  pretence  of 
ancient  friendship,  fell  into  conversation  with  him ;  and  in  a 
familiar  and  confidential  tone,  after  a  compliment  to  his 
wisdom  and  learning,  put  a  case  to  him  :  "  Admit  that  there 
were  an  act  of  parliament  made,  that  all  the  realm  should 
take  me  for  King,  would  not  you,  Mr.  More,  take  me  for 
King?"  "Yes,  sir,"  said  Sir  Thomas,  "that  I  would." 
Rich,  much  elated,  said,  "  I  put  the  case  further, — that  there 
were  an  act  of  parliament  that  all  the  realm  should  take  me 
for  Pope,  would  you  not  then  take  me  for  Pope?"  "For 
answer,"  said  Sir  Thomas,  "  to  your  first  case,  —  the  parlia- 
ment may  well  meddle  with  the  state  of  temporal  princes ; 
but  to  make  answer  to  your  other  case,  —  Suppose  the  par- 
liament should  make  a  law  that  God  should  not  be  God, 
would  you  then,  Mr.  Rich,  say  so  ? "  "  No,  sir/'  said  Mr. 
Solicitor,  *'  that  I  would  not ;  for  no  parliament  could  make 
such  a  law."  More,  suspecting  his  drift,  made  no  reply ;  the 
conversation  took  another  turn ;  and,  the  books  being  carried 
off,  they  soon  after  parted. 

Trusting  rather  to  partial  judges  and  a  packed  jury  than 
the  evidence  which  could  be  brought  forward  against  him,  a 


574 


EEIGN   OF   HENRY   VIII. 


CHAP. 
XXXIII. 

Trial  of 
More  in 
Westmin- 
ster Hall, 
A.D.  1535. 


His  be- 
haviour at 
trial. 


The  At- 
torney 
General's 
address. 


special  commission  was  issued  for  bringing  Sir  Thomas  More 
to  a  solemn  trial,  —  the  commissioners  being  the  Lord  Chan- 
cellor Audley,  the  Duke  of  Norfolk,  Fitzjames  and  Fitz- 
herbert,  the  Chief  Justices,  and  several  puisne  Judges.  They 
sat  in  the  Court  of  King's  Bench,  in  Westminster  Hall.* 
The  arraignment  took  place  on  the  7  th  of  May,  but  the  trial 
was  postponed  till  the  1st  of  July,  in  the  hope  of  strengthen- 
ing the  case  for  the  Crown. 

On  the  morning  of  the  trial.  More  was  led  on  foot,  in  a 
coarse  woollen  gown,  through  the  most  frequented  streets, 
from  the  Tower  to  Westminster  Hall.  The  colour  of  his  hair, 
which  had  become  grey  since  he  last  appeared  in  public,  his 
face,  which  though  still  cheerful  was  pale  and  emaciated,  his 
bent  posture  and  his  feeble  steps,  which  he  was  obliged  to 
support  with  his  staff,  showed  the  rigour  of  his  confinement, 
and  excited  the  sympathy  of  the  people,  instead  of  impressing 
them,  as  was  intended,  with  dread  of  the  royal  authority. 
When,  sordidly  dressed,  he  held  up  his  hand  as  a  criminal  in 
that  place,  where,  arrayed  in  his  magisterial  robes  and  sur- 
rounded by  crowds  who  watched  his  smile,  he  had  been  ac- 
customed on  his  knees  to  ask  his  father's  blessing  before 
mounting  his  own  tribunal  to  determine,  as  sole  Judge,  on  the 
most  important  rights  of  the  highest  subjects  in  the  realm,  — 
a  general  feeling  of  horror  and  commiseration  ran  through 
the  spectators ;  —  and  after  the  lapse  of  three  centuries,  dur- 
ing which,  statesmen,  prelates,  and  kings  have  been  unjustly 
brought  to  trial  under  the  same  roof,  —  considering  the  splen- 
dour of  his  talents,  the  greatness  of  his  acquirements,  and  the 
innocence  of  his  life,  we  must  still  regard  his  murder  as  the 
blackest  crime  that  ever  has  been  perpetrated  in  England 
under  the  forms  of  law. 

Sir  Christopher  Hale,  the  Attorney  General,  who  con- 
ducted the  prosecution,  with  some  appearance  of  candour, 
(strongly  contrasted  with  the  undisguised  asperity  of  Mr. 
Solicitor  Eich,  who  assisted  him,)  began  with  reading  the  in- 
dictment, which  was  of  enormous  length,  but  contained  four 


From  this  circumstance  it  has  been  erroneously  stated  that  this  was  a  trial 
at  bar  in  the  Court  of  King's  Bench. 


dence  to 
support  the 


LIFE   OF   SIR  THOMAS  MORE.  575 

principal  charges  :  —  1st,  The  opinion  the  prisoner  had  given     CHAP. 

on  the  King's  marriage.     2dly,  That  he  had  written  certain  [ 

letters  to  Bishop  Fisher  encouraging  him  to  resist.  3dly,  That  ^.d.  1535. 
he  had  refused  to  acknowledge  the  King's  supremacy ;  and, 
4thly,  That  he  had  positively  denied  it,  and  thereby  attempted 
to  deprive  the  King  of  his  dignity  and  title.  When  the  reading 
of  the  indictment  was  over,  the  Lord  Chancellor  made  a  last 
attempt  to  bend  the  resolution  of  the  prisoner  by  saying, 
"  You  see  how  grievously  you  have  offended  his  Majesty,  yet 
he  is  so  merciful,  that  if  you  wUl  lay  away  your  obstinacy 
and  change  your  opinion,  we  hope  you  may  obtain  pardon." 
More  calmly  replied,  "  Most  noble  Lords,  I  have  great  cause 
to  thank  your  Honours  for  this  your  courtesy ;  but  I  beseech 
Almighty  God  that  I  may  continue  in  the  mind  I  am  in, 
through  his  grace,  unto  death." 

The  last  was  the  only  charge  in  the  indictment  which  was  No  evi 
at  all  sufficient  in  point  of  law  to  incur  the  pains  of  treason 
and  it  was  unsupported  by  evidence.     The  counsel  for  the  charge. 
Crown  at  first  contented  themselves  with  putting  in  the  pri- 
soner's  examinations,    showing   that   he    had    declined   an- 
swering  the    questions   propounded  to   him   by  the  Privy 
Councillors,  with  his  answer,  "  that  the  statute  was  a  two- 
edged  sword."     An  excuse  was  made  for  not  proving  the 
supposed  letters  to  Fisher,  on  the  ground  that  they  had  been 
destroyed. 

The  Lord  Chancellor,  instead  of  at  once  directing  an  ac-  Defence, 
quittal,  called  upon  the  prisoner  for  his  defence.  A  deep 
silence  now  prevailed — all  present  held  their  breath  —  every 
eye  was  fixed  upon  the  victim.  More  was  beginning  with 
expressing  his  apprehension  "  lest,  his  memory  and  wit  being 
decayed  with  his  health  of  body  through  his  long  imprison- 
ment, he  should  not  be  able  properly  to  meet  all  the  matters 
alleged  against  him,"  when  he  found  that  he  was  unable  to 
support  himself  by  his  staff,  and  his  judges  evinced  one  touch 
of  humanity  by  ordering  him  a  chair.  When  he  was  seated, 
after  a  few  preliminary  observations,  he  considered  the  charges 
in  their  order.  "  As  to  the  marriage,"  he  said,  "  I  confess 
that  I  always  told  the  King  my  opinion  thereon  as  my  con- 
science dictated  unto  me,  which  I  neither  ever  would,  nor 


576  REIGN   OF   HENRY  VIII. 

CHAP,     ought  to  have  concealed  ;  for  which  I  am  so  far  from  thinking 
XXXIII.    jjjyggif  guilty  of  high  treason^  as  that  of  the  contrary,  I  being 
j^g^     demanded  my  opinion  by  so  great  a  Prince  on  a  matter  of 
such   importance,  whereupon  the   quietness   of  a  kingdom 
dependeth,  I  should  have  basely  flattered  him  if  I  had  not 
uttered  the  truth :    then  I  might  have  been  accused  as  a 
wicked  subject,  and  a  perfidious  traitor  to  God.     If  herein  I 
have  offended  the  King,  it  must  be  an  offence  to  tell  one's 
mind  plainly  when  our  Prince  asketh  our  advice."     2.  As 
to  the  letters  to  Fisher,  he  himself  stated  the  contents  of 
them,  and  showed  that  they  were  free  from  all  blame.     3.  On 
the  charge  that  he  had  declined  to  declare  his  opinion,  when 
interrogated,   respecting    the    supremacy,   he   triumphantly 
answered,  "  that  he  could  not  transgress  any  law,  or  incur 
any  crime  of  treason,  by  holding  his  peace,  God  only  being 
judge  of  our  secret  thoughts."     Here  he  was  interrupted  by 
Mr.  Attorney,  who  said,  "  Although  we  had  not  one  word 
or  deed  to  object  against  you,  yet  have  we  your  silence, 
when  asked  whether   you   acknowledged   the  King   to   be 
Supreme  Head  of  the  Church,  which  is  an  evident  sign  of 
a  malicious  mind."     But  Mr.  Attorney  was  put  down  (and, 
notwithstanding  the  gravity  of  the  occasion,  there  was  pro- 
bably a  laugh  against  him)  by  More  quietly  reminding  him 
of  the  maxim  among  civilians  and  canonists  —  "  Qui  tacet, 
consentire  videtur."    "  He  that  holdeth  his  tongue  is  taken  to 
consent."    4.  On  the  last  charge  he  argued,  that  the  only 
proof  was  his  saying  that  "the  statute  was  a  two-edged 
sword,"   which  was  meant  as  a  reason  for  his  declining  to 
answer,  and  could  not  possibly  be  construed  into  a  positive 
denial  of  the  King's  supremacy.    He  concluded  Avith  a  solemn 
avowal,  that  "  he  never  spake  word  against  this  law  to  any 
living  man." 
More  about       The  jury,  biassed  as  they  were,  seeing  that  if  they  credited 
quitted!"       ^^^  *^®  evidence,  there  was  not  the  shadow  of  a  case  against 
Rich,  the  prisoner,  were  about  to  acquit  him  ;   the  Judges  were  in 

Geielar  ^i^may  —  the  Attorney-General  stood  aghast  —  when  Mr. 
becomes'  Solicitor,  to  his  eternal  disgrace,  and  to  the  eternal  disgrace 
TommiL'""^  °^  *^®  ^^^^  ^^^  permitted  such  an  outrage  on  decency,  left 
perjury.       the  bar,  and  presented  himself  as  a  witness  for  the  Crown. 


LIFE   OF   SIR  THOMAS  MORE.  577 

Being  sworn,  he  detailed  the  confidential  conversation  he  had     chap. 
had  with  the  prisoner  in  the  Tower  on  the  occasion  of  the 
removal  of  the  books;  —  and  falsely  added,  that  upon  his  ^.d.  1535. 
admitting  that  "  no  parliament  could  make  a  law  that  God 
should  not  be  God,"  Sir  Thomas  declared,   "  No  more  could 
the  parliament  make  the  King  Supreme  Head  of  the  Church." 

The  prisoner's  withering  reply  must  have  made  the  mean  More's 
and  guilty  wretch  feel  compunction  and  shame,  for  which  his  ''^P'y  °!^ 
subsequent  elevation  must  have  been  a  miserable  recompence :  dence. 
"  If  I  were  a  man,  my  Lords,  that  did  not  regard  an  oath,  I 
needed  not  at  this  time  in  this  place,  as  is  well  known  unto 
every  one,  to  stand  as  an  accused  person.  And  if  this 
oath,  Mr.  Rich,  which  you  have  taken  be  true,  then  I  pray 
that  I  never  see  God  in  the  face ;  which  I  would  not  say 
were  it  otherwise  to  gain  the  whole  world."  Having  truly 
related  the  whole  conversation,  he  continued,  "  In  good 
faith,  Mr.  Rich,  I  am  more  sorry  for  your  perjury  than  for 
mine  own  peril.  Know  you  that  neither  I,  nor  any  man 
else  to  my  knowledge,  ever  took  you  to  be  a  man  of  such 
credit  as  either  I  or  any  other  would  vouchsafe  to  com- 
municate with  you  in  any  matter  of  importance.  As  you 
well  know,  I  have  been  acquainted  with  your  manner  of  life 
and  conversation  a  long  space,  even  from  your  youth  upwards; 
for  we  dwelt  long  together  in  one  parish ;  where  as  yourself 
can  well  tell  (I  am  sorry  you  compel  me  to  speak  it)  you  were 
always  esteemed  very  light  of  your  tongue,  a  great  dicer  and 
gamester,  and  not  of  any  commendable  fame  either  there  or 
in  the  Temple,  the  Inn  to  which  you  have  belonged.  Can 
it  therefore  seem  likely  to  your  honourable  Lordships,  that, 
in  so  weighty  a  cause,  I  should  so  unadvisedly  overshoot  my- 
self as  to  trust  Mr.  Rich,  a  man  always  reputed  of  me  for  one 
of  so  little  truth  and  honesty,  about  my  sovereign  Lord  the 
King,  to  whom  I  am  so  deeply  indebted  for  his  manifold 
favours,  or  any  of  his  noble  and  grave  counsellors,  that  I 
should  declare  only  to  him  the  secrets  of  my  conscience, 
touching  the  King's  supremacy,  the  special  point  and  only 
mark  so  long  sought  for  at  my  hands,  which  I  never  did  nor 
ever  would  reveal  after  the  statute  once  made,  either  to  the 
King's  Highness  himself,  or  to  any  of  his  noble  counsellors,  as 

VOL.  I.  P  P 


578 


REIGN   OF    HENRY    VIII. 


CHAP, 
XXXIII. 

A.D.  1535. 


Summing 
up  of  Lord 
Audley.  ] 


Verdict  of 
guilty. 


it  is  well  known  to  your  Honours,  who  have  been  sent  for  uo 
other  purpose  at  sundry  times  from  his  Majesty's  person  to 
me  in  the  Tower.  I  refer  it  to  your  judgments,  my  Lords, 
whether  this  can  seem  a  thing  credible  unto  any  of  you." 

This  address  produced  a  deep  effect  upon  the  by-standers, 
and  even  on  the  packed  jury ;  and  Mr.  Solicitor  was  so  much 
alarmed,  that,  resuming  his  capacity  of  counsel  for  the  Crown, 
he  called  and  examined  Sir  Richard  Southwell  and  Mr. 
Palmer,  in  the  hope  that  they  might  be  as  regardless  of  truth 
as  himself,  and  corroborate  his  testimony  ;  but  they  both  said 
they  were  so  busy  in  trussing  up  the  books  in  a  sack,  they 
gave  no  ear  to  the  conversation. 

The  Chief  Commissioner,  however,  gallantly  restored  the 
fortune  of  the  day ;  and  in  an  ingenious,  animated,  and  sar- 
castic summing  up,  pointed  out  the  enormity  of  the  offence 
charged ;  —  the  danger  to  the  King,  and  the  public  tranquil- 
lity from  the  courses  followed  by  the  prisoner ;  —  that  the 
evidence  of  the  Solicitor  General,  which  he  said  was  evidently 
given  with  reluctance  and  from  a  pure  motive,  stood  uncon- 
tradicted, if  not  corroborated,  as  the  denial  of  the  prisoner 
could  not  be  taken  into  account ;  —  that  as  the  speech  related 
by  the  witness  undoubtedly  expressed  the  real  sentiments  of 
the  prisoner,  and  was  only  drawing  a  necessary  inference,  there 
was  every  probability  that  it  was  spoken  ;  —  and  that,  if  the 
witness  was  believed,  the  case  for  the  Crown  was  established. 

The  jury  retired  from  the  bar,  and  in  about  a  quarter  of 
an  hour  (to  the  horror,  if  not  the  surprise,  of  the  audience) 
brought  in  a  verdict  of  guilty  ;  "  for,"  says  his  descendant, 
"  they  knew  what  the  King  would  have  done  in  that  case."  * 
But  it  is  possible  that  being  all  zealous  Protestants,  who 
looked  with  detestation  on  our  intercourse  with  the  Pope, 
and  considering  that  the  King's  supremacy  could  not  be 
honestly  doubted,  they  concluded  that,  by  convicting  a 
Papist,  they  should  be  doing  good  service  to  religion  and 
the  state,  —  and  that,  misled  by  the  sophistry  and  eloquence 


•  It  is  hardly  possible  to  read  without  a  smile  the  statement  of  the  verdict 
by  Erasmus  in  his  "  Epistola  de  Morte  Thom«  Mori : "  "  Qui  [duodeeim  viri] 
quum  per  horae  quartam  partem  secessissent,  reversi  sunt  ad  principes  ac  judices 
delegatos  ac  pronunciarunt  killim,  hoc  est,  dignus  est  morte." 


LIFE   OF    SIR   THOMAS  MORE.  579 

of  the  presiding  Judge,  they  believed  that  they  returned  an     CHAP, 
honest  verdict. 


Audley  was  so  delighted,  that,  forgetting  the  established  ^  j,.  1535. 
forms  of  proceeding  on  such  an  occasion,  he  eagerly  began  to 
pronounce  judgment. 

More  interrupted  him,  and  his  pulse  still  beating  as  tem-  Forms  ob- 
perately  as  if  sitting  in  his  library  at  Chelsea   talking  to  ^g^re 
Erasmus,  "  My  Lord,"  said  he,  "  when  I  was  towards  the  sentence. 
law,  the  manner  in  such  cases  was  to  ask  the  prisoner  before 
sentence  whether  he  could  give  any  reason  why  judgment 
should  not  proceed  against  him."     The  Chancellor  in  some 
confusion  owned  his  mistake,  and  put  the  question. 

More  was  now  driven  to  deny  the  power  of  parliament  to 
pass  the  statute  transferring  the  Headship  of  the  Church  from 
the  Pope  to  the  King,  and  he  took  some  exceptions  to  the 
frame  of  the  indictment.  The  Chancellor,  being  loth  to 
have  the  whole  burden  of  this  condemnation  to  lie  upon  him- 
self, asked  openly  the  advice  of  my  Lord  Chief  Justice  of 
England,  Sir  John  Fitzjames,  "  whether  this  indictment  were 
sufficient,  or  no  ?  "  —  Fitzjames,  C.  J.  "  My  Lords  aU,  by  St. 
Gillian  (ever  his  oath),  I  must  needs  confess,  that  if  the  act 
of  parliament  be  not  unlawful,  then  the  indictment  is  not,  in 
my  conscience,  insufficient."  * 

Lord  Chancellor.     "  Lo !  my  Lords,   lo  !  You  hear  what   Sentence  of 
my  Lord  Chief  Justice  saith.      Quod  adhuc  desideramus  testi-  passed. 
monium  ?     Reus  est  mortis.^''     He  then  pronounced  upon  him 
the  frightful  sentence  in  cases  of  treason,  concluding  with 
ordering  that  his  four  quarters  should  be  set  over  four  gates 
of  the  city,  and  his  head  upon  London  Bridge. 

The  prisoner  had  hitherto  refrained  from  expressing  his 
opinion  on  the  question  of  the  supremacy,  lest  he  might 
appear  to  be  wantonly  courting  his  doom ;  but  he  now  said, 

•  Sharon  Turner,  actuated  by  his  sense  of  the  "  mild  and  friendly  temper  "  of 
Henry  VIII.,  (taking  a  very  different  view  of  his  character  from  Wolsey  or 
More,  when  they  were  most  familiar  and  in  highest  favour  with  him,)  is  desirous 
of  palliating  this  prosecution  ;  and  a  full  copy  of  the  indictment  not  being  forth- 
coming, supposes  that  there  were  other  charges  against  More  of  which  we  know 
nothing;  but  the  whole  course  of  the  proceeding,  as  well  as  all  contemporary 
evidence,  shows,  that  he  was  tried  under  26  H.  8.  c.  13.,  for  "  imagining  to  de- 
prive the  King  of  his  title  and  dignity,"  —  the  denial  of  the  supremacy  being 
the  overt  act  relied  upon.  —  See  Turn.  Hist.  H.  Fill. 

r  t  2 


580  REIGN   OF   HENRY   VIII. 

CHAP,  with  temper  and  firmness,  that,  after  seven  years'  study,  he 
never  could  find  that  a  layman  could  be  head  of  the  church. 
^  jj  J532  Taking  the  position  to  mean,  as  we  understand  it,  —  that  the 
Sovereign,  representing  the  civil  power  of  the  state,  is  su- 
preme, —  it  may  easily  be  assented  to ;  —  but  in  Henry's  own 
sense,  that  he  was  substituted  for  the  Pope,  and  that  all  the 
powers  claimed  by  the  Pope  in  ecclesiastical  affairs  were 
transferred  to  him,  and  might  be  lawfully  exercised  by  him,  — 
it  is  contrary  to  reason,  and  is  unfounded  in  Scripture,  and 
would  truly  make  any  church  Erastian  in  which  it  is  recog- 
nised. I  therefore  cannot  say,  with  Hume,  that  More 
wanted  "  a  better  cause,  more  free  from  weakness  and  super- 
stition." 

The  Lord  Chancellor  asked  him  if  he  was  wiser  than  all 
the  learned  men  in  Europe.     He  answered,  that  almost  the 
whole  of  Christendom  was  of  his  way  of  thinking. 
More's  The  Judges  courteously  offered  to  listen  to  him  if  he  had 

thrjud*"  ^"y  thing  more  to  say.  He  thus  answered :  —  "  This  farther 
only  have  I  to  say,  my  Lords,  that  like  as  the  blessed  apostle 
St.  Paul  was  present  and  consenting  to  the  death  of  the  pro- 
tomartyr  St.  Stephen,  keeping  their  clothes  that  stoned  him 
to  death,  and  yet  they  be  now  twain  holy  saints  in  heaven, 
and  there  shall  continue  friends  together  for  ever  ;  so  I  verily 
trust,  and  shall  therefore  heartily  pray,  that,  though  your 
Lordships  have  been  on  earth  my  judges  to  condemnation, 
yet  that  we  may  hereafter  meet  in  heaven  merrily  together 
to  our  everlasting  salvation ;  and  God  preserve  you  all, 
especially  my  Sovereign  Lord  the  King,  and  grant  him 
faithful  councillors."  * 
Carried  Having  taken  leave  of  the  Court  in  this  solemn  manner. 

Tower.  he  was  conducted  from  the  bar, — an  axe,  with  its  edge  now 
towards  him,  being  carried  before  him.  He  was  in  the  cus- 
tody of  his  particular  friend.  Sir  William  Kingston,  who,  as 
Lieutenant  of  the  Tower,  witnessed  the  last  moments  both 
of  Wolsey  and  More,  and  extended  to  both  of  them  all  the 

*  This  speech,  which  seems  to  me  to  be  so  much  in  the  true  spirit  of  the 
Christian  religion,  is  censured  by  Sharon  Turner  as  showing  that  More  pre- 
sumptuously compared  himself  with  St.  Stephen.  —  Turner's  Hist.  vol.  x. 
p.  302.  n. 


LIFE    OF   SIR   THOMAS   MORE.  581 

kindness   consistent   with    obedience  to   the   orders    of  his     CHAP. 

XXXIII. 
stern  master. 


They  came  back  by  water,  and  on  their  arrival   at   the  ^^  ^  1535 
Tower  wharf  a  scene  awaited  the  illustrious  convict   more  AfFectbg 
painful  to  his  feelings  than  any  he  had  yet  passed  through,  ^jth  his 
Margaret,  his  best-beloved  child,  knowing  that  he  must  land  daughter 
there,  watched  his  approach,  that  she  might  receive  his  last  Hill, 
blessing ;    "  whom,  as  soon  as  she  had  espied,  she  ran  in- 
stantly unto  him,  and,  without  consideration  or  care  of  her- 
self, passing  through  the  midst  of  the  throng  and  guard  of 
men,  who  with  bills    and  halberds  compassed    him    round, 
there  openly,  in  the  sight  of  them  all,  embraced  him,  took  him 
about  the  neck,  and  kissed  him,  not  able  to  say  any  word  but 
'  Oh,  my  father !  Oh,  my  father ! '     He  gave  her  his  fatherly 
blessing,    telling    her    that  *  whatsoever  he   should   suffer, 
though  he  were  innocent,  it  was  not  without  the  will  of 
God,  and  that  she  must  therefore  be  patient  for  her  loss.' 
After  separation  she,  all  ravished  with  the  entire  love  of  her 
dear  father,  suddenly  turned  back  again,  ran  to  him  as  be- 
fore, took  him  about  the  neck,  and  divers  times  kissed  him 
most  lovingly ;  a  sight  which  made  even  the  guard  to  weep 
and  mourn."*      So  tender  was  the  heart  of  that  admirable 
woman,  who  had  had  the  fortitude  to  encourage  her  father  in 
his  resolution  to  prefer  reputation  to  life  !  t 

After  this  farewell  he  felt  that  the  bitterness  of  death  was 
over,  and  he  awaited  the  execution  of  his  sentence  with  a 
cheerfulness  that,  with  severe  censors,  has  brought  some  re- 
proach upon  his  memory.  But  it  should  be  remembered  that 
he  had  long  foreseen  the  event,  and  with  all  humility,  sin- 
cerity, and  earnestness  had  submitted  to  all  the  observances 

*   More,  276. 

f   Rogers  has  pathetically  interwoven  with  his  theme  the  story  of  this 

"  blushing  maid, 

Who  through  the  streets  as  through  a  desert  stray'd, 
And  when  her  dear,  dear  father  pass'd  along 
Would  not  be  held  ;  but  bursting  thro'  the  throng, 
Halberd  and  battle-axe,  kiss'd  him  o'er  and  o'er, 
Then  turn'd  and  wept,  then  sought  him  as  before, 
Believing  she  should  see  his  face  no  more." 

Human  Life, 
r  p  3 


582 


REIGN   OF   HENRY  VIII. 


CHAP. 

XXXIII. 

A.D.  1535. 
Death 
warrant 
issued. 


His  last 
letter  to  his 
daughter. 


Announce- 
ment to 
him  of  his 
execution. 


which,  according  to  his  creed,  were  the  fit  preparations  for 
the  change  he  was  to  undergo. 

From  the  notion  that  more  would  be  gained  by  his  recant- 
ation than  his  death,  fresh  attempts  were  made  to  bend  his 
resolution;  and,  these  failing,  a  warrant  was  issued  for  his 
execution,  all  parts  of  the  frightful  sentence,  as  to  the  manner 
of  it,  being  remitted,  except  beheading,  in  respect  of  his 
having  filled  the  high  ofiice  of  Lord  Chancellor.  On  receiving 
this  intelligence,  he  expressed  a  hope  "  that  none  of  his  friends 
might  experience  the  like  mercy  from  the  King." 

The  day  before  he  was  to  suifer,  he  wrote,  with  a  piece  of 
coal,  the  only  writing  implement  now  left  to  him,  a  farewell 
letter  to  his  dear  Margaret,  containing  blessings  to  all  his 
children  by  name,  with  a  kind  remembrance  even  to  one  of 
her  maids.  Adverting  to  their  last  interview,  at  which  the 
ceremonial  which  then  regulated  domestic  intercourse  had 
been  so  little  observed,  he  says, — "  I  never  liked  your  manner 
towards  me  better  than  when  you  kissed  me  last,  for  I  am 
most  pleased  when  daughterly  love  and  dear  charity  have  no 
leisure  to  look  to  worldly  courtesy." 

Early  the  next  day,  being  Tuesday  the  6th  of  July,  1535*, 
came  to  him  his  "  singular  good  friend,"  Sir  Thomas  Pope, 
with  a  message  from  the  King  and  Council  that  he  should 
die  before  nine  o'clock  of  the  same  morning.  More  having 
returned  thanks  for  these  "  good  tidings,"  Pope  added,  "  the 
King's  pleasure  farther  is,  that  you  use  not  many  words  at 
your  execution."  "  I  did  purpose,"  answered  More,  "  to  have 
spoken  somewhat,  but  I  will  conform  myself  to  the  King's 
commandment,  and  I  beseech  you  to  obtain  from  him  that  my 
daughter  Margaret  may  be  present  at  my  burial."  "  The 
King  is  already  content  that  your  wife,  children,  and  friends 
shall  have  liberty  to  be  present  thereat."  Pope  now  taking 
leave,  wept  bitterly ;  but  More  said  to  him,  "  Quiet  yourself 
Mr.  Pope,  and  be  not  discouraged,  for  I  trust  we  shall  yet 
see  each  other  full  merrily,  where  we  shall  be  sure  to  live 


*  More's  recent  biographers,  by  erroneously  fixing  his  trial  on  the  7th  of 
May,  make  an  interval  of  two  months  instead  of  six  days  between  that  and  his 
execution  ;  but  it  is  quite  certain  that  although  he  was  arraigned  on  the  7th  of 
May,  he  was  not  tried  till  the  1st  of  July.—  1  St.  Tr.  385. 


LIFE   OF    SIR   THOMAS   MORE.  583 

and  love  together  in  eternal  bliss."     Then,  to  rally  the  spirits   S^J^^l 
of  his  friend  (in  reference  to  a  medical  practice  then  in  great 


vogue),  —  as  if  he  had  been  a  fashionable  doctor  giving  an  a.d.  1535. 
opinion  upon  the  case  of  a  patient,  he  took  his  urinal  in  his 
hand,  and,  casting  his  water,  said  in  a  tone  of  drollery,  "  I  see  no 
danger  but  this  man  may  live  longer  if  it  please  the  King."* 

Being  conducted  by  Sir  William  Kingston  to  the  scaffold,   Conducted 
it  seemed  weak,  and  he  had  some  difficulty  in  mounting  it.  *°  scaffold. 
Whereupon  he  said  merrily,  "  Master  Lieutenant,  I  pray  you 
see  me  safe  up,  and  for  my  coming  down  let  me  shift  for 
myself." 

Having  knelt  and  pronounced  the  "  Miserere  "  with  great  His  devo- 
devotion,  he  addressed  the  executioner,  to  whom  he  gave  an    ^°"^' 
angel  of  gold,  saying,  "  Pluck  up  thy  spirit,  man,  and  be  not 
afraid  to  do  thy  office ;  my  neck  is  very  short ;  take  heed, 
therefore,  that  thou  strike  not  awry  for  saving  thy  honesty." 
When  he  had  laid  his  head  on  the  block  he  desired  the  exe-  His  jests, 
cutioner  "  to  wait  till  he  had  removed  his  beard,  for  that  had 
never  offended  his  Highness."  f     One  blow  put  an  end  to  his  His  death, 
sufferings  and  his  pleasantries. 

What  zealot  shall  venture  to  condemn  these  pleasantries 
after  the  noble  reflections  upon  the  subject  by  Addison,  who 
was  never  suspected  of  being  an  infidel,  a  favourer  of  Ro- 
manism, or  an  enemy  to  the  Protestant  faith  ?  "  The  inno- 
cent mirth  which  had  been  so  conspicuous  in  his  life  did  not 
forsake  him  to  the  last.  His  death  was  of  a  piece  with  his 
life ;  there  was  nothing  in  it  new,  forced,  or  affected.  He  did 
not  look  upon  the  severing  of  his  head  from  his  body  as  a  cir- 
cumstance which  ought  to  produce  any  change  in  the  dis- 
position of  his  mind,  and  as  he  died  in  a  fixed  and  settled 
hope  of  immortality,  he  thought  any  unusual  degree  of  sorrow 
and  concern  improper."  J 

"  Lightly  his  bosom's  Lord  did  sit 
Upon  its  throne,  unsoften'd,  undismay'd 
By  aught  that  mingled  with  the  tragic  scene 
Of  pity  and  fear;  and  his  gay  genius  play'd 
With  the  inoffensive  sword  of  native  wit. 
Than  the  bare  axe  more  luminous  and  keen,"  § 


♦  This  anecdote,  which  so  strikingly  illustrates  the  character  of  More  and  the 
manners  of  the  age,  is  omitted  by  his  modern  biographers  as  indelicate  I 
t  More,  287.  }   Spectator,  No.  349.  §   Wordsworth. 

p  r  4 


584 


EEIGN   OF   HENKY   VIII. 


CHAP. 
XXXIII. 


AD.  1535. 
His  head 
stolen  by 
his  daugh- 
ter. 


Barbarous 
conduct  of 
Henry 
VIII.  to 
More's 
family. 


General 
horror  pro- 
duced by 
the  murder 
of  More. 


More's  body  was  interred  in  the  chapel  of  the  Tower  o 
London,  but  to  strike  terror  into  the  multitude,  his  head 
stuck  on  a  pole  was  placed  on  London  Bridge.  The  aiFec- 
tionate  and  courageous  Margaret,  however,  procured  it  to  be 
taken  down,  preserved  it  as  a  precious  relic  during  her  life, 
and,  at  her  death,  ordered  it  to  be  laid  with  her  in  the  same 
grave.* 

When  news  of  the  execution  was  brought  to  Henry,  who 
was  at  that  time  playing  at  tables  with  the  Queen,  turning 
his  eyes  upon  her  he  said,  "  Thou  art  the  cause  of  this  man's 
death;"  and,  rising  immediately  from  his  play,  shut  him- 
self up  in  his  chamber.  But  if  he  felt  any  remorse,  recollecting 
the  times  when  he  put  his  arm  round  More's  neck  in  the 
garden  at  Chelsea,  or  was  instructed  by  him  in  the  motion  of 
the  heavenly  bodies  from  the  house-top,  or  was  amused  by 
his  jests  at  supper, — the  feeling  was  transitory;  for  he  not 
only  placed  the  head  where  it  must  have  been  conspicuous  to 
his  own  eye,  in  passing  between  Whitehall  and  Greenwich, 
but  he  immediately  expelled  Lady  More  from  the  house  at 
Chelsea,  seizing  whatever  property  More  left  behind  him ;  he 
even  set  aside  assignments  which,  for  the  purpose  of  making 
some  provision  for  the  family,  had  been  legally  executed  be- 
fore the  commission  of  the  alleged  offence,  thereby  giving 
fresh  evidence  of  his  "  mild  and  friendly  temper  !"t 

The  letters  and  naiTative  of  Erasmus  diffused  the  story  of 
More's  fate  over  Europe,  and  every  where  excited   horror 

*  "  As  for  his  head,  it  was  set  upon  a  pole  on  London  Bridge,  where  abiding 
about  fourteen  days,  was  then  privily  bought  by  the  said  Margaret,  and  by  her 
for  a  time  carefully  preserved  in  a  leaden  box,  but  afterwards,  with  great  devo- 
tion, 'twas  put  into  a  vault  (the  burying-place  of  the  Ropers),  under  a  chapel 
joyning  to  St.  Dunstan's  Church,  in  Canterbury,  where  it  doth  yet  remain, 
standing  on  the  said  box  on  the  coffin  of  Margaret  his  daughter,  buried  there." 
— Wood's  Ath.  Ox.  vol.  i.  p.  86.  The  Rev.  J.  Bowes  Bunce,  a  clergyman  at 
Canterbury,  who  had  inspected  the  repairs  of  St.  Dunstan's  Churcli  in  1835,  has 
made  me  the  following  communication  : — "  Wishing  to  ascertain  whether  Sir  T. 
More's  skull  was  really  there,  I  went  down  into  the  vault,  and  found  it  still  re- 
maining in  the  place  where  it  was  seen  many  years  ago,  in  a  niche  in  the  wall, 
in  a  leaden  box,  something  of  the  shape  of  a  bee-hive,  open  in  the  front,  and  with 
an  iron  grating  before  it." —  Sir  Thomas  had  prepared  a  tomb  for  himself  in  his 
parish  church  at  Chelsea,  which  is  still  preserved  witli  great  veneration  although 
an  empty  cenotaph. 

t  See  Turn.  Hist.  Eng.  vol.  x.  333.  We  may  be  amused  by  a  defence  of 
Richard  III.,  but  we  can  feel  only  indignation  and  disgust  at  an  apology  for 
Henry  VIII.,  whose  atrocities  are  as  well  authenticated  as  those  of  Robespierre, 
and  are  less  excusable.    For  trial  and  execution  of  More,  see  1  St.  Tr.  385—475. 


LIFE   OF   SIR   THOMAS   MORE.  585 

against  the  English  name.     Henry's  ministers  were  regarded     CHAP. 

"VWTTT 

at  every  Court  with  averted  eyes,  as  the  agents  of  a  monster.  ^'^'^^^^• 
Charles  V.  sent  for  Sir  T.  Elliot,  the  English  Ambassador, 
and  said  to  him,  "  We  understand  that  the  King,  your 
master,  has  put  to  death  his  wise  councillor.  Sir  Thomas 
More."  Elliot  abashed,  pretended  ignorance  of  the  event. 
"  Well,"  said  the  Emperor,  "  it  is  true  ;  and  this  we  will  say, 
that  if  he  had  been  ours,  we  should  sooner  have  lost  the  best 
city  in  our  dominions  than  so  worthy  a  councillor." 

Holbein's  portraits  of  More  have  made  his  features  familiar  More's  per- 
to  all  Englishmen.  According  to  his  great-grandson,  he  was  ^°"* 
of  "  a  middle  stature,  well  proportioned,  of  a  pale  complexion ; 
his  hair  of  chestnut  colour,  his  eyes  grey,  his  countenance 
mild  and  cheerful ;  his  voice  not  very  musical,  but  clear  and 
distinct ;  his  constitution,  which  was  good  originally,  was 
never  impaired  by  his  way  of  living,  otherwise  than  by  too 
much  study.  His  diet  was  simple  and  abstemious,  never 
drinking  any  wine  but  when  he  pledged  those  who  drank  to 
him ;  and  rather  mortifying,  than  Indulging,  his  appetite  in 
what  he  ate."* 

His  character,  both  in  public  and  in  private  life,  comes  as  His  cha- 
near  to  perfection  as  our  nature  will  permit.  Some  of  his 
admirers  have  too  readily  conceded  that  the  splendour  of  his 
great  qualities  was  obscured  by  intolerance  and  superstition, 
and  that  he  voluntarily  sought  his  death  by  violating  a  law 
which,  with  a  safe  conscience,  he  might  have  obeyed.  We 
Protestants  must  lament  that  he  was  not  a  convert  to  the 
doctrines  of  the  Reformation  ;  but  they  had  as  yet  been  very 
imperfectly  expounded  in  England,  and  they  had  produced 
eifects  in  foreign  countries  which  might  well  alarm  a  man  of 
constant  mind.  If  he  adhered  conscientiously  to  the  faith  in 
which  he  had  been  educated,  he  can  in  no  instance  be  blamed 
for  the  course  he  pursued.  No  good  Roman  Catholic  could 
declare  that  the  King's  first  marriage  had  been  absolutely  void 
from  the  beginning  ;  or  that  the  King  could  be  vested,  by  act 
of  parliament,  with  the  functions  of  the  Pope,  as  Head  of  the 
Anglican  Church.     Can  we  censure  him  for  submitting  to 

*   More,  294. 


586 


KEIGN   OF   HENRY  VIII. 


CHAP. 

XXXIII. 


IVIerits  of 
the  Re- 
formers. 


More'sHis- 
tory  of 
Edward  V. 
and  Rich- 
ard III. 


His  «  Epi- 
grammata." 


loss  of  office,  imprisonment,  and  death,  rather  than  make  such 
a  declaration  ?  He  implicitly  yielded  to  the  law  regulating 
the  succession  to  the  Crown  ;  and  he  offered  no  active  oppo- 
sition to  any  other  law  ; — only  requiring  that,  on  matters  of 
opinion,  he  might  be  permitted  to  remain  silent. 

The  English  Reformation  was  a  glorious  event,  for  which 
we  never  can  be  sufficiently  grateful  to  divine  Providence : 
but  I  own  I  feel  little  respect  for  those  by  whose  instru- 
mentality it  was  first  brought  about ;  — men  generally  swayed 
by  their  own  worldly  interests,  and  willing  to  sanction  the 
worst  passions  of  the  tyrant  to  whom  they  looked  for  ad- 
vancement. With  all  my  Protestant  zeal,  I  must  feel  a 
higher  reverence  for  Sir  Thomas  More  than  for  Thomas 
Cromwell  or  Cranmer.* 

I  am  not  permitted  to  enter  into  a  critical  examination  of 
his  writings  ;  but  this  sketch  of  his  life  would  be  very  defec- 
tive without  some  further  notice  of  them.  His  first  literary 
essay  is  supposed  to  have  been  the  fragment  which  goes  under 
his  name  as  "  the  History  of  Edward  V.  and  Richard  HI.," 
though  some  have  ascribed  it  to  Cardinal  Morton,  who  pro- 
bably furnished  the  materials  for  it  to  his  precocious  page, 
having  been  intimately  mixed  up  with  the  transactions  which 
it  narrates.  It  has  the  merit  of  being  the  earliest  historical 
composition  in  the  English  language ;  and,  with  all  its  defects, 
several  ages  elapsed  before  there  was  much  improvement 
upon  it,  this  being  a  department  of  literature  in  which 
England  did  not  excel  before  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth 
century. 

More's  "  Epigrammata,"  though  much  admired  in  their 
day,  not  only  in  England,  but  all  over  Europe,  are  now  only 
inspected  by  the  curious,  who  wish  to  know  how  the  Latin 
language  was  cultivated  in  the  reign  of  Henry  VII.     The 


*  Although  he  adhered  to  most  of  what  we  call  « the  errors  of  popery,"  it  is 
delightful  to  find  that  he  was  friendly  to  the  circulation  of  the  Holy  Scriptures, 
and  that  from  them  he  professed  to  draw  his  creed.  When  Erasmus  published 
his  admirable  edition  of  the  New  Testament,  thus  More  bursts  forth  : — 

"  Sanctum  opus,  et  docti  labor  immortalis  Erasmi, 
Prodit,  et  o  populis  commoda  quanta  vehit  ! 
Tota  igitur  deniptis  versa  est  jam  denuo  mendis, 
Atque  nova  Christi  lex  nova  luce  nitet." 


LIFE   OF   SIR   THOMAS   MORE.  587 

collection  in  its  present  form  was  printed  at  Basle  from  a     CHAP. 

Y  Y  Y  T  T  T 

manuscript  supplied  by  Erasmus,  consisting  of  detached  copies 
made  by  various  friends,  without  his  authority  or  sanction. 
His  own  opinion  of  their  merits  is  thus  given  in  one  of  his 
epistles  to  Erasmus  :  "  I  was  never  much  delighted  with  my 
Epigrams,  as  you  are  well  aware ;  and  if  they  had  not  pleased 
yourself  and  certain  others  better  than  they  pleased  me,  the 
volume  would  never  have  been  published."  The  subjects  of 
these  effusions  are  very  multifarious  —  the  ignorance  of  the 
clergy  —  the  foibles  of  the  fair  sex  —  the  pretensions  of 
sciolists —  the  tricks  of  astrologers  —  the  vices  and  follies  of 
mankind, — while  they  are  prompted  at  times  by  the  warmth 
of  private  friendship  and  the  tenderness  of  domestic  affection. 
Many  of  them  were  written  to  dissipate  the  ennui  of  tedious 
and  solitary  travelling.  When  rapid  movement  on  the 
surface  of  the  earth  by  the  power  of  steam  was  less  thought 
of  than  the  art  of  flying  through  the  air  with  artificial  wings, 
it  was  the  practice  of  scholars  trudging  slowly  on  foot,  or 
toiling  along  miry  roads  on  a  tired  horse,  to  employ  their 
thoughts  on  metrical  composition.  Erasmus  framed  in  his 
own  mind,  without  any  assistance  from  writing  materials,  his 
poem  upon  Old  Age  while  crossing  the  Aljjs  into  Italy, — 
and  he  devised  the  plan  of  the  "  Encomium  Morise "  during 
a  journey  to  England,  "  ne  totum  hoc  tempus  quo  equo  fuit 
insidendum  afiovaoLs  et  illiteratis  fabulis  tereretur."  Thus 
More  begins  a  beautiful  address  to  Margaret,  Elizabeth, 
Cicely,  and  John,  "  dulcissimis  liberis,"  composed  under 
circumstances  which  he  graphically  describes  —  seemingly 
very  unfavourable  to  the  muses  : 

"  Quatuor  una  meos  invisat  epistola  natos, 

Servat  et  incolumes  a  patre  missa  sal  us. 
Dum  peragratur  iter,  pluvioque  madescimus  imbre> 

Dumque  luto  implieitus  ssepius  hasret  equus, 
Hoc  tamen  interea  vobis  excogito  carmen, 

Quod  gratum,  quanquam  sit  rude,  spero  fore. 
Collegisse  animi  licet  hinc  documenta  paterni, 

Quanto  plus  oculis  vos  amet  ipse  suis  : 
Quem  non  putre  solum,  quern  non  male  turbidus  aer, 

Exiguusque  altas  trans  equus  actus  aquas, 
A  vobis  poterant  divellere,  quo  minus  omni 

Se  memorem  vestri  comprobet  esse  loco ; 
Nam  crebro  dum  nutat  equus  casumque  minatur, 

Condere  non  versus  desinit  ille  tamen." 


588  REIGN   OF   HENRY   VIII. 

CHAP.  He  then  goes  on  In  a  very  touching  manner  to  remind 
XXXIII.  ^jjgjjj  ^'j-jj  what  delight  he  had  caressed  them,  and  treated 
them  with  fruit  and  cakes  and  pretty  clothes,  and  with  what 
reluctance  and  gentleness  he  had  flogged  them.  The  instru- 
ment of  punishment,  the  application  of  It,  and  the  effects  of 
it,  are  all  very  curious. 

"  Inde  est  vos  ego  quod  soleo  pavisse  placenta 

Mitia  cum  pulchris  et  dare  mala  piris. 
Inde  quod  et  Serum  testis  ornare  solebam. 

Quod  nunquam  potui  vos  ego  flere  pati ; 
Scitis  enim  quam  crebra  dedi  oscula,  verbera  rara, 

Flagrum  pavonis  non  nisi  Cauda  fuit. 
Hanc  tamen  admovi  timideque  et  molliter  ipsam, 

Ne  vihex  teneras  signet  amara  nates. 
Ah !  ferus  est,  dicique  pater  non  ille  meretur, 

Qui  lachrymas  nati  non  fleat  ipse  sui." 

As  a  specimen  of  his  satirical  vein,  I  shall  give  his  lines  on 
an  old  acquaintance  whom  he  had  estranged  (seemingly  not  to 
his  very  deep  regret)  by  lending  him  a  sum  of  money  — 

"In  Tyndalem  debitorem. 

"  Ante  meos  quam  credideram  tibi,  Tyndale,  nummos, 

Quum  libuit,  licuit  te  mihi  saepe  frui ; 
At  nunc  si  tibi  me  fors  angulus  afferat  ullus, 

Haud  secus  ac  viso  qui  pavet  angue,  fugis. 
Non  fuit  unquam  animus,  mihi  crede,  reposcere  nummos  ; 

Non  fuit,  at  ne  te  perdere  cogar,  erit. 
Perdere,  te  salvo,  nummos  volo,  perdere  utrumque 

Nolo,  sat  alterutrum  sit  periisse  mihi. 
Ergo  tibi  nummis,  aut  te  mihi  redde,  retentis  : 

Aut  tu  cum  nummis  te  mihi  redde  meis. 
Quod  tibi  si  neutrum  placeat,  nummi  mihi  saltern 

Fac  redeant :  at  tu  non  rediture,  vale."  * 


•   The  following  spirited  translation  is  by  the  accomplished  author  of  Philo- 
Moaus. 

"  O  Tyndal,  there  was  once  a  time, 
A  pleasant  time  of  old. 
Before  thou  cam'st  a-borrowing. 
Before  I  lent  thee  gold  ; 
"  When  scarce  a  single  day  did  close 
But  thou  and  I,  my  friend, 
Were  wont,  as  often  as  I  chose, 
A  social  hour  to  spend. 

"  But  now,  if  e'er  perchance  we  meet, 
Anon  I  see  thee  take 
Quick  to  thy  heels  adown  the  street. 
Like  one  who  sees  a  snake. 
"  Believe  me,  for  the  dirty  pelf 
I  never  did  intend 
To  ask ;  and  yet,  spite  of  myself, 
I  must,  or  lose  my  friend. 


LIFE   OF   SIR   THOMAS   MOEE.  589 

More's  controversial  writings,  on  which  he  bestowed  most     chap. 

XXXIII 
pains  and  counted  most  confidently  for  future  fame,  have  long 

fallen  into  utter  oblivion,  the  very  titles  of  most  of  them 
having  perished. 

But  the  composition  to  which  he  attached  no  importance, —  His  «  Uto- 
which,  as  a  Jeu-d^ esprit,  occupied  a  few  of  his  idle  hours  when  P'^-" 
he  retired  from  the  bar,  —  and  which  he  was  with  great  diffi- 
culty prevailed  upon  to  publish,  —  would  of  itself  have  made 
his  name  immortal.  Since  the  time  of  Plato,  there  had  been 
no  composition  given  to  the  world  which,  for  imagination,  for 
philosophical  discrimination,  for  a  familiarity  with  the  prin- 
ciples of  government,  for  a  knowledge  of  the  springs  of  human 
action,  for  a  keen  observation  of  men  and  manners,  and  for 
felicity  of  expression,  could  be  compared  to  the  Utopia. 
Although  the  word,  invented  by  More,  has  been  introduced 
into  the  language,  to  describe  what  is  supposed  to  be  imprac- 
ticable and  visionary,  —  the  work  (with  some  extravagance 
and  absurdities,  devised  perhaps  with  the  covert  object  of 
softening  the  offence  which  might  have  been  given  by  his 
satire  upon  the  abuses  of  his  age  and  country)  abounds  with 
lessons  of  practical  wisdom.  If  I  do  not,  like  some,  find 
in  it  all  the  doctrines  of  sound  political  economy  illustrated 
by  Adam  Smith,  I  can  distinctly  point  out  in  it  the  objec- 
tions to  a  severe  penal  code,  which  have  at  last  prevailed, 
after  they  had  been  long  urged  in  vain  by  Romilly  and  Mack- 
intosh ; —  and  as  this  subject  is  intimately  connected  with 
the  history  of  the  law  of  England,  I  hope  I  may  be  pardoned 
for  giving  the  following  extract   to   show  the  law  reforms 


"  To  lose  my  money  I  consent, 

So  that  I  lose  not  thee ; 

If  one  or  other  of  you  went, 

Contented  might  I  be. 

«  With  or  without  the  gold,  return, — 
I  take  thee  nothing  loath  ;  — 
But,  sooth,  it  makes  my  spirit  yearn, 
Thus  to  resign  you  both. 

"  If  neither  please,  do  thou  at  least 
Send  me  the  money  due  ; 
Nor  wonder  if  to  thee  I  send 
A  long  and  last  adieu." 


590  EEIGN   OF   HENRY  VIII. 

CHAP,     which  Sir  Thomas  More  would  have  introduced  when  Lord 

XXXIII.    Chancellor,  had  he  not  been  three  centuries  in  advance  of  his 

7,    ',  age :  He  represents  his  great  traveller  who  had  visited  Utopia, 

eniight-        and  describes  its  institutions,  as  saying,  "  There  happened  to 

on  crimiiial  ^^  ^*  table  an  English  lawyer,  who  took  occasion  to  run  out 

law.  in  high  commendation  of  the  severe  execution  of  thieves  in 

his  country,  where  might  be  seen  twenty  at  a  time  dangling 

from  one  gibbet.     Nevertheless,  he  observed,  it  puzzled  him 

to  understand,  since  so  few  escaped,  there  were  yet  so  many 

thieves  left  who  were  still  found  robbing  in  all  places.*    Upon 

this  I  said  with  boldness,  there  was  no  reason  to  wonder  at 

the  matter,  since  this  way  of  punishing  thieves  was  neither  just 

in  itself  nor  for  the  public  good ;  for  as  the  severity  was  too 

great,  so  the  remedy  was  not  effectual ;  simple  theft  was  not  so 

great  a  crime  that  it  ought  to  cost  a  man  his  life ;  and  no 

punishment  would  restrain  men  from  robbing  who  could  find 

no  other  way  of  livelihood.     In  this,  not  only  you,  but  a 

great  part  of  the  world  besides,  imitate  ignorant  and  cruel 

schoolmasters,  who  are  readier  to  flog  their  pupils  than  to 

teach  them.     Instead  of  these  dreadful  punishments  enacted 

against  thieves,  it  would  be  much  better  to  make  provision 

for  enabling  those  men  to  live  by  their  industry  whom  you 

drive  to   theft   and  then  put  to  death  for  the  crime  you 

cause." 

On  the  He  exposes  the  absurdity  of  the  law  of  forfeiture  in  case 

feiture.    "    ^^  larceny,  which  I  am  ashamed  to  say,  notwithstanding  the 

efforts  I  have  myself  made  in  parliament  to  amend  it,  still 

disgraces  our  penal  code,  so  that  for  an  offence  for  which,  as 

a  full  punishment,  sentence  is  given  of  imprisonment  for  a 

month,  the  prisoner  loses  all  his  personal  property,  which  is 

never  thought  of  by  the  Court  in  pronouncing  the  sentence. 

It  was  otherwise  among  the  Utopians.     "  Those  that  are 

•  "  Coepit  accurate  laudare  rigidatn  illam  justltiam  quee  turn  illic  exercebatur 
in  fures,  quos  passim  narrabat  nonnunquam  suspend!  viginti  in  una  cruce,  atque 
eo  vehementius  dicebat  se  mirari  cum  tam  pauci  elaberentur  supplicio,  quo  malo 
fato  fieret  (how  the  devil  it  happened)  uti  tam  multitamen  ubique  grassarentur." 
This  lawyer  reminds  me  exceedingly  of  the  attorney-generals,  judges,  and 
secretaries  of  state,  who  in  my  early  youth  eulogised  the  bloody  penal  code  which 
then  disgraced  England,  and  predicted  that,  if  it  were  softened,  there  would  be 
no  safety  for  life  or  property.  They  would  not  even,  like  their  worthy  prede- 
cessor here  recorded,  admit  its  inefficiency  to  check  the  commission  of  crime. 


LIFE   OP   SIR   THOMAS  MORE.  591 

found  ffuilty  of  theft  amonor  them  are  bound  to  make  resti-     CHAP. 

•  •  XXXIII 

tution  to  the  owner,  and  not  to  the  prince.  If  that  which 
was  stolen  is  no  more  in  being,  then  the  goods  of  the  thief 
are  estimated,  and  restitution  being  made  out  of  them,  the 
remainder  is  given  to  his  wife  and  children." 

I  cannot  refrain  from  giving  another  extract  to  prove  that,    On  reli- 
before  the  Reformation,  he  was  as  warm  a  friend  as  Locke  to  S'ous  tole- 

^    ^    '  ^  ration. 

the  principles  of  religious  toleration.  He  says  that  the  great 
legislator  of  Utopia  made  a  law  that  every  man  might  be  of 
what  religion  he  pleased,  and  might  endeavour  to  draw  others 
to  it  by  the  force  of  argument,  and  by  amicable  and  modest 
ways,  without  bitterness  against  those  of  other  opinions. 
"  This  law  was  made  by  Utopus  not  only  for  preserving  the 
public  peace,  which  he  saw  suffered  much  by  daily  contentions 
and  irreconcilable  heats,  but  because  he  thought  it  was  re- 
quired by  a  due  regard  to  the  interest  of  religion  itself.  He 
judged  it  not  fit  to  decide  rashly  any  matter  of  opinion,  and 
he  deemed  it  foolish  and  indecent  to  threaten  and  terrify 
another  for  the  purpose  of  making  him  believe  what  did  not 
appear  to  him  to  be  true."  * 

More  had  in  his  visits  to  Flanders  —  then  far  more  ad- 
vanced than  England  in  refinement  as  well  as  in  wealth  — 
acquired  a  great  fondness  for  pictures,  and  he  was  desirous  to 
introduce  a  taste  for  the  fine  arts  among  his  countrymen. 
He  was  the  patron  of  Holbein,  and  it  was  through  his  in- 
troduction that  this  artist  was  taken  into  the  service  of 
Henry  VIII.  Hence  the  pains  bestowed  on  Holbein's  por- 
traits of  the  More  family,  which  are  the  most  deHghtful  of 
his  works.  More  was  likewise  acquainted  with  Quintiu 
Mastys,  the  celebrated  painter  of  Antwerp  ;  and  he  describes, 

*  His  most  wonderful  anticipation  may  be  thought  that  of  Lord  Ashley's  factory 
measure  —  by  "the  Six  Hours'  Bill,"  which  regulated  labour  in  Utopia.  "  Nee  ab 
summo  mane  tamen,  ad  multam  usque  noctem  perpetuo  labore,  velut  jumenta  fati- 
gatus  ;  nam  ea  plus  quam  servilis  aerumna  est ;  quas  tamen  ubique  fere  opificum 
vita  est  exceptis  Utopiensibus,  qui  cum  in  boras  viginti-quatuor  aequales  diem 
connumerata  nocte  dividaiit,  sex  duntaxat  operi  deputant,  tres  ante  meridiem, 
a  quibus  prandiura  ineunt,  atque  a  prandio  duas  pomeridianas  boras,  quam 
interquieverunt,  tres  deinde  rursus  labori  datas  coena  claudunt.  Etenim  quod 
sex  duntaxat  horas  in  opere  sunt,  fieri  fortasse  potest,  ut  inopiam  aliquam  putes 
necessariam  rerum  sequi.  Quod  tam  longe  abest  ut  accidat,  ut  id  temporis  ad 
omnium  rerum  copiam,  quae  quidem  ad  vita  vel  necessitatem  requirantur  vel 
commoditatem,  non  sufficiat  modo  sed  siipersit  etiam." — Utop.  vol.  ii.  68. 


humour. 


592  KEIGN   OP   HENRY   VIII. 

CHAP,  both  In  prose  and  verse,  a  piece  executed  for  him  by  this 
XXXIII.  jjj.j.jg(._  j^  represented  his  two  most  intimate  friends,  Erasmus 
and  Peter  Giles,  —  the  former  in  the  act  of  commencing  his 
"  Paraphrase  on  the  Romans,"  and  the  other  holding  in  his 
hand  a  letter  from  More,  addressed  to  him  in  a  fac-simile  re- 
presentation of  the  hand-writing  of  his  correspondent.* 
His  ora-  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  we  have  so  few  specimens  of 

*°'^'  More's  oratory  ;  his  powers  as  a  debater  called  forth  this  eulo- 

gium  from  Erasmus :  —  "  His  eloquent  tongue  so  well  seconds 
his  fertile  invention,  that  no  one  speaks  better  when  suddenly 
called  forth.  His  attention  never  languishes,  his  mind  is  al- 
ways before  his  words ;  his  memory  has  all  its  stock  so  turned 
into  ready  money,  that  without  hesitation  or  delay  it  supplies 
whatever  the  occasion  may  require."  j 
His  wit  and  But  by  no  grave  quality  does  he  seem  to  have  made  such 
an  impression  on  his  contemporaries  as  he  did  by  his  powers 
of  wit  and  humour.  I  therefore  introduce  a  few  of  his  pointed 
sayings  beyond  those  which  have  occurred  in  the  narrative  of 
his  life.  He  observed,  that "  to  aim  at  honour  in  this  world  is  to 
set  a  coat  of  arms  over  a  prison  gate."  "  A  covetous  old  man  he 
compared  to  a  thief  who  steals  when  he  is  on  his  way  to  the 
gallows."  He  enforced  the  giving  of  alms  by  remarking,  that 
*'  a  prudent  man,  about  to  leave  his  native  land  for  ever,  would 
send  his  substance  to  the  far  country  to  which  he  journeyeth." 
Sir  Thomas  Manners,  with  whom  he  had  been  very  familiar 
when  a  boy,  was  created  Earl  of  Eutland  about  the  same  time 
that  More  was  made  Lord  Chancellor,  and,  being  much  puffed 
up  by  his  elevation,  treated  with  superciliousness  his  old 
schoolfellow,  who  still  remained  a  simple  knight,  but  would 
not  allow  himself  to  be  insulted.  "  Honores  mutant  Mores," 
cried  the  upstart  Earl.     "  The  proper  translation  of  which," 

'   Philomorus,  48. 

f  Erasm.  Epist.  As  they  had  been  personally  known  to  each  other  from  the 
time  when  More  was  an  undergraduate  at  Oxford,  there  can  be  no  truth  in  the 
story  that  the  two  having  met  at  the  Lord  Mayor's  table,  being  strangers  except 
by  reputation,  and  conversing  in  Latin,  More  having  sharply  combated  some 
latitudinarian  paradox  sported  by  Erasmus,  —  the  latter  said,  "  Aut  tu  es 
Morus  aut  Nullus,"  to  which  the  answer  was,  "  Aut  tu  es  Erasmus  aut 
Diabolus." 

In  1523  Erasmus  sent  his  portrait  to  More  from  Basle,  and  More  in  return 
sent  Erasmus  the  famous  picture  by  Holbein  of  himself  and  his  family,  including 
the  Fool,  which  is  still  preserved  in  the  town-hall  at  Basle. 


LIFE   OF    SIR   THOMAS   MORE.  593 

said   the   imperturbable    Chancellor,    "  is,   Honours   change     CHAP. 

VWTTT 
MANNERS."  ^^^"^- 

He  once,  while  Chancellor,  by  his  ready  wit  saved  himself 
from  coming  to  an  untimely  end :  —  "  He  was  wont  to  re- 
create himself  on  the  flat  top  of  his  gate  house  at  Chelsea, 
from  which  there  was  a  most  pleasant  prospect  of  the  Thames 
and  the  fields  beyond.  It  happened  one  time  that  a  Tom-of- 
Bedlam  came  up  to  him,  and  had  a  mind  to  have  thrown  him 
from  the  battlements,  saying,  *  Leap,  Tom,  leap.'  The  Chan- 
cellor was  in  his  gown,  and  besides  ancient,  and  not  able  to 
struggle  with  such  a  strong  fellow.  My  Lord  had  a  little 
dog  with  him :  said  he,  '  Let  us  throw  the  dog  down,  and  see 
what  sport  that  will  be.'  So  the  dog  was  thrown  over. 
*  This  is  very  fine  sport,'  said  my  Lord  ;  *  fetch  him  up  and  try 
once  more.'  While  the  madman  was  going  down,  my  Lord 
fastened  the  door,  and  called  for  help ;  but  ever  after  kept  the 
door  shut."  * 

He  did  not  even  despise  a  practical  joke.  While  he  held  Practical 
his  city  office  he  used  regularly  to  attend  the  Old  iiailey  J"^- 
Sessions,  where  there  was  a  tiresome  old  Justice,  "  who  was 
wont  to  chide  the  poor  men  that  had  their  purses  cut  for  not 
keeping  them  more  warily,  saying,  that  their  negligence  was 
the  cause  that  there  were  so  many  cut-purses  brought  thither." 
To  stop  his  prosing,  More  at  last  went  to  a  celebrated  cut- 
purse  then  in  prison,  who  was  to  be  tried  next  day,  and  pro- 
mised to  stand  his  friend  if  he  would  cut  this  Justice's  purse 
while  he  sat  on  the  bench  trying  him.  The  thief  being  ar- 
raigned at  the  sitting  of  the  Court  next  morning,  said  he  could 
excuse  himself  sufficiently  if  he  were  but  permitted  to  speak 
in  private  to  one  of  the  bench.  He  was  bid  to  choose  whom 
he  would,  and  he  chose  that  grave  old  Justice,  who  then  had 
his  pouch  at  his  girdle.  The  thief  stepped  up  to  him,  and 
while  he  rounded  him  in  the  ear,  cunningly  cut  his  purse,  and, 
taking  his  leave,  solemnly  went  back  to  his  place.  From  the 
agreed  signal.  More  knowing  that  the  deed  was  done,  proposed 
a  small  subscription  for  a  poor  needy  fellow  who  had  been 
acquitted,  beginning  by  himself  setting   a   liberal  example. 

*   Aubrey's  Letters,  vol.  iii.  462. 
VOL.  I.  Q  Q 


594 


KEIGN   OP   HENRY   VIII. 


CHAP. 
XXXIII. 


Sir  Thomas 
More  com- 
pared to 
his  imme- 
diate suc- 
cessors. 


The  old  Justice,  after  some  hesitation,  expressed  his  willing- 
ness to  give  a  trifle,  but  finding  his  purse  cut  away,  expressed 
the  greatest  astonishment,  as  he  said  he  was  sure  he  had  it 
when  he  took  seat  in  Court  that  morning.  More  replied,  in 
a  pleasant  manner,  "  What !  will  you  charge  your  brethren  of 
the  bench  with  felony  ?  "  The  Justice  becoming  angry  and 
ashamed,  Sir  Thomas  called  the  thief  and  desired  him  to  deliver 
up  the  purse,  counselling  the  worthy  Justice  hereafter  not  to 
be  so  bitter  a  censurer  of  innocent  men's  negligence,  since  he 
himself  could  not  keep  his  purse  safe  when  presiding  as  a 
I  judge  at  the  trial  of  cut-purses.* 

I  am,  indeed,  reluctant  to  take  leave  of  Sir  Thomas  More, 
not  only  from  his  agreeable  qualities  and  extraordinary  merit, 
but  from  my  abhorrence  of  the  mean,  sordid,  unprincipled 
Chancellors  who  succeeded  him,  and  made  the  latter  half  of 
the  reign  of  Henry  VIII.  the  most  disgraceful  period  in 
our  annals. 


*  Sir  John  Sylvester,  Recorder  of  London,  was  in  my  time  robbed  of  his 
watch  by  a  thief  whom  he  tried  at  the  Old  Bailey.  During  the  trial  he  happened 
to  say  aloud  that  he  had  forgot  to  bring  his  watch  with  him.  The  thief  being 
acquitted  for  want  of  evidence,  went  with  the  Recorder's  love  to  Lady  Sylvester, 
and  requested  that  she  would  immediately  send  his  watch  to  him  by  a  constable 
he  had  ordered  to  fetch  it. 

Soon  after  I  was  called  to  the  Bar,  and  had  published  the  first  No.  of 
my  "  Nisi  Prius  Reports,"  —  while  defending  a  prisoner  in  the  Crown  Court, 
I  had  occasion  to  consult  my  client,  and  I  went  to  the  dock,  where  I  conversed 
with  him  for  a  minute  or  two.  I  got  him  off,  and  he  was  immediately  dis- 
charged. But  my  joy  was  soon  disturbed ;  putting  my  hand  into  my  pocket 
to  pay  the  "  Junior"  of  the  circuit  my  quota  for  yesterday's  dinner,  I  found 
that  my  purse  was  gone  containing  several  bank  notes,  the  currency  of  tliat 
day.  The  incident  causing  much  merriment,  it  was  communicated  to  Lord 
Chief  Baron  Macdonald,  the  presiding  Judge,  who  said,  *<  What !  does  Mr. 
CanipbeU  think  that  no  one  is  entitled  to  take  notes  in  Court  except  himself?  " 


LIFE  OF  LORD  CHANCELLOR  AUDLEY.  595 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 


LIFE  OF  LORD  CHANCELLOR  AUDLEY. 


When  Sir  Thomas  More  resigned  the  Great  Seal,  it  was     chap. 

XXXIV 

delivered  to  Sir  Thomas  Audley,  afterwards  Lord  Audley,  ' 


with  the  title,  first  of  Lord  Keeper,  and  then  of  Lord  Chan-  May  20. 
cellor.*    There  was  a  striking  contrast,  in  almost  all  respects,  l^^^*  „ 
between  these  two  individuals,  —  the  successor  of  the  man  so  1533. 
distinguished  for  genius,  learning,  patriotism,  and  integrity,  J^^  ^°^_ 
having  only  common-place  abilities,  sufficient,  with  cunning  ley,  Lord 
and  shrewdness,  to  raise  their  possessor  in  the  world,  —  having      ^^P^^- 
no  acquired  knowledge  beyond  what  was  professional  and  j.sict<iT  and 
official,  —  having  first  recommended  himself  to  promotion  by  «;onduct. 
defending,  in  the  House  of  Commons,  the  abuses  of  prero- 
gative, —  and  for  the  sake  of  remaining  in  office,  being  ever 
willing  to  submit  to  any  degradation,  and  to  participate  in 
the  commission  of  any  crime.     He  held  the  Great  Seal  for  a 
period  of  above  twelve  years,  during  which,  to  please  the 
humours  of  his  capricious  and  tyrannical  master,  he  sanc- 
tioned the  divorce  of  three  Queens,  —  the  execution  of  two  of 
them  on  a  scaffold, — the  judicial  murder  of  Sir  Thomas  More, 
Bishop  Fisher,  and  many  others,   who,  animated  by  their 
example,  preferred  death  to  infamy,  — the  spoliation  of  the 
Church  and  a  division    of   the    plunder    among  those  who 
planned  the  robbery, — and  reckless  changes  of  the  established 
religion,  which  left  untouched  all  the  errors  of  Popery,  with 
the  absurdity  of  the  King  being  constituted  Pope,  and  which 
involved  in  a  common  massacre  those  who  denied  transub- 
stantiation  and  those  who  denied  the  King's  spiritual  supre- 
macy.    Luckily  for  Audley,  he  has  not  much  attracted  the 
notice  of  historians ;  but  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  he  had  a 
considerable  influence  upon  the  events  which  disgraced  the 
latter  half  of  this  reign ;  and  we  must  now  inquire  into  his 

*    Rot.  Cl.  24.      Hen.  VIII.  m.  24. 
QQ  2 


596 


REIGN   OF   HENRY   VIII. 


CHAP. 
XXX IV. 


His  birth. 


origin,  and  try  to  trace  the  steps  by  which  he  reached,  and  the 
means  by  which  he  retained,  his  "  bad  eminence." 

Thomas  Audley  was  born  in  the  year  1488,  at  the  Hay 
House,  in  the  tenure  of  the  Prior  of  Colne,  in  Essex.*  His 
family  was  ancient,  though  it  seems  not  entitled  to  bear 
arms.  His  ancestor,  Ralph  Audley,  having  been  seated  at 
Earl's  Colne  in  that  county  as  early  as  the  28th  of  Henry  VI., 
afterwards  became  possessed  of  the  Hay  House,  which  his 
descendants  continued  to  inhabit,  and  which  was  demolished 
only  a  few  years  ago.  But  it  would  appear  that  they  were 
only  of  the  class  of  yeomen,  and  that  the  Chancellor  was  the 
first  of  them  who  could  boast  of  heraldic  honours,  f 
Education.  He  had  a  slender  patrimony,  and  he  rose  from  his  own 
industry  and  selfish  arts.  Some  accounts  represent,  that  after 
an  indifferent  school  education  he  was  sent  to  Magdalene 
College,  Cambridge,  of  which  he  afterwards  became  a  bene- 
factor ;  but  the  records,  both  of  Oxford  and  Cambridge,  have 
in  vain  been  searched  for  his  name,  and  it  is  doubtful  whether 
he  ever  had  the  advantage  of  being  at  a  university.  While 
still  a  youth  he  was  entered  of  the  Inner  Temple,  where  he 
devoted  himself  very  steadily  to  the  study  of  the  common 
law,  and  he  is  said  to  have  discharged  the  duties  of  "  Autumn 
Reader  "  to  the  society  with  some  reputation.  Being  called 
to  the  degree  of  outer  barrister,  he  early  rose  into  consider- 
able practice  from  his  skill  in  the  technicalities  of  his  pro- 
fession, and  his  eager  desire  to  please  his  clients.  He  was  of 
a  comely  and  majestic  presence ;  and  by  his  smooth  man- 
ners and  systematic  anxiety  to  give  offence  to  no  one,  he 
acquired  general  popularity,  although  known  to  those  who 
had  studied  his  character  to  be  unprincipled,  false,  and 
deceitfuL 


•  "  A.  D.  1516.  Thomas  Audley  natus  in  Colne  in  Com.  Essex.  Burgeus." 
Oath  Book  of  Corporation  of  Colchester. 

t  The  original  grant  of  Arms  to  Lord  Audley,  dated  18th  March,  I5S8, 
still  preserved  at  Audley  End,  recites  "  that  not  being  contynned  in  nobilite 
berynge  armes  and  descended  of  ancient  stocke  by  his  auncestors  and  prede- 
cessors by  consanguinite  and  marriage,  and  he  not  willing  to  use  or  here  armes 
that  should  redound  unto  damage  or  reprofe  of  any  of  the  same  name  or  con- 
sanguinite, or  of  any  other  person,  he  desired  the  following  coat  to  be  assigned 
to  him,  &c."  The  arms  differ  from  those  borne  by  families  of  the  same  name, 
but  the  motto  "  Garde  ta  Foy  "  belonged  to  Touchet,  Lord  Audley. 


LIFE  OF  LOED  CHANCELLOR  AUDLEY.  597 

In  the  12th  year  of  the  reioni  of   Henry  YIII.  he  was     CHAP. 

...        XXXIV 
called  to  the  degree  of  Serjeant-at-Law,  and,  flourishing  in  '_ 

Westminster  Hall,  he  became  eager  for  political   advance-  ^.j,.  1523. 

ment.     Parliament    so    seldom  met    during  this  reign,  that  Member  of 

.  .  .  .         „        .^.         ,.        House  of 

aspirmg  lawyers  had  but  rare  opportunities  of  gaining  dis-   Commons. 

tinction  either  as  patriots  or  courtiers.  But  a  parliament 
being  at  last  called  in  1523,  Audley  contrived  to  get  himself 
returned  a  burgess  to  the  House  of  Commons,  in  the  hope  of 
now  making  his  fortune.  This  was  the  parliament  at  which 
Sir  Thomas  More  was  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Commons, 
and  gained  such  distinction  by  preserving  the  privileges  of 
the  House,  and  resisting  the  exorbitant  subsidy  demanded 
by  Wolsey.  Audley  strongly  took  the  side  of  the  Court, 
defended  all  the  Cardinal's  proceedings,  and  bitterly  inveighed 
against  all  his  opponents  as  disloyal  subjects  and  favourers  of 
heresy.  When  the  lamentation  was  uttered  by  Wolsey  that 
More  was  not  at  Rome  instead  of  being  made  Speaker  *, 
regret  was  no  doubt  felt  that  Audley  had  not  been  placed  in 
the  chair ;  and  a  resolution  was  formed,  that  he  should  have 
the  Court  influence  in  his  favour  on  a  future  occasion.  In 
the  meanwhile  he  was  made  Attorney  to  the  Duchy  of  Lan- 
caster, and  a  King's  Serjeant,  f 

In  the  succeeding  interval  of  six  years,  during  which  no 
parliament  sat,  he  distinguished  himself  by  abetting  all  the 
illegal  expedients  resorted  to  for  raising  money  on  the  people. 
No  Hampden  arose  to  contest,  in  a  Court  of  Justice,  the 
legality  of  the  commissions  issued  under  the  Great  Seal,  for 
levying  the  sixth  of  every  man's  goods;  but  they  excited 
such  deep  discontents,  that  a  rebellion  was  apprehended,  and 
they  were  recalled.  Against  such  an  arbitrary  Sovereign  as 
Henry,  with  such  tools  as  Audley,  the  only  remedy  for  public 
wrongs  was  resistance. 

On  the  question  of  the  divorce,  Audley  was    equally  sub-   Gains  the 
servient  to  the  King's  wishes;    and  he  was  so  high  in  his  Jlng'^Hen- 
favour,  as  not  to  be  without   hopes  of   the  Great  Seal  on  ry  VIII. 
Wolsey 's  disgrace.     But  though  no  doubt  was  entertained  of 
his  pliancy,  his  character  for  integrity  was  now  very  low ; 

*   See  ante,  p.  474.  f  Grig.  Jur,  83. 

Q  Q  3 


598 


REIGN   OF   HENRY   VIII. 


CHAP. 
XXXIV. 


Oct.  1529. 
Is  made 
Chancellor 
of  the 
Duchy  of 
Lancaster. 


Speaker  of 
the  House 
of  Com- 


Proceed- 
ings  of 
Commons 
on  speech 
in  Lords 
by  Bishop 
of  Roches- 
ter. 


and  fears  being  entertained  that  he  would  bring  discredit 
upon  the  government,  the  more  prudent  course  was  adopted 
of  preferring  Sir  Thomas  More. 

However,  More  being  appointed  to  the  Great  Seal, 
Audley  was  named  his  successor  as  Chancellor  of  the  Duchy 
of  Lancaster ;  and,  at  the  meeting  of  parliament,  in  the  be- 
ginning of  November,  1529,  on  the  recommendation  of  the 
Court,  he  was  elected  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Commons. 

Being  presented  at  the  bar  of  the  House  of  Lords,  he  made 
an  eloquent  oration,  consisting  of  two  points  ;  first,  "  that  he 
much  praised  the  King  for  his  equity  and  justice,  mixed  with 
mercy  and  pity ; "  secondly,  "  he  endeavoured  to  disable  him- 
self, for  want  of  sense,  learning,  and  discretion,  for  the  taking 
of  so  high  an  office,  beseeching  the  King  to  cause  his  Com- 
mons to  resort  again  to  their  House,  and  there  to  choose 
another  Speaker."  To  this  the  Chancellor,  by  the  King's 
command,  replied  with  the  usual  courtesy,  "  that  whereas  he 
sought  to  disable  himself  in  sense  and  learning,  his  own 
elaborate  discourse  there  delivered  testified  to  the  contrary ; 
and,  touching  his  discredit  and  other  qualities,  the  King  him- 
self had  well  known  him  and  his  doings,  since  he  was  in  his 
service,  to  be  both  wise  and  discreet ;  and  so  as  an  able  man 
he  accepted  him,  and  admitted  him  Speaker."  * 

The  King's  designs  to  break  with  Rome  were  strongly 
supported  by  Audley,  and  were  well  received  by  the  Com- 
mons ;  but  Fisher,  Bishop  of  Rochester,  made  a  strong  speech 
against  them  in  the  Lords,  in  which  he  said,  that  "  our  Holy 
Mother,  the  Church,  was  about  to  be  brought,  like  a  bond- 
maid, into  thraldom  ;  and  that  want  of  faith  was  the  true 
cause  of  the  mischiefs  impending  over  the  State."  When 
the  Commons  heard  of  this  speech,  they  conceived  great  in- 
dignation against  the  Bishop  ;  and  not  suspecting  that  there 
was  any  irregularity  in  noticing  what  was  said  in  debate  by  a 
member  of  the  other  House,  they  sent  Audley,  the  Speaker, 
attended  by  a  deputation  of  their  body,  to  complain  of  it  to 
the  King,  and  to  let  his  Majesty  know  "  how  grievously  they 


•   1  Pari.  Hist.  492. 


LIFE  OF  LORD  CHANCELLOR  AUDLEY.  599 

thought  themselves  injured  thereby,  for  charging  them  with     CHAP, 
lack  of  faith  as  if  they  had  been  infidels  or  heretics." 

The  King  was  well  pleased  with  this  interference,  which 
he  had  most  likely  prompted,  and  sent  for  the  Bishop  of 
Rochester  to  rebuke  him  for  the  licence  he  had  used  to  the 
displeasure  of  the  Commons.  The  courageous  Prelate  an- 
swered, "  that  having  seat  and  voice  in  parliament,  he  spake 
his  mind  freely  in  defence  of  the  Church,  which  he  saw 
daily  injured  and  oppressed  by  the  common  people,  whose 
office  it  was  not  to  judge  of  her  manners,  much  less  to  reform 
them."  The  King  advised  him  "  to  use  his  words  more 
temperately."  * 

Audley  had  more  difficulty,  as  Speaker,  to  restrain  the 
impetuosity  of  a  party  in  the  Commons,  who,  having  imbibed 
the  new  doctrines,  wished  in  earnest  for  a  religious  reform- 
ation. Trimming  his  own  profession  of  faith  by  the  personal 
wishes  of  his  master,  he  laboured  to  preserve  things  in  their 
present  condition,  with  the  exception  of  transferring  the  power 
of  the  Pope  to  the  King. 

During  the  session  of  parliament  which  began  in  April,  a.d.  1.532. 
1532,  there  was  displayed  among  the  Commons  a  strong 
sympathy  with  Queen  Catherine,  which  the  Speaker  found  it 
very  difficult  to  restrain  within  decent  bounds.  He  was  com- 
pelled to  put  the  question  "  that  an  humble  address  should 
be  presented  to  the  King,  praying  that  his  Majesty  would 
be  graciously  pleased  to  take  back  the  Queen,  and  live  with 
her  as  his  wife,  according  to  the  admonition  of  his  Holiness 
the  Pope."  We  have  no  account  of  the  debate,  which,  how- 
ever guardedly  conducted,  must  have  been  most  offensive  to 
the  King.  The  moment  he  heard  of  it,  in  a  rage  he  sent 
for  Audley,  and  said  to  him,  "  That  he  wondered  any 
amongst  them  should  meddle  in  businesses  which  could  not 
properly  be  determined  in  their  House,  and  with  which  they 
had  no  concern."  His  Majesty  then  condescended  to  reason 
the  matter  with  the  Speaker,  who  was  to  report  to  the 
House  "  that  he  was  only  actuated  by  a  regard  for  the  good 
of  his  soul ;  that  he  wished   the   murriage  with  Catherine 

•   1  Pari.  Hist.  493. 
«  Q  4 


600 


EEIGN   OF   HENRY   VIII. 


CHAP. 
XXXIV. 

A.n.  1532. 


Rupture 
with  Rome. 


were  unobjectionable,  but,  unfortunately,  the  Doctors  of  the 
Universities  having  declared  it  contrary  to  the  word  of  God, 
he  could  do  no  less  than  abstain  from  her  company ;  that 
wantonnness  of  appetite  was  not  to  be  imputed  to  him,  for 
being  now  in  his  forty-first  year,  it  might  justly  be  presumed 
that  such  motions  were  not  so  strong  in  him  as  formerly  * ; 
that,  except  in  Spain  and  Portugal,  no  one  was  allowed  to 
marry  two  sisters ;  but  that  for  a  brother  to  marry  a  bro- 
ther's wife  was  a  thing  so  abhorred  among  all  nations,  that 
he  never  heard  that  any  Christian  did  so  except  himself; 
whereat  his  conscience  was  sorely  troubled."  f 

Audley  succeeded  in  convincing  the  King  that  he  was  not 
personally  to  blame  in  the  stirring  of  the  marriage  question 
in  the  House ;  and  he  executed  the  commission  now  intrusted 
to  him  to  his  Majesty's  entire  satisfaction. 

So  much  was  Henry  pleased  with  his  dexterity  in  manag- 
ing the  House  on  this  occasion,  that  he  was  soon  after  sent 
for  again  to  Whitehall,  to  consult  about  preparing  the  mem- 
bers for  a  final  rupture  with  Rome ;  and  he  was  instructed  to 
inform  the  House  that  "  his  Majesty  found  that  the  clergy  of 
his  realm  were  but  half  his  subjects,  or  scarce  so  much ;  every 
Bishop  or  Abbot,  at  the  entering  into  his  dignity,  taking  an 
oath  to  the  Pope  derogatory  to  that  of  fidelity  to  his  Sove- 
reign, which  contradiction  he  desired  his  parliament  to  con- 
sider and  take  away."  The  Speaker,  at  the  next  sitting  of 
the  House,  having  delivered  this  message,  directed  the  two 
oaths  to  be  read  by  the  Clerk  at  the  table,  and  pointed  out 
the  manner  in  which  they  clashed  so  forcibly,  that  the  Com- 
mons were  ready  to  renounce  the  Pope's  supremacy  whenever 
this  step  should  be  deemed  expedient. 

Audley  was  now  such  a  decided  favourite  at  Court  that  he 


*  This  is  one  among  many  proofs  that  occur,  showing  that  formerly  old  age 
was  supposed  to  come  on  much  sooner  than  at  present ;  but  our  ancestors  began 
life  very  early,  —  often  marrying  nominally  when  infants,  and  actually  at  four- 
teen,— and  subjecting  themselves  to  very  little  restraint  of  any  kind.  This 
early  decay  of  the  physical  powers  seems  likewise  to  have  prevailed  among  the 
Romans  in  the  time  of  Augustus.     Horace  says, — 


t  1  Pari.  Hbt.  518. 


"  Fuge  suspicari, 

Cujus  octavum  trepidavit  aetas 

Claudere  lustrum." 


LIFE   OF   LORD   CHANCELLOK   AUDLEY. 


601 


was  destined  to  be  the  successor  of  Sir  Thomas  More,  when 
the  contemplated  measures  for  the  King's  new  marriage  and 
separation  from  Rome  determined  that  virtuous  man  to  resign 
the  Great  Seal.  However,  a  difficulty  arose  from  the  dis- 
advantage it  would  occasion  to  the  King's  service  if  he  were 
immediately  removed  from  the  House  of  Commons,  where 
his  influence  and  dexterity  had  been  found  so  useful.  The 
opinion  then  was,  that  if  he  were  made  Lord  Chancellor,  he 
must  immediately  vacate  his  seat  in  the  House  of  Commons, 
and  take  his  place  on  the  woolsack  as  President  of  the  House 
of  Lords ;  but  that  merely  as  Lord  Keeper  of  the  Great 
Seal  he  might  continue  a  member  of  the  House  of  Commons, 
as  if  he  were  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  or  were  ap- 
pointed to  any  other  judicial  office  usually  held  by  a  com- 
moner. 

Accordingly  Sir  Thomas  More,  having  surrendered  the 
office  of  Chancellor  on  the  16th  of  May,  1532,  and  the  Seal 
having  remained  four  days  in  the  King's  hands,  enclosed  in  a 
bag  under  the  private  seal  of  the  late  Chancellor,  on  the  20th 
of  May  his  Majesty  opened  the  bag  and  took  out  the  Seal, 
and  after  inspecting  it,  delivered  it,  with  the  title  of  Lord 
Keeper,  to  Audley,  on  whom  he  then  conferred  the  honour 
of  knighthood.* 

On  Friday,  the  5th  of  June,  being  the  first  day  of  Trinity 
Term,  after  a  grand  procession  to  Westminster  Hall,  he  was 
sworn  in  and  installed  in  the  Court  of  Chancery,  —  the  Duke 


CHAP. 
XXXIV. 

A.D.  1532. 
Audley 
remains 
Speaker  of 
the  House 
of  Com- 
mons while 
Lord 
Keeper. 


Installation 
as  Lord 
Keeper, 


*  The  entry  on  the  Close  Roll,  after  a  very  circumstantial  account  of  the  prior 
proceedings,  thus  goes  on  :  —  "  Et  post  inspecconem  illam  idem  sigillum  dilco 
sibi  Thome  Audley  tradidit  et  deliberavit  cui  tunc  custodiam  dci.  sigilli  sui 
comisit  Ipsmque  Thomam  Dmm  Custodem  Magni  Sigilli  Regii  vocari  nun- 
cupari  et  appellari  ac  omnia  et  singula  facre  et  exercere  tam  in  Cur.  Cancellar. 
dci.  Dni.  Regis  qm.  in  Cama  Stellata  et  Consilio  ejusdem  Dni.  Regis  prout 
Cancellarius  Angl.  facre  et  exre  solebat,  declaravit  et  expresse  mandavit."  After 
stating  that  he  sealed  certain  letters  patent,  the  entry  records  that  he  restored 
the  Great  Seal  to  its  bag  under  his  own  private  seal,  "  sicque  Sigillum  illud  in 
custodia  ipsius  Thome  (quern  idem  Dns.  Rex  ordine  militari  tunc  insignavit') 
auctoritate  regia  prdca.  remansit  et  remanet." — Rot.  Claus.  24  H.  8.  m.  24. 
in  dorso. 


'  This  distinction  must  then  have  been  in  high  repute,  as  it  was  not  conferred 
on  Audley  when  made  Chancellor  of  the  Duchy  or  Speaker  of  the  House  of 
Commons,  and  not  till  the  Great  Seal  was  delivered  to  him.  He  was  not  raised 
to  the  peerage  till  six  years  after. 


602 


REIGN   OF   HENKY  VIII. 


CHAP. 
XXXIV. 


Audley 
made  Lord 
Chancellor. 
A.D.  1533. 


of  Norfolk,  who  seems  always  to  have  acted  as  master  of  the 
ceremonies  on  such  occasions,  delivering  an  oration,  in  which, 
after  a  becoming  compliment  to  the  late  Chancellor,  he 
highly  lauded  the  abilities  and  good  qualities  of  the  new 
Lord  Keeper.  There  is  no  trace  to  be  found  of  the  reply, 
but  we  need  not  doubt  that  it  turned  upon  the  conscientious 
feelings,  humanity,  and  love  of  true  religion  which  ever 
dwelt  in  the  royal  bosom. 

On  the  6th  of  September  following,  on  account  of  a  change 
in  the  King's  style,  the  old  Great  Seal  was  broken,  and  a 
new  one  delivered  to  Audley,  still  with  the  title  of  Lord 
Keeper.*  But  on  the  26th  of  January,  1533,  "about  the 
hour  of  two  in  the  afternoon,  in  a  chamber  near  the  chapel 
in  the  King's  manor  of  East  Greenwich,  in  the  presence  of 
the  Duke  of  Norfolk,  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  the 
Earl  of  Wiltshire,  the  Bishop  of  Winchester,  and  other 
Councillors,  the  King,  having  ordered  the  Great  Seal  to  be 
taken  from  the  bag  in  which  it  was  inclosed,  received  it  into 
his  hands,  and  having  retained  it  for  the  space  of  a  quarter 
of  an  hour,  divers  weighty  reasons  moving  his  Majesty 
thereto,  as  he  then  openly  declared,  he  being  well  pleased 
with  the  faithful  services  of  Sir  Thomas  Audley  as  Keeper 
of  the  Great  Seal,  then  and  there  constituted  him  his  Chan- 
cellor of  England."  f 

Sir  Humphrey  Wingfield  was  chosen  Speaker  of  the 
House  of  Commons  in  his  place ;  and  henceforth,  till  his 
death  in  1544,  the  Chancellor  prompted  and  presided  over 
the  iniquitous  measures  brought  forward  in  the  Upper  House, 


*  The  Close  Roll  gives  a  very  minute  description  of  the  figures  on  the  new 
Great  Seal,  "  videlt.  Dnm.  Regem  in  Majestate  sua  sedentem  et  sceptrum  in 
una  manu  et  in  altera  manu  signum  Crucis  portantem  necnon  ex  utroque  latere 
prefati  Dni.  Regis  ejusdem  partis  sigilli  intersignia  Anglise  cum  titulo  ordinis 
garterii  circa  eadem  insignia  et  coronam  imperialem  supra  eadem  intersignia 
stantem  ac  ex  altera  parte  ejusdem  sigilli  Dm.  Regem  armatum  manu  sua 
dextera  gladium  tenentem  sedentemque  super  equum  similiter  armatum  et  in 
scuto  suo  intersignia  Angliae  ferentem  ac  quandam  rosam'  in  dextro  latere 
insculptam  ;   necnon  sub  pedibus  reglis  canem  currentem." 

f  "  Sicque  sigillum  predm.  in  custodia  prefati  Thome  nunc  Cancellarii  Anglie 
remansit  et  remanet." 


'    It  would  be  curious  to  know  whether  the  rose  was  gules  or  argent.     If  the 
King  regarded  his  title  by  descent,  he  must  have  preferred  the  white  rose. 


LIFE  OF  LORD  CHANCELLOR  AUDLEY.  603 

and  was  the  chief  agent  in  the  homicides  committed  by  the     CHAP. ' 
instrumentality  of  legal  process. 


In  the  proceedings  of  parliament,  and  in  contemporary  ^  j,  j^gg 
writers,  I  do  not  discover  any  censure  of  him  as  an  Equity  His  con- 
Judge.     The  probability  is,  that,  being  regularly  trained  to  judge!  * 
the  profession  of  the  law,  he  did  his  duty  efficiently ;  and 
that  where  the  Crown  was  not  concerned,  and  he  had  no 
corrupt  bias  to  mislead  him,  he  decided  fairly.     As  a  poli-  As  a  poli- 
tician, he  is  bitterly  condemned  by  all  who   mention  his  ***^'^"- 
name. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  session  in  which  the  act  was   Commis- 
passed  for  recognising  the  IGng's  marriage  with  Anne  Boleyn,   ^'°"?''!  *° 
and  settling  the  succession  to  the  Crown  on  their  issue*, —  oath  under 
the  King  being  seated  on  the  throne,  Audley  delivered  a  warm  "e^^lemenl 
panegyric  upon  it,  saying  that  "  upon  the  due  observance  of 
it  the  good  and  happiness  of  the  kingdom  chiefly  depended." 
He  then  intimated  that  the  King,  by  letters  patent,  had 
appointed  the  Lord  Chancellor,  the  Archbishop  of  Canter- 
bury, the  Duke  of  Norfolk,  and  the  Duke  of  Suffolk,  Com- 
missioners to  swear  the  Lords  and  Commons,  and  all  others 
at  their  discretion,  to  observe  the  act.     They  immediately, 
in  the  King's  presence,  took  the  oath  themselves,  and  ad- 
ministered it  to  the  members  of  both  Houses,  introducing 
into  it  words  respecting  the  original  nullity  of  the  King's  first 
marriage  and  the  King's  supremacy  which  the  statute  did  not 
justify. 

"We  have  already  seen  the  part  taken  by  Lord  Chancellor  Act  to 
Audley,  along  with  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  and  the  ^^^-^  f 
Duke   of  Norfolk,    in  trying   to   force  the  oath  upon   Sir  King's  su- 
Thomas  More,  and  committing   him  close  prisoner  to  the  h[!^h  trL- 
Tower  of  London  for  refusing  to  take  it:  — the  acts  which  son. 
he  procured  to  be  passed  for  the  perpetual   imprisonment 
of  More  and  Fisher,  and  for  making  the  denial  of  the  King's 
supremacy  high  treason ;  —  and  his  various  attempts-,  by  going 
personally  to  the  Tower,  to  entrap  More  into  such  a  denial 
of  the  King's  supremacy  as  might  be  made  the  pretence  for 
putting  him  to  death  as  a  traitor,  f 

•  25  Hen.  8.  c.  22.  t  Ante,  p.  568.  et  seq. 


604 


REIGN   OF   HENRY  VIII. 


CHAP. 
XXXIV. 


A  D.  1535. 
Presides  at 
trial  of 
Bishop 
Fisher. 


Evidence 
of  Solicitor 
General 
Rich. 


Audley  now  issued,  under  the  Great  Seal,  a  special  com- 
mission for  the  trial  of  Fisher  and  More, — placing  himself  at 
the  head  of  it.  As  less  skill  was  apprehended  from  the  aged 
prelate  in  defending  himself,  and  there  was  some  colour  of  a 
case  against  him  from  the  infamous  arts  of  Rich,  the  Solicitor 
General,  the  wary  Chancellor  judged  it  most  expedient  to 
begin  with  him,  although  the  conviction  of  the  Ex-chancellor 
was  deemed  an  object  of  still  greater  importance.  Accord- 
ingly, on  the  17th  of  June,  Audley,  with  the  other  Commis- 
sioners, being  seated  in  the  Court  of  King's  Bench  in  West- 
minster Hall,  Fisher,  from  age  and  weakness  hardly  able 
to  support  himself,  was  placed  at  the  bar,  charged  with 
having  traitorously  attempted  to  deprive  the  King  of  his 
title,  by  maliciously  speaking  these  words :  "  The  Kyng  our 
Soveraign  Lord  is  not  supreme  Hedd  yn  Erthe  of  the  Churche 
of  Englande."  * 

The  only  witness  for  the  Crown  was  Rich,  the  Solicitor 
General,  who,  although  he  was  supposed  not  to  have  ex- 
ceeded the  truth  in  stating  what  had  passed  between  him  and 
the  prisoner,  covered  himself  with  almost  equal  infamy  as 
when  he  was  driven  to  commit  perjury  on  the  trial  of  More. 
He  had  the  baseness  voluntarily  to  swear,  that,  in  a  private 
conversation  he  had  held  with  the  Bishop  when  he  paid  him 
a  friendly  visit  in  the  Tower,  he  heard  the  Bishop  declare 
*'  that  he  believed  in  his  conscience,  and  by  his  learning  he 
assuredly  knew,  that  the  King  neither  was  nor  by  right  could 
be  supreme  Head  in  Earth  of  the  Church  of  England." 

Fisher,  without  the  assistance  of  counsel,  which  could  not 
be  permitted  against  the  Crown,  objected  to  Audley  and  the 
other  Judges  that  this  declaration  ought  not  to  be  received 
in  evidence,  or  be  considered  as  supporting  the  charge  in 
the  indictment,  considering  the  circumstances  under  which  it 
was  elicited  from  him.  "  Mr.  Rich,"  said  he,  "  I  cannot  but 
marvel  to  hear  you  come  and  bear  witness  against  me  of  these 
words.  This  man,  my  Lords,  came  to  me  from  the  King,  as 
he  said,  on  a  secret  message,  with  commendations  from  his 
Grace  declaring  what  good  opinion  his  Majesty  had  of  me, 


•  26  Hen.  8.  c.  1.  13. 


LIFE  OF  LORD  CHANCELLOR  AUDLEY.  605 

and  how  sorry  he  was  of  my  trouble,  and  many  more  words     CHAP. 
•                                                                                        XXXIV 
not  now  fit  to  be  recited,  as  I  was  not  only  ashamed  to  hear  ' 

them,  but  also  knew  right  well  that  I  could  no  way  deserve  ^.j,.  1535. 
them.  At  last  he  broke  to  me  the  matter  of  the  King's  su- 
premacy, telling  me  that  the  King,  for  better  satisfaction  of 
his  own  conscience,  had  sent  him  unto  me  in  this  secret 
manner  to  know  my  full  opinion  in  the  matter  for  the  great 
affiance  he  had  in  me  more  than  any  other.  When  I  had 
heard  this  message,  I  put  him  in  mind  of  the  new  act  of 
parliament,  which  standing  in  force  as  it  does,  might  thereby 
endanger  me  very  much  in  case  I  should  utter  any  thing 
against  its  provisions.  To  that  he  made  answer,  *  that  the 
King  willed  him  to  assure  me,  upon  his  honour,  and  on  the 
word  of  a  King,  that  whatsoever  I  should  say  unto  him  by 
this  his  secret  messenger,  I  should  abide  no  peril  for  it, 
although  my  words  were  ever  so  directly  against  the  statute, 
seeing  it  was  only  a  declaration  of  my  mind  secretly  as  to  his 
own  person.'  And  the  messenger  gave  me  his  solemn  pro- 
mise that  he  never  would  mention  my  words  to  living  soul, 
save  the  King  alone.  Now,  therefore,  my  Lords,  seeing  it 
pleased  the  King's  majesty  to  send  to  me  thus  secretly  to 
know  my  poor  advice  and  opinion,  which  I  most  gladly  was' 
and  ever  will  be  ready  to  offer  to  him  when  so  commanded, 
methinks  it  very  hard  to  allow  the  same  as  sufficient  testimony 
against  me  to  prove  me  guilty  of  high  treason." 

Rich  did  not   contradict   this    statement,  observing  only.    Solicitor 
that  "  he  said  no  more  to  him  than  his  Majesty  commanded,"   S^?"^'*^ 
and  then,  as  counsel  for  the  Crown,  argued  that  assuming  the  commen- 
statement  to  be  true,  it  was  no  discharge  in  law  against  his  *^'"y  ^^ 

'^  _  o  o  counsel  on 

Majesty  for  a  direct  violation  of  the  statute.  his  own 

Audley  ruled,  and  the  other  Judges  concurred,  "  that  this  ^Ytne"!^  ^^ 
message  or  promise  from  the  King  neither  did  nor  could,  by 
rigour  of  law,  discharge  him,  but  in  so  declaring  his  mind  and 
conscience  against  the  supremacy,  yea,  though  it  were  at  the 
King's  own  request  or  commandment,  he  committed  treason 
by  the  statute,  and  nothing  could  save  him  from  death  but 
the  King's  pardon." 

Fisher  still  argued,  that  as  the  statute  only  made  it  treason 
maliciously  to  deny  the  King's  supremacy,  he  could  not  be 


A.D.  1535. 


606  REIGN   OF   HENRY  VIII. 

CHAP,  guilty  by  merely  expressing  an  opinion  to  the  King  himself 
XXXIV.  i^y.  jjjg  ^^^  order  ;  —  to  which  Audley  answered,  that  malice 
did  not  mean  spite  or  ill-will  in  the  vulgar  sense,  but  was  an 
inference  of  law ;  for  if  a  man  speak  against  the  King's  supre- 
macy by  any  manner  of  means,  that  speaking  is  to  be  under- 
stood and  taken  in  law  as  malicious. 

The  right  reverend  prisoner  then  took  an  objection,  which 
seems  to  have  rather  puzzled  the  Court, — that  here  there  was 
but  one  witness,  which  in  treason  is  insufficient. 
Scandalous        Audlcy  and  the  Judges,  after  some  hesitation,  answered, 
the  l!ord'^    that  as  this  was  a  case  in  which  the  King  was  personally  con- 
Chancellor    cerned,  the  rule  requiring  two  witnesses  did  not  apply  ;  that 
an    u  ges.  ^j^^  j^^^  would  consider  the  evidence,  the  truth  of  which  was 
not  disputed,  and  as  they  believed  or  disbelieved  it  the  pri- 
soner should  be  acquitted  or  condemned.     "  The  case  was  so 
aggravated  to  the  jury,  by  my  Lord  Chancellor  making  it  so 
heinous  and  dangerous  a  treason,  that  they  easily  perceived 
what  verdict  they  must  return  ;  otherwise  heap  such  danger 
on  their  own  heads  as  none  of  them  were  willing  to  undergo." 
Yet  many  of  his  hearers,  and  some  of  his  judges  were  melted 
to  tears,  to  see  such  a  venerable  father  of  the  church  in  dan- 
ger of  being  sentenced  to  a  cruel  death  upon  such  evidence 
given,  contrary  to  all  faith,  and  the  promise  of  the  King 
himself. 
Lo«^  The  jury  having  withdrawn  for  a  short  time,  brought  in  a 

pronounces    vcrdict  of  guilty.    The  Bishop  prayed  to  God  to  forgive  them ; 
sentence  of  but  the  Lord  Chancellor,  "  framing  himself  to  a  solemnity  of 

death  on  „  -  p    7       ,  ,  .        .         , 

Bishop  countenance,  passed  sentence  or  death  upon  him  in  the  re- 
Fisher.  yolting  terms  used  on  such  occasions ;  ordering  that  his  head 
and  four  quarters  should  be  set  up  where  the  King  should 
appoint,  and  piously  concluding  with  a  prayer,  that  God 
might  have  mercy  on  his  soul.  This  wicked  Judge  had  not 
the  apology  of  having  any  taste  for  blood  himself,  and  he 
would  probably  have  been  much  better  pleased  to  have  sus- 
tained the  objections,  and  directed  an  acquittal :  he  was 
merely  a  tool  of  the  tyrant,  who,  hearing  that  Pope  Paul  III. 
had  sent  Fisher  a  Cardinal's  hat,  exclaimed,  "  I  will  take  care 
that  he  has  not  a  head  to  put  it  upon." 
Sir  Thomas       Audlcy's  dcmcanour  on  the  trial   of   Sir  Thomas  More, 

More. 


LIFE  OF  LORD  CHANCELLOR  AUDLEY.  607 

which  took  place  a  fortnight  afterwards,  we  have  ahready  com-  CHAP. 

,  1  ^  ^  ''  xxxiv. 

memorated. 


The  merit  has  been  ascribed  to  him  of  favouring  the 
Reformation ;  but,  in  reality,  he  had  no  opinions  of  his  own, 
and  he  was  now  acting  merely  as  an  Instrument  in  the  hands 
of  the  most  remarkable  adventurer  to  be  met  with  in  English 
history ;  whose  rise  more  resembles  that  of  a  slave,  at  once 
constituted  Grand  Vizier  in  an  Eastern  despotism,  than  of  a 
minister  of  state  promoted  In  a  constitutional  government,  — 
where  law,  usage,  and  public  opinion  check  the  capricious 
humours  of  the  sovereign. 

Thomas  Cromwell,  the  son  of  a  fuller  f,  having  had  a  very   Rise  of 
slender  education,  —  after  serving  as  a   trooper  in  foreign  ^''™^  u 
armies,  and  a  clerk  In  a  merchant's  counting-house  at  Ant- 
werp, had  picked  up  a  little  knowledge  of  the  law  In  an 
attorney's  office  in  London, — had  been  taken  Into  the  service 
of  Cardinal  Wolsey  as  a  steward, — had  obtained  a  seat  in  par- 
liament, —  had  acquired  a  great  ascendancy  In  the  House  of 
Commons  by  his  energy  and  volubility, — had  Insinuated  him- 
self into  the  favour  and  confidence  of  Henry  VIII.  by  his 
pliancy  and  dexterity  in  business ;  —  and  having  been  suc- 
cessively made  Clerk  of  the  Hanaper  in  the  Court  of  Chancery, 
Master  of  the  Jewel  House,  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  a 
Knight  and  a  Privy  Councillor,  was  now  Lord  Chamberlain, 
Chief  Justice  in  Eyre  beyond  Trent,  Lord  Privy  Seal,  Baron 
Cromwell    of   Okeham,  In  the   county    of   Rutland,  Vicar 
General  and  Vicegerent  of  the  King  as  Head  of  the  Church, 
with  precedence  in  parliament  above  all  temporal  and  spiritual 
Peers,  and  with  absolute  power  in  all  the  civil  affairs  of  the 
realm.     To  such  subordination  was  the  office  of  Lord  Chan- 
cellor reduced,  that  Audley,  unless  by  some  extraordinary 
ebullition  of  baseness,  seems  to  have  attracted  little  notice 
from  his  contemporaries ;  and  his  name  is  hardly  mentioned 
by  the  general  historian.     Yet  In  the  detail  and  execution  of 
the  measures  which  were  brought  forward  by  the  Vicar- 
General,  the  Lord  Chancellor  took  a  very  active  and  im- 

•   Ante,  p.  579. 

f  He  is  often  called  the  son  of  a  blacksmith,  but  whoever  has  curiosity  to 
investigate  the  point,  will  clearly  see  that  his  father  was  a  fuller.  A  true  life  of 
Thomas  Cromwell  might  be  made  as  interesting  as  a  fairy  tale. 


608  REIGN   OF    HENRY   VIII. 

CHAP,  portant  part.  He  framed  the  bills  for  completing  the 
separation  from  Rome,  and  punishing  those  who  went  farther 
*  D.  1536  *^^^  ^^^  King,  and  favoured  the  doctrines  of  Luther.  He 
was  very  efficient  in  the  suppression  of  the  monasteries,  his 
zeal  being  influenced  by  the  hope  of  sharing  in  the  plunder. 
He  recommended  the  commissions,  under  the  Great  Seal,  for 
inquiring  into  the  immoralities  and  abuses  alleged  to  exist  in 
those  institutions  ;  and  he  approved  of  the  plan  of  first  grant- 
ing to  the  King  the  revenues  of  all  under  200Z.  a  year,  and 
then  of  all  above  that  amount.  There  was  never  any  diffi- 
culty in  carrying  such  bills  through  parliament.  Ministers, 
in  those  days,  instead  of  triumphing  in  a  good  working 
majority,  could  command  an  absolute  unanimity  in  both 
Houses.  It  is  a  curious  fact,  that  against  bills  respecting 
religion,  which  must  have  been  most  highly  distasteful  to  the 
great  body  of  the  prelates,  and  to  many  lay  peers,  ^ — after  the 
execution  of  Fisher  there  was  not  a  dissentient  voice,  or  the 
slightest  audible  murmur  of  opposition.* 

Audley  had  his  difficulties,  but  they  arose  from  the  King's 
conjugal  inconstancy.  He  thought  that  after  witnessing  the 
dissolution  of  the  King's  first  marriage  by  the  sentence  of 
Archbishop  Cranmer,  and  his  union  with  her  to  whom,  in 
spite  of  all  obstacles,  he  had  been  for  six  years  a  devoted 
lover,  and  an  act  of  parliament  setting  aside  the  Princess 
Mary  and  settling  the  succession  on  the  infant  Princess 
Elizabeth,  —  holding  the  Great  Seal,  he  was  to  enjoy  peace 
and  freedom  from  care  for  the  rest  of  his  days,  with  nothing 
to  think  of  but  his  own  aggrandisement. 
Henry  Henry,  however,  had  seen  Jane  Seymour,  one  of  Anne's 

love  whh      maids,  more  beautiful  and  attractive  than  herself,  and  had 

Jane  Sey- 
mour. 

*  Some  of  these  bills  passed  both  Houses  after  being  read  only  once  in  each 
House.  There  was  then  no  certain  number  of  times  necessary  for  a  bill  to  be 
read  according  to  parliamentary  usage  before  passing ;  a  bill  was  sometimes 
read  four,  five,  six,  seven,  and  even  eight  times,  before  it  passed  or  was  rejected. 
Journ.  vol,  i.  26.  49.  52.  55,  56.  But  the  marvel  is  that  such  bills  as  those 
for  the  dissolution  of  the  monasteries  and  the  transfer  of  tlie  Pope's  supremacy 
to  the  King  passed  the  House  of  Lords  at  all,  considering  that  from  the  reign 
of  Edward  II.  till  15S9,  the  spiritual  Peers  were  much  more  numerous  than  the 
temporal.  Then  twenty-six  mitred  abbots  and  two  priors  being  disfranchised, 
there  were  forty-one  temporal  to  twenty  spiritual  peers.  But  Bishop  Fisher's 
fate  had  such  an  effect  on  the  nerves  of  the  prelates,  that  they  offered  no  oppo- 
sition to  the  bills  which  they  abhorred. 


LIFE  OP  LORD  CHANCELLOR  AUDLEY.  609 

resolved  that  there  should  be  a  vacancy  in  the  office  of  Queen,      CHAP. 

.  XXXIV 

that  his  new  favourite  might  be  advanced  to  it. 

Audley  conformed  without  hesitation  to  the  royal  will,  and  ^^  j^gg 

took  a  leadina;  part  in  the  proceedings  against    the   unfor-   Audley  as- 

.  .  .       sists  in  the 

tunate  Anne,  from  the  first  surmise  against  her  at  Court  till  prosecution 
she  was  beheaded  on  Tower  Hill.  He  formed  one  of  the  '^  j^""^ 
Committee  of  Council  to  whom  the  "  delicate  investigation  " 
was  intrusted,  and  he  joined  in  the  report,  founded  on  the 
mere  gossip  of  the  Court,  or  the  representations  of  suborned 
witnesses,  "  that  sufficient  proof  had  been  discovered  to  con- 
vict her  of  incontinence,  not  only  with  Brereton,  Norris,  and 
Weston  of  the  Privy  Chamber,  and  Smeaton  the  King's 
musician,  but  even  with  Lord  Rochford,  her  own  brother." 

After  secretly  examining  and  committing  to  prison  some  of 
the  supposed  paramours,  Audley  planned  the  arrest  of  the 
Queen  herself  at  the  tilting  match  at  Greenwich,  and  next 
day  in  his  proper  person  went  down  the  river,  that  he  might 
accompany  her  to  the  Tower,  and  try  to  extract  something 
from  her  which  might  be  perverted  into  evidence  of  her  guilt. 
Having  met  the  barge  in  which  she  was  coming  up  as  a  pri- 
soner, he  informed  her  that  she  had  been  charged  with  infi- 
delity to  the  King's  bed,  and  intimated  to  her  that  it  would 
be  better  for  her  to  confess ;  but,  falling  on  her  knees,  she 
prayed  aloud,  that,  "  if  she  were  guilty,  God  might  never 
grant  her  pardon ; "  and  no  advantage  being  then  obtained 
over  her,  she  was  given  in  ward  to  Kingston,  the  Lieutenant 
of  the  Tower. 

Having  been  active  as  her  prosecutor,  Audley  sat  as  her  Audley  sits 
Judge.     The  trial  was  nominally  before  the  Court  of  the  of  Amie"* 
Lord  High  Steward,  —  the  Duke    of   Norfolk,  her    uncle,   Boleyn. 
being  appointed  Lord  High  Steward,  as  Audley  was  not  yet 
raised  to  the  peerage ;  but  he  sat  as  assessor  at  the  Duke's 
right  hand  during  the  trial,  and  directed  all  the  proceedings.* 
The  only  symptom  of  humanity  exhibited  was  in  reluctantly 
granting  the  indulgence  of  a  chair  to  the  Queen's  dignity  or 
weakness.     Unassisted  by  counsel,  she  repelled  each  charge 

*  In  all  accounts  of  tlie  trial,  he  is  represented  as  one  of  the  Queen's  Judges, 
along  with  the  twenty-six  peers  who  constituted  the  Lord  High  Steward's  Court ; 
but  being  only  a  commoner,  it  is  impossible  that  he  should  have  voted. 

VOL.  I.  R  R 


610 


REIGN   OF   HENRY   VIII. 


CHAP. 
XXXIV. 

A.D.  1536. 


ISIarriage 
of  King 
with  Anne 
Boleyn 
declared 
void  from 
the  begin- 
ning. 


King's 
marriage 
with  Jane 
Seymour. 


with  80  much  modesty,  temper,  and  natural  good  sense,  that 
before  an  impartial  tribunal  she  must  have  been  acquitted ; 
for  though  she  had  undoubtedly  fallen  into  some  unjustifiable 
levities,  the  proof  to  support  the  main  charge,  consisting  of 
hearsay  and  forced  confessions  by  accomplices  not  produced, 
were  such  as  in  our  days  could  not  be  submitted  to  a  jury. 
Yet,  under  the  direction  of  Audley,  she  was  unanimously 
found  guilty  by  the  Peers  "  upon  their  honour ; "  and  the 
iron  Duke  of  Norfolk,  with  tears  in  his  eyes,  condemned  her 
to  be  "  burnt  or  beheaded  at  the  King's  pleasure."  * 

The  next  proceeding  is,  if  possible,  still  more  discreditable 
to  Audley  and  the  other  instruments  of  Henry's  vengeance. 
Not  satisfied  with  knowing  that  she  whom  he  had  so  pas- 
sionately loA'^ed  was  doomed  in  her  youth  to  suffer  a  violent 
and  cruel  death,  he  resolved  before  her  execution  to  have  a 
sentence  pronounced  dissolving  his  marriage  with  her,  and 
declaring  that  it  had  been  null  and  void  from  the  beginning, 
—  not  seeing,  in  the  blindness  of  his  rage,  that  in  this  case  she 
could  not  have  been  guilty  of  adultery  or  treason.  Never- 
theless, in  a  divorce  suit  which  lasted  only  a  few  hours,  which 
Audley  sanctioned,  and  in  which  Cranmer  personally  pro- 
nounced the  sentence,  —  some  say  on  the  ground  of  a  pre- 
contract with  the  Earl  of  Northumberland,  which  he  on 
his  oath  denied,  —  some  on  the  ground  that  Henry  had  co- 
habited with  Mary  Boleyn,  the  sister  of  Anne,  —  that  marriage 
was  declared  null  and  void,  which  Cranmer  himself  had  so- 
lemnised, and  which  had  been  declared  valid  by  an  act  of 
parliament  then  remaining  on  the  Statute  Book.  It  is  well 
that  Henry  did  not  direct  that  Audley  should  oflSciate  as 
executioner,  with  Cranmer  as  his  assistant ;  for  they  pro- 
bably would  have  obeyed  sooner  than  have  given  up  the  seals 
or  the  primacy. 

The  day  after  the  execution  the  King  was  married  to  Jane 
Seymour,  and  for  a  short  time  his  happiness  was  without 
alloy ;  but  he  was  reminded  that  by  statute  the  Crown  was 
still  settled  on  the  issue  of  his  last  marriage,  whom  he  had 
resolved  to  bastardise ;    and  he  called  a  new  parliament  to 


*   1  St,  Tr.  409. 


LIFE  OF  LORD  CHANCELLOR  AUDLEY.  611 

meet  at  Westminster  on  the  8th  of  June,  1537,  for  the  pur-     CHAP. 

•         XXXIV. 

pose  of  registering  the  edicts  which  the  altered  state  of  affairs  * 


rendered  necessary.  a.d.  1537. 

On  the  day  appointed,  the  King  being  seated  on  the 
throne,  and  the  Commons  being  in  attendance,  Lord  Chan- 
cellor Audley  delivered  a  very  singular  harangue,  of  Avhich 
the  following  is  said  to  be  a  correct  outline :  — 

"  First  he  told  them,  that  at  the  dissolution  of  the  last  Parlia-  Lord 
ment  it  did  not  enter  into  the  King's  mind  that  he  should  so  soon  jo^.g^'^pgggjj 
have  occasion  to  call  another  ;  but  that  for  two  especial  causes,  to  the  two 
very  necessary,  both  for  easing  the  King's  scruples  and  conducive  Houses, 
to  the  good  of  the  whole  kingdom,  he  had  issued  a  fresh  summons 
for  calling  this  Parliament.  The  one  was  concerning  the  heirs 
and  successors  of  the  King's  Majesty,  who,  knowing  himself  ob- 
noxious to  infirmities,  and  even  death  itself  (a  thing  very  rare  for 
kings  to  think  of*),  and,  besides,  considering  the  state  of  the  whole 
kingdom,  depending,  as  it  were,  upon  his  single  life  ;  but  willing, 
above  all  things,  to  have  it  free  from  all  dangers  to  posterity,  he 
had  called  this  parliament  to  appoint  an  heir  apparent  to  the 
Crown,  who,  when  the  present  King  had  resigned  to  fate,  without 
children  lawfully  begotten,  might,  by  their  own  consent,  happily 
reign  over  them.  —  The  second  cause  for  which  the  present  par- 
liament was  summoned  was  for  repealing  a  certain  act  made  in  the 
last,  by  the  tenour  and  force  of  which  this  whole  realm  is  bound  to 
be  obedient  to  the  Lady  Anne  Boleyn,  the  King's  late  wife,  and 
her  heirs  between  them  lawfully  begotten.  Also,  by  the  force  of 
the  said  act,  whoever  should  say  or  do  any  ill  against  her  or  her 
issue  should  be  condemned  for  high  treason.  —  But  now,  he  said, 
that  they  might  more  rightly  understand  the  reasons  of  this  sum- 
mons, his  counsel  was  according  to  these  three  proverbs  of  Solomon 
(to  whom  our  most  excellent  Prince  here  may  be  most  justly  and 
worthily  compared),  'Operabimini  quibus  admonemur:  1.  prse- 
terita  in  memoria  habere ;  2.  prassentia  intueri ;  et,  3.  obventura 
providere.'  And  as  to  the  first,  they  very  well  remembered  what 
great  anxieties  and  perturbations  of  mind  their  most  invincible 
Sovereign  suffered  on  account  of  his  first  unlawful  marriage, 
which  was  not  only  judged  so  in  all  the  Universities  in  Christen- 
dom, but  declared  unlawful  by  the  general  consent  of  this  kingdom 

*  This  reminds  us  of  the  dialogue  between  the  Dauphin  and  his  tutor,  when 
to  the  question,  "  Les  rois  meurent-ils  ?"  the  answer  was,  "  Quelquefois, 
monseigneur." 

R  R   2 


612 


REIGN   OF    HENRY   VIII. 


CHAP. 
XXXIV. 

A.D.  1537. 


Speaker 
Rich  out- 
flatters  the 
Chancellor. 


in  a  late  act  of  parliament.  So  also  ought  they  to  bear  in  mind 
the  great  perils  and  dangers  their  Prince  was  under  when  he  con- 
tracted his  second  marriage,  in  regard  to  the  second  of  Solomon's 
proverbs,  by  considering  in  what  a  situation  this  realm  is  in  by 
reason  of  the  oath  then  made  and  taken  for  the  support  of  the  said 
Anne  and  her  issue.  Which  said  Lady  Anne  and  her  accomplices 
had  been  since  justly  found  guilty  of  high  treason,  and  had  re- 
ceived their  due  reward  for  it.  What  man  of  middle  condition 
would  not  this  deter  from  marrying  a  third  time  ?  When  he  re- 
members that  the  first  was  a  vast  expense  and  great  trouble  of 
mind  to  him,  and  the  second  ran  him  into  great  and  imminent 
dangers,  which  hung  over  him  during  the  whole  time  of  it,  —  yet 
this  our  most  excellent  Prince,  on  the  humble  petition  of  the  no- 
bility, and  not  out  of  any  carnal  lust  or  affection,  again  condescends 
to  contract  matrimony,  and  hath  at  this  time  taken  unto  himself 
another  wife,  whose  age  and  fine  form  denotes  her  most  fit  and 
likely  to  bring  forth  children.  And  therefore,  according  to  the 
third  proverb  of  Solomon,  obventura  provideamus,  we  are  now 
met  by  the  King's  command,  with  unanimous  consent,  to  appoint 
an  heir  apparent  to  the  Crown,  that  if  this  our  Prince  (which  God 
avert)  should  leave  this  mortal  life  without  children  lawfully  be- 
gotten, the  heir  so  appointed  may  lawfully  rule  and  govern  this 
kingdom  after  him.  Lastly,  let  us  humbly  pray  to  God  that  he 
would  bless  this  our  most  excellent  Prince  with  some  offspring  ;  at 
the  same  time  giving  him  thanks  that  he  has  hitherto  preserved 
him  from  so  many  and  such  imminent  dangers.  Because,  it  is  his 
whole  study  and  endeavour  to  rule  us  all  in  perfect  peace  and 
charity  during  his  life,  and  to  transmit  the  same  happiness  to 
posterity." 

The  Commons  were  then  ordered  to  withdraw  and  choose 
a  Speaker.  As  a  reward  for  the  services  of  Richard  Rich,  the 
Solicitor  General,  as  counsel,  and  still  more  as  witness  at  the 
late  state  trials,  he  was  recommended  by  the  Government  to 
fill  the  chair,  and  as  a  matter  of  course  was  elected. 

When  presented  at  the  bar  on  a  subsequent  day,  he  was 
determined  to  eclipse  the  Chancellor  in  his  adulation  of  the 
King,  and  to  show  himself  worthy  to  su(;ceed  to  the  Seals 
on  the  first  fitting  opportunity.  After  repeating  the  heads 
of  the  Chancellor's  discourse,  explaining  the  reasons  for 
calling  the  parliament,  and  extolling  his  Majesty's  con- 
sideration for  the  good  of  his  people,  "  he  took  occasion  to 


LIFE  OP  LORD  CHANCELLOR  AUDLEY.  613 

praise  the  King  for  his  wonderful  gifts  of  grace  and  nature,     chap. 
and  compared  him  for  justice  and  prudence  to  Solomon,  for 


strength  and  fortitude  to  Samson,  and  for  beauty  and  come-  ^  ^  1537^ 
liness  to  Absalom."  He  concluded  by  observing  that  the 
Commons,  having  chosen  him,  the  most  unworthy  of  them  all, 
for  Speaker,  he  besought  his  Majesty  that  he  would  command 
them  to  withdraw  again  and  elect  another,  for  he  had  neither 
learning,  experience,  nor  boldness  fit  for  that  office. 

To  this.  Lord  Chancellor  Audley,  by  the  King's  command, 
replied,  "  that  his  Majesty  had  well  heard  his  speech,  and 
was  glad  to  understand  by  the  first  part  of  it,  that  the 
members  of  the  House  of  Commons  had  been  so  attentive  to 
the  Chancellor's  declaration.  That  as  to  the  praises  and 
virtues  ascribed  to  himself,  his  Majesty  thought  proper  to 
disavow  them,  since,  if  he  really  had  such  virtues,  they  were 
the  gifts  of  Almighty  God."  *  Lastly,  added  he,  "  as  to  your 
excuses,  Richard,  which  the  King  hath  heard,  that  you  have 
neither  learning,  experience,  nor  boldness  fit  for  such  an 
office,  his  Majesty  hath  commanded  me  to  reply,  that  if  he 
did  not  know  that  you  had  all  these  qualifications,  he  would 
not,  amongst  so  many  urgent  matters  as  are  now  depending, 
admit  you  into  the  office,  and  therefore  he  does  not  look  upon 
your  excuses  as  just." 

Audley  immediately  prepared  a  bill  which  rapidly  passed  Act  giving 
both  Houses,  the  most   arbitrary  and   unconstitutional  that  power  to 
had  ever  yet  been  put  upon  the  rolls  of  parliament.     By  this,   dispose  of 
the  sentence  of  divorce  nullifying  the  King's  marriage  with 
Anne  Boleyn  ah  initio  was  confirmed,   and  she,  and  all  her 
accomplices,  were  attainted ;  —  the  children  of  both  marriages 
were  declared  illegitimate,  and  it  was  even  made  treason  to 
assert  the  legitimacy  of  either  of  them ;  —  to  throw  any  slander 
on  the  King,  Queen  Jane,  or  their  issue,  was  subjected  to  the 
same  penalty  ;  —  the  Crown  was  settled  on  the  King's  Issue 
by  his  present  or  any  subsequent  wife,  —  in  case  he   should 
die  without  legitimate  children  he  was  empowered  hy  his  will  or 
letters  patent  to  dispose  of  the  Crown ;  —  whoever  being  re- 

*  This  is  a  plain  admission  on  the  part  of  his  Majesty,  that  by  the  gift  of 
God  he  had  the  wisdom  of  Solomon,  the  strength  of  Samson,  and  the  beauty  of 
Absalom. 

K  K    3 


614 


REIGN   OF   HENRY   VIII. 


CHAP. 
XXXIV. 

A.i).  1537. 


July  18. 
Fresh  con- 
test be- 
tween 
Rich  and 
Audley  in 
flattering 
the  King. 


Oct.  12. 


Chancellor 
created  a 
Peer. 


Presides  at 
trial  of 
Marquess 
of  Exeter 
and  Lord 
Montague. 


Doc.  31. 
1538. 


quired  should  refuse  to  answer  upon  oath  to  a  belief  of  every 
article  of  this  act,  was  declared  to  be  guilty  of  treason,  so  as 
to  establish  a  political  inquisition  into  conscience  ;  —  and  the 
King  was  empowered,  by  will  or  letters  patent,  to  create  new 
principalities,  and  thereby  to  dismember  the  kingdom.* 

At  the  close  of  the  session  there  was  another  contest  be- 
tween the  Chancellor  and  the  Speaker  in  praising  the  King 
in  his  presence.  Rich  making  Audley  rather  uncomfortable 
by  comparing  his  Majesty  to  the  Sun,  "  who  exhales  all  the 
noxious  vapours  which  would  otherwise  be  hurtful  to  us,  and 
cherishes  and  brings  forth  those  seeds,  plants,  and  fruits,  so 
necessary  for  the  support  of  human  life."  f 

Henry  was  soon  after  thrown  into  ecstasy  by  the  birth  of 
a  son,  in  the  midst  of  which  he  felt  not  very  severely  the  loss 
of  his  Queen,  Jane  Seymour,  who,  although  married  to  him, 
had  the  felicity  to  die  without  violence  or  disgrace.  Audley 
was  much  disappointed  at  not  being  included  in  the  batch  of 
Peers  made  a  few  days  after  on  the  creation  of  the  infant 
Prince  of  Wales  ;  but  in  the  following  year  his  ambition  was 
gratified  by  becoming  Baron  Audley,  of  Walden,  in  the  county 
of  Essex. 

This  honour  was  conferred  upon  him  that  he  might  preside 
as  Lord  High  Steward  at  the  trial  of  Courtenay  Marquess 
of  Exeter,  and  De  la  Pole  Lord  Montague,  who  were  par- 
ticularly obnoxious  to  Henry  as  his  cousins,  and  whom  he 
wished  to  have  condemned  for  high  treason  on  a  charge  of 
being  in  correspondence  with  another  cousin  of  his.  Cardinal 
Pole,  now  considered  by  him  his  capital  enemy.  Courtenay 
was  grandson  to  Edward  IV.,  by  his  daughter  Catherine,  and 
the  Poles  were  grandsons  of  the  Duke  of  Clarence,  the  brother 
of  Edward,  by  his  daughter  the  Countess  of  Salisbury.  For 
this  reason  both  famiUes  were  regarded  with  peculiar  aifec- 
tion  by  the  adherents  of  the  house  of  York,  and  extreme 
jealousy  by  the  reigning  Sovereign.  Baron  Audley,  of 
Walden,  presiding  as  High  Steward,  the  Marquess  and  Lord 
Montague  were  arraigned  before  their  Peers  on  an  indictment 
for  high  treason.    The  overt  act  was,  that  the  former  had  been 


Stat.  28  Hen.  8.  c.  7. 


t   1  Pari.  Hist.  584. 


LIFE  OF  LORD  CHANCELLOR  AUDLEY.  615 

heard  to  say,  and  the  latter  abetted  him  in  sayinff,  "  I  like  well  chap. 
of  the  proceedings  of  Cardinal  Pole  :  I  like  not  the  proceed- 
ings of  this  realm.  I  trust  to  see  a  change  in  the  world.  I  ^^  j^gg 
trust  once  to  have  a  fair  day  on  the  knaves  which  rule  about 
the  King.  I  trust  to  give  them  a  buffet  one  day."  The  natural 
construction  of  such  language  is,  that  they  did  not  approve  of 
the  policy  of  the  government,  and  that  by  an  active  oppo- 
sition they  hoped  to  bring  about  a  change  of  ministers ;  but 
the  Lord  High  Steward  held  that  it  showed  a  conspiracy  to 
use  physical  force  to  bring  about  a  revolution  and  to  dethrone 
the  King.  Both  were  found  guilty,  condemned  to  suffer 
death  as  traitors,  and  executed  accordingly.* 

Lord  Audley  was  very  desirous  of  having  for  his  services  The  Lord 
a  reward  from  the  plunder  of  the  monasteries,  and  wrote   Chancellor 

*^  ^  '  ^        solicits  a 

many  letters  upon  the  subject  to  Cromwell  who  had  the  dls-  recompence 
tribution  of  it.     The  reader  may  be  amused  with  a  specimen  famyhe'had 
of  his  epistolary  style :  My  Lord  Chancellor  had  been  fa-  incurred, 
voured  with  a  sight  of  the  young  Prince  Edward,  then  a 
baby  of  a  few  months  old,  sent  to  Havering  in  Essex  for 
change  of  air ;  and  in  the  hope  that  his  begging  letter  might 
be  shown  to  the  King,  he  thus  addresses  the  Vicar-General: — 

"  After  my  right  harty  comendations  to  your  good  Lordship, 
with  my  most  harty  thankes  for  your  last  gentill  letters,  I  am  re- 
quired by  the  Erie  of  Oxford  and  Master  Chauncelour,  to  desire 
your  good  Lordshipp,  in  all  our  names,  to  make  our  moost  humble 
recommendations  to  the  kynges  mageste,  and  to  render  ouer  most 
harty  thankes  to  his  Highness  for  our  licens  to  visite  and  see  my 
lord  prynces  grace,  whom,  accordyng  to  our  desires  and  duteez, 
we  have  seen  to  our  most  rejoise  and  comfort,  next  the  kynges 
mageste.  And  I  assure  your  Lordshipp  I  never  saw  so  goodly  a 
childe  of  his  age,  so  mery,  so  plesaunt,  so  good  and  lovyng  coun- 
tenaces,  and  so  ernest  an  eye,  as  it  were  a  sage  juggement  towardes 
every  person  that  repayreth  to  his  grace ;  and  as  it  semyth  to  me, 
thankes  be  to  our  Lord,  his  grace  encresith  well  in  the  ayer  that 
he  ys  in.  And  albeyt  a  litell  his  graces  flesche  decayeth,  yet  he 
shotyth  owt  in  length,  and  Avexith  ferme  and  stiff,  and  can  sted- 
fastly  stond,  and  wold  avaunce  hymself  to  move  and  go  if  they 
would  suffir  hym  ;  but  as  me  semyth  they  do  yet  best,  consideryng 
his  grace  is  yet  tendir,  that  he  should  not  streyn  hymself  as  his 

*   1  St.  Tr.  479. 

R  R    4 


616 


KEIGN   OF   HENRY   VIII. 


CHAP. 
XXXIV. 

A.D.  1538. 


Grant  in 
conse- 
quence. 


owen  corage  wold  serve  hym,  till  he  cum  above  a  yere  of  age.  I 
can  not  comprehend  nor  describe  the  goodly  towardly  qualiteez 
that  ys  in  my  Lord  princes  grace.  He  ys  sent  of  almyty  Good  for 
all  our  comfortes.  My  dayly  and  contynual  prayer  ys  and  shalbe 
for  his  good  and  prosperus  preservation,  and  to  make  his  grace  an 
olde  prince,  besechyng  your  good  lordeshipp  to  render  to  the 
kynges  mageste  thankes  in  al  our  names,  as  ys  above  sayd." 

He  then  proceeds  to  the  real  object  of  his  letter,  to  obtain 
a  grant  of  two  abbeys  in  Essex,  —  St.  John's  and  St.  Osyes'. 
Depreciating  them  much,  as  "  St.  Johns  lakkyth  water,  and 
St.  Osyes  stondyth  in  the  mersches ;"  he  oiFers  to  give  lOOOZ. 
a  piece  for  them.  In  a  "  Postscripta  "  he  adds,  that  to  recruit 
from  the  labours  of  the  Court  of  Chancery,  he  was  then  going 
on  a  sporting  party,  *'  to  mete  the  Duke  of  Norfolk,  at  Fra- 
myngham,  to  kyll  sum  of  his  bukkes  there."* 

But  the  grand  object  of  his  ambition  was  to  get  the  site 
and  lands  of  the  dissolved  abbey  at  Walden,  in  Essex.  For 
this  purpose  he  writes  to  Cromwell  with  much  earnestness, 
and  it  must  be  owned  with  much  candour  and  simplicity, 
showing  that  some  extraordinary  recompence  was  due  to  him 
for  having  sacrificed  even  his  character  and  conscience  in  the 
King's  service.  "  I  beseche  your  good  Lordshipp,  be  my 
good  Lord  in  this  my  sute,  yf  it  shall  plese  the  Kynge's 
Mageste  to  be  so  good  and  gracius  lord  to  me,  it  shall  sett 
forth  as  moche  my  poor  estymacion  as  the  valu  of  the  thynge. 
In  the  besy  world  I  susteyned  damage  and  injury,  and  this 
shall  restore  me  to  honeste  and  comodyte."t  Afterwards  he 
urges  his  claim  on  this  ground  with  still  more  force  and 
naivete.  "  I  have  in  this  world  susteyned  greate  damage  and 
infamie  in  serving  the  Kynge's  Highness,  which  this  grant 
shal  recompens."  1^ 

This  appeal  was  felt  to  be  so  well  founded,  that  in  con- 
sideration of  the  bad  law  laid  down  by  him  on  the  trials  of 
Fisher,  More,  Anne  Boleyn,  Courtenay,  and  De  la  Pole,  and 
of  the  measures  he  had  carried  through  parliament  to  exalt 
the  royal  prerogative  and  to  destroy  the  constitution,  and  of 
the  execration  heaped  upon  him  by  the  whole  English  nation 


*  Letters  on  Suppression  of  Monasteries,  by  Camden  Society,  p.  245. 
t  Il>id.  I   Dugdale's  Baronage,  tit.  "  Audley." 


LIFE  OF  LORD  CHANCELLOR  AUDLEY.  617 

—  as  well  as  by  way  of  retaining  fee  for  future  services  of     CHAP, 
the  like  nature,  and  recompence  for  farther  infamy,  —  he  re- 


ceived a  warrant  to  put  the  Great  Seal  to  the  desired  grant.     ^^^  j^gg^ 

But  Henry,  never  contented  with  showering  favours  on 
those  who  pleased  him,  till,  changing  his  humour,  he  doomed 
them  to  destruction,  likewise  bestowed  upon  him  the  site 
and  precinct  of  the  Priory  of  the  Canons  of  the  Holy  Trinity 
of  Christ  Church,  Aldgate,  in  the  city  of  London,  where  the 
Chancellor  erected  for  himself  a  commodious  town  mansion, 
with  gardens  and  pleasure-grounds.  This  was  described  by 
a  contemporary  wag  as  "  the  best  cut  at  the  feast  of  Abbey 
lands,  a  dainty  morsel  and  an  excellent  receipt  to  clear  his 
voice  and  make  him  speak  well  for  his  Master." 

Still  insatiable,  he  wrote  to  Cromwell  "  that  his  place  He  is  made 
of  Lord  Chancellor  being  very  chargeable,  the  King  might  t^e^Qart°r 
be  moved  for  addition  of  some  more  profitable  offices  unto 
him."*  There  was  no  rich  sinecure  that  conveniently  could 
be  bestowed  upon  him  at  that  moment,  but  a  vacant  Blue 
Riband  was  offered  him  to  stay  his  importunity,  and  he  was 
installed  Knight  of  the  Garter  with  all  due  solemnity,  — 
being  the  first  Lord  Chancellor  of  England,  who,  while  in 
office,  had  ever  reached  that  dignity.  Decorated  with  the 
Collar,  George,  and  Garter,  Audley  showed  himself,  if  pos- 
sible, more  eagerly  desirous  to  comply  with  the  humours, 
whether  arbitrary,  fantastical,  or  cruel,  of  his  royal  bene- 
factor. 

On  the  28th  of  April,   1539,  a  new  parliament  met  to  a.d.  1539. 
confirm  the  dissolution  of  the   monasteries,  and  to  provide   ^  P^riia- 

^  ment. 

severe  punishment  for  those  inclined  to  adopt  the  reformed 
opinions,  which  were  as  distasteful  to  Henry  as  a  denial  of 
his  supremacy,  t  The  Chancellor's  speech  on  the  first  day  of  Chancel- 
the  session  is  not  preserved ;  but  the  Journals  state,  that  loin's  speech, 
on  the  5th  of  May  he  informed  the  House  of  Lords  "  that 
it  was  his  Majesty's  desire,  above  all  things,  that  the  diver- 
sities of  opinions  concerning  the  Christian  religion  in  this 
kingdom  should  be  with  all  possible  expedition  plucked  up 
and  extirpated."    A  select  committee  was  therefore  appointed, 

»   Dugdale's  Baronage.  f   1  Pari.  Hist.  537. 


618  KEIGN   OP   HENRY  VIII. 

CHAP,     with  the  Vicar-General  at  their  head,  who  were  to  report 
what  was  fit  to  be  done  to  produce  uniformity  of  faith  among 
A,D.  1539.    ^^^  ^^^®  Majesty's  loving  subjects. 

On  the  30th  of  May  the  Lord  Chancellor  declared  before 
the  Lords,  that  not  only  the  Bishops  and  other  spiritual 
Peers,  but  even  the  King's  Majesty,  had  taken  great  pains, 
and  laboured  incessantly,  to  bring  about  an  union,  and  had  at 
last  completed  it.  Therefore  it  was  his  Majesty's  pleasure 
"  that  some  penal  statute  should  be  enacted  to  compel  all  his 
subjects  who  were  anywise  dissenters  to  obey  the  articles 
agreed  on." 
«'  Bloody  On  the  7th  of  June  "  the  bloody  Bill  of  the  Six  Articles" 

Six  Arti-^    ^^  brought  iuto  the  House  by  Lord  Chancellor  Audley  *, 
«les."  himself  secretly  inclined  to  the  new  opinions,  and  subjecting 

all  who  should  venture  to  profess  them  to  be  burnt  or  be- 
headed. By  the  first  article,  —  to  question  the  doctrine  of 
transubstantiation,  or  to  say  that  after  the  consecration  of 
the  elements  in  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper  there 
remaineth  any  substance  of  bread  or  wine,  was  heresy,  punish- 
able with  burning  and  forfeiture  of  lands  and  goods,  as  in 
case  of  high  treason.  The  second  was  levelled  against  the 
doctrine  that  communion  in  both  kinds  w^as  good  for  the  souls 
of  the  laity :  the  third  enjoined  the  celibacy  of  the  clergy : 
the  fourth  the  observance  of  monastic  vows:  the  fifth  the 
efficacy  and  propriety  of  private  masses ;  —  and  the  sixth, 
auricular  confession.  Each  of  these  four  last-mentioned 
dogmas  was  enforced  by  the  milder  penalty  of  death  by 
hanging,  with  forfeiture  of  lands  and  goods,  as  in  case  of 
felony. 

The  Chancellor's  bill  was  so  arbitrary  and  cruel,  that 
Cranmer  even  had  the  courage  to  oppose  it ;  but  it  was 
carried  through  the  House  of  Lords  in  three  days  ;  and,  being 
sent  down  to  the  Lower  House  by  the  Attorney  and  Solicitor 
General,  it  passed  there  with  equal  rapidity.  The  finishing 
hand  was  now  put  to  the  dissolution  of  the  monasteries,  and 
twenty-seven  mitred  Abbots  and  Priors  were  ejected  from 
parliament. 

*  1  Pari.  Hist.  538. 


LIFE  OF  LORD  CHANCELLOR  AUDLEY.  619 

There  having;  been  some  grumblino;  In  the  House  of  Lords  CHAP. 

.  XXXIV 

on  account  of  the  precedence  given  to  Cromwell,  the  Lord  '_ 


Chancellor  brought  in  a  bill  enacting,  that  he  should  have  Act  regu- 
place  in  parliament  and  in  the  Privy  Council  next  after  the  ^**|"S  P"^^- 
blood  royal,  and  regulating  the  precedence  of  the  Peers  and 
officers  of  state  as  it  now  exists.* 

But  to  save  all  future  trouble  in  calling  parliaments,  or  Act  giving 
managing  them  when  refractory,  the  Chancellor  crowned  the  daJJj^tJon"' 
labours  of  the  session  by  bringing  in   and    passing   a   bill  force  of 
whereby  the  King's  proclamation,  issued  with  the  assent  of 
his  Council,  was  to  have  the  force  and  effect  of  an  act  of 
parliament.! 

A  new  session  began  on  the  12th  of  April,  1540|; — ^through  a.d.  i54o. 
all  the  perils  of  which  Audley  steered  wuth  his  usual  cunning  jnarfiage 
and  success,  —  but  which  proved  fatal  to  Cromwell.     A  few  with  Anne 
months  previously,  Henry,  by  his  Vicegerent's  advice,  after 
remaining  a  widower  two  years,  and  being  disappointed  in  a 
negotiation  for  a  French   Princess,  had   married   Anne  of 
Cleves  ;  but  cruelly  disappointed  in  her  person  and  manners, 
and  determined  not  to  live  with  her  as  his  wife,  he  conceived 
a  deep  resentment  against  the  man  who  had  "  put  his  neck 
into  the  yoke."     To  render  the  fall  of  the  favourite  the  more 
grievous,  he  was  created  Earl  of  Essex,  and  a  Knight  of  the 
Garter ;  and  the  King  seemed  to  trust  him  with  more  than 
wonted  confidence. 

On  the  first  day  of  the  session  the  Chancellor  complained, 
in  the  King's  name,  of  the  great  diversity  of  religions  which 
still  prevailed  among  his  subjects ;  a  grievance,  he  affirmed, 
which  ought  to  be  the  less  endured,  because  the  Scriptures 
were  now  published  in  English,  and  ought  universally  to  be 
the  standard  of  belief  to  mankind.     But  the  King,  he  said. 


*  31  Hen.  8.  c.  10.,  which  is  the  only  restraint  on  the  power  of  the  Crown  to 
grant  precedence,  but  docs  restrain  that  power  both  in  the  House  of  Lords  and 
in  the  Privy  Council. 

t  31  Hen.  8.  c.  8.  This  was  followed  by  34  Hen.  8,  c.  23.,  appointing  a 
tribunal  consisting  of  nine  privy  councillors,  with  power  to  punish  in  a  summary 
manner  all  transgressors  of  such  proclamations.  To  our  surprise,  we  find  there 
was  not  perfect  unanimity  witli  respect  to  this  bill,  and  Bishop  Gardiner  says,  in 
a  letter  preserved  by  Burnet,  that  it  did  not  pass  without  "  many  large  words." 
—  Uef.  ii.  114. 

X  1  Pari.  Hist.  542. 


620 


REIGN   OF    HENRY   VIII. 


CHAP. 
XXXIV. 

A.D.  1540. 


Fall  of 
Cromwell. 


Chancel- 
lor's plan 
to  attaint 
Cromwell 
without 
hearing 
him  in  his 
defence. 


had  appointed  some  Bishops  and  divines  to  draw  up  a  list  of 
tenets  to  which  the  people  were  to  assent ;  and  he  was  deter- 
mined that  Christ,  the  doctrine  of  Christ,  and  the  truth, 
should  have  the  victory. 

Cromwell,  sitting  on  the  Bishop's  bench,  on  the  King's 
right  hand,  above  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  made  another 
speech  In  the  King's  name ;  and  the  Peers,  believing  him  to 
be  still  in  high  favour,  bestowed  great  flattery  on  him,  saying, 
"  that,  by  his  desert,  he  was  worthy  to  be  VIcar-general  of  the 
universe."  * 

But  Henry's  aversion  to  his  new  Queen  increasing  daily, 
and,  at  last,  breaking  all  restraint,  prompted  him  to  seek 
the  dissolution  of  a  marriage  so  odious  to  him,  and  to 
ruin  the  minister  who  had  been  the  author  It.  On  the 
morning  of  the  10th  of  June,  the  Ylcar-general  attended  In 
his  place  in  the  House  of  Lords,  neither  himself  nor  those 
about  him  suspecting  that  he  was  In  any  peril.  At  three 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day,  while  attending  a 
meeting  of  the  cabinet,  he  was  arrested  for  high  treason  by 
the  Duke  of  Norfolk,  and  committed  to  the  Tower  of 
London. 

Lord  Chancellor  Audley  Immediately  engaged  zealously  in 
the  prosecution  of  his  colleague  and  chief,  whom  the  King 
resolved  to  bring  immediately  to  the  block  ;  for  at  that  time 
it  was  considered  almost  a  matter  of  course  in  England  that 
a  minister  should  lose  his  head  with  his  office,  In  the  Turkish 
fashion,  —  only  that,  instead  of  the  bow-string  applied  by  a 
mute,  the  Instrument  of  vengeance  was  the  verdict  of  a 
packed  jury,  or  an  act  of  attainder  passed  by  a  servile  par- 
liament. 

About  a  year  before,  Cromwell,  to  please  Henry,  had  ex- 
torted an  opinion  from  the  Judges,  in  the  case  of  the  Countess 
of  Salisbury,  that  persons  might  be  lawfully  attainted  by 
bill  without  being  heard  in  their  defence ;  and  Audley  now 
recommended  that  this  precedent  should  be  acted  upon  against 
Cromwell  himself,  as  awkward  disclosures  might  take  place  if 
he  should  be  tried  by  the  House  of  Peers,  or  In  the  Court  of 


*  1  Pari.  Hist.  548. 


LIFE  OF  LORD  CHANCELLOR  AUDLEY.  621 

the  Lord  Steward;  or  If  he  should  be  permitted  to  plead  at  CHAP. 

.  XXXIV. 

the  bar  against  the  bill  of  attainder.     It  contained  a  strange  ' 


medley  of  charges,  few  of  which  even  savoured  of  high  ^p,  1540. 
treason  :  —  "  That  he  had  received  bribes,  and  encroached  on 
the  royal  authority  by  issuing  commissions,  discharging 
prisoners,  pardoning  convicts,  and  granting  licences  for  the 
exportation  of  prohibited  merchandise  ;  that  as  Vicar- 
general  he  had  betrayed  his  duty,  by  not  only  holding 
heretical  opinions  himself,  but  also  by  protecting  heretical 
preachers,  and  promoting  the  circulation  of  heretical  books ; 
and  that  he  had  expressed  a  resolution  to  fight  against  the 
King,  if  it  were  necessary,  in  defence  of  his  religious  opi- 
nions."* He  wrote  to  the  Chancellor,  demanding  a  public 
trial ;  but  all  that  was  conceded  to  him  was,  that  he  should 
be  privately  heard  to  defend  himself  before  Commissioners 
appointed  by  the  Crown,  who  should  express  their  opinion  on 
his  case  to  the  two  Houses. 

After  a  timid  attempt  by  Cranmer  to  soften  the  King  on 
account  of  past  services,  the  Bill  passed  through  the  House 
of  Lords  unanimously,  Cranmer  himself  attending  and  voting 
for  the  second  and  third  reading ;  and  the  Peers  with  one 
voice,  at  the  request  of  the  King  conveyed  by  the  Chancellor, 
thought  proper,  without  trial,  examination,  or  evidence,  to 
doom  to  a  cruel  and  ignominious  death  a  man  whom,  a  few 
days  before,  they  had  declared  worthy  to  be  "  Vicar  General 
of  the  Universe."  It  can  hardly  be  supposed  that  Henry  in- 
sidiously gave  him  the  garter  to  make  him  more  obnoxious 
to  the  nobility ;  but  all  accounts  agree  in  stating  that  they 
were  more  incensed  against  the  fuller's  son,  the  trooper,  the 
merchant's  clerk,  and  the  attorney,  when  they  saw  him  bear- 
ing the  decoration  hitherto  reserved  for  nobles  and  warriors, 
than  by  thinking  of  the  enormities  by  which  he  had  risen  to 
greatness.  A  bill  of  attainder  against  Audley  himself,  pro- 
posed by  Cromwell,  if  the  King  had  so  willed,  would  have 
passed  with  equal  unanimity. 

The  projector  of  the  marriage  with  Anne  of  Cleves  being 

♦  1  St.  Tr.  433, 


622 


REIGN   OF   HENRY   VIII. 


CHAP. 
XXXIV. 


A.D.  1540. 
King's 
marriage 
with  Anne 
of  Cleves 
dissolved. 


disposed  of,  Audley,  by  the  King's  orders,  took  the  necessary 
measures  for  having  the  marriage  itself  dissolved,  although, 
there  was  no  better  pretext  for  questioning  its  validity  than 
that  Henry  had  been  deceived  by  Holbein's  too  flattering 
portrait  of  Anne  ; — that  he  thought  her  a  Flanders  mare ;  — 
that  when  he  did  consent  to  marry  her  after  he  had  seen  her, 
he  withheld  assent  in  his  own  mind  in  going  through  the 
ceremony  ;  —  that  he  suspected  she  was  not  a  true  maid ;  — 
that  she  could  speak  no  language  but  high  Dutch ;  —  and  his 
assertion  that  though  they  slept  in  the  same  chamber  for  many 
weeks,  he  had  only  lived  with  her  as  a  friend. 

On  the  6th  of  July  the  Lord  Chancellor,  addressing  the 
House  of  Lords,  said,  "  their  Lordships  very  well  knew  what 
bloody  and  cruel  slaughter  had  formerly  been  acted  in  this 
kingdom  by  reason  of  various  contentions  occasioned  by  du- 
bious titles  to  the  succession  of  this  Crown,  and  since,  by  the 
grace  of  God,  all  these  controversies  were  ceased,  and  all  those 
titles  were  united  by  the  divine  benevolence  in  the  single 
person  of  his  most  serene  Majesty,  so  that  no  occasion  of 
discord  could  arise,  unless  their  only  hope,  the  noble  Prince 
Edward,  undoubted  heir  to  his  father's  kingdoms,  should,  by 
some  sinister  accident,  be  taken  from  them.  In  that  case 
(which  God  avert)  it  was  necessary  for  the  general  safety  that 
some  other  future  heir,  by  the  divine  goodness,  should  be 
born  to  them  in  true  and  lawful  wedlock ;  and  since  this  was 
very  doubtful  from  the  marriage  lately  contracted  between 
his  Majesty  and  the  most  noble  Lady  Anne  of  Cleves,  be- 
cause of  some  impediments  which,  upon  inquiry,  might  arise 
to  make  the  validity  of  that  marriage  dubious,  —  for  the 
quietness  and  concord  of  the  kingdom  in  succeeding  times, 
he  therefore  recommended  that  a  committee  of  both  Houses 
should  be  appointed  to  wait  upon  his  Majesty,  humbly  open- 
ing to  him,  as  far  as  decency  would  admit,  their  doubts  and 
scruples  in  this  matter,  and  humbly  entreating  that  he  would 
please  to  acquaint  them  whether  the  aforesaid  marriage  was 
valid  or  not."  He  concluded  with  a  motion  that  a  message 
be  sent  to  the  Commons  by  certain  members  of  the  House, 
requesting  them  to  deliberate  upon  the  subject,  and  that  they 


LIFE  or  LORD  CHANCELLOR  AUDLEY.  623 

would  send  back  six  of  their  body  to  inform  their  Lordships     chap. 
of  the  result  of  their  consultation.* 

The  Chancellor's  motion  was  carried  with  the  usual  una-  ^  ^  ^540. 
nimity ;  and  the  Commons  forthwith  announced  that  they 
had  appointed  a  committee  of  twenty  to  co-operate  with  the 
Lords  in  the  proposed  application  to  his  Majesty.  All  the 
temporal  Lords  and  this  committee  accordingly  waited  on  the 
King,  when  the  Chancellor  told  him  they  had  a  matter  of 
great  moment  to  communicate,  if  his  Majesty  would  pardon 
their  presumption.  Henry  having  desired  them  "  to  speak 
their  minds  freely,"  the  Chancellor  delivered  the  address  of 
both  Houses,  "praying  his  opinion  upon  the  validity  of  his 
present  marriage."  The  answer  was,  "  that  he  would  refer 
the  question  to  the  judgment  and  determination  of  grave, 
learned,  honest,  and  pious  ecclesiastics,  viz.  the  Archbishops 
and  Bishops." 

This  business  was  very  soon  concluded ;  for,  to  the  un-  Disgraceful 
speakable  disjjrace  of  Cranmer  and  the  other  prelates  whether  conduct  of 

.,..  Ill  !••  1  1PT  Cranmer  in 

inclmmg  to  the  old  or  the  new  religion, — on  the  10th  of  June  divorce  of 
they  declared  to  the  House  of  Lords  that  they  had  examined 
into  the  affair  of  the  marriage,  by  virtue  of  the  King's  com- 
mission directed  to  them,  and  that,  both  by  divine  and  human 
law,  they  found  it  invalid.  They  then  handed  to  the  Chan- 
cellor a  sentence  of  nullity ;  which,  on  the  Chancellor's 
motion,  being  read  and  approved  of,  it  was  sent  down  by  two 
Bishops  to  the  House  of  Commons.  The  next  day  the  Chan- 
cellor brought  in  a  bill  to  dissolve  the  marriage  between  his 
Majesty  and  the  Lady  Anne  of  Cleves ;  and,  without  hear- 
ing what  she  had  to  say  against  it,  or  receiving  any  evidence, 
it  was  passed  unanimously  the  following  day,  and  sent  down 
to  the  Commons,  where  it  experienced  an  equally  favourable 
reception.  In  a  few  days  more  it  received  the  royal  assent ; 
and  Henry,  who  had  always  another  wife  ready  on  the  di- 
vorce, dishonour,  or  beheading  of  a  former,  was  publicly 
married  to  the  Lady  Catherine  Howard,  niece  to  the  Duke 
of  Norfolk. 

As   eastern  despotism  was   now  established  in  England, 

*   1  Pari.  Hist.  546. 


Anne  of 
Cleves. 


624 


REIGN    OF    HENRY   VIII. 


CHAP. 
XXXIV. 

A.D.  1540. 
Eastern 
custom  of 
prostration 
introduced. 


Chancellor 
dissolves 
"  Long 
Parlia- 
ment," 


His  impar- 
tiality in] 
persecu- 
tion. 


A.D.  1541, 
King's  con- 
tentment 
with  Queen 
Catherine 
Howard. 


there  was  introduced  a  near  approximation  to  the  eastern 
custom  of  prostration  before  the  Sovereign.  We  are  told 
that  on  the  last  day  of  this  session,  as  often  as  any  piece  of 
flattery  peculiarly  fulsome  was  addressed  to  the  King  by  the 
Speaker  or  the  Chancellor,  "  every  man  stood  up  and  bowed 
themselves  to  the  throne,  and  the  King  returned  the  compli- 
ment by  a  gracious  nod  from  it."  * 

By  the  King's  commands  the  Chancellor  now  dissolved  the 
parliament,  which  had  sat  above  six  years,  and  went  by  the 
name  of  the  "  Long  Parliament,"  till  another  obtained  that 
name,  and  utterly  abolished  monarchy  as  this  had  subverted 
all  the  free  institutions  of  the  country. 

Audley  was  too  cautious  ever  to  aim  at  the  station  of 
"  prime  favourite  and  minister,"  which,  after  the  fall  of 
Cromwell,  was  for  a  time  filled  by  the  Duke  of  Norfolk. 
This  stern  sire  of  a  most  accomplished  son  inclining  strongly 
to  Romanism,  commenced  a  furious  persecution  against  the 
Protestants ;  and  the  law  of  "  the  Six  Articles  "  was  executed 
with  frightful  rigour.  Audley  would  have  screened  those 
of  his  own  way  of  thinking  if  he  could  have  done  so  with- 
out danger  of  offending  the  King ;  but,  while  he  saw  crowds 
led  to  the  stake  for  questioning  tran  substantiation,  he  took 
care,  in  the  impartial  administration  of  justice,  that  no  mercy 
should  be  shown  to  Catholics  who  denied  the  King's  su- 
premacy, beyond  favouring  them  with  a  gibbet  instead  of 
surrounding  them  with  fagots ;  so  that  a  foreigner  then  in 
England  said  with  reason,  that  "  Henry's  subjects  who  were 
against  the  Pope  were  burned,  and  those  who  were  for  him 
were  hanged."  f 

Things  went  on  smoothly  enough  with  Audley,  and  all 
who,  like  him,  had  the  prudence  to  conform  to  the  prevailing 
fashions  in  religion,  till  the  autumn  of  the  following  year, 
when  a  discovery  was  made  which  again  threw  the  whole 
kingdom  into  confusion.  The  present  Queen  had,  "by  a 
notable  appearance  of  honour,  cleanness,  and  maidenly  be- 
haviour, won  the  King's  heart : "  :|:  for  more  than  twelve 
months  he  lavished  upon  her  proofs  of  his  affection ;  he  had 


*  1  Pari.  Hist.  547.— 
t  Fox,  vol.  ii.  p.  529. 


■  et  totum  nutu  tremefecit  Olympum." 
i  Herb.  532. 


tmeiice 
discovered. 


LIFE  OF  LORD  CHANCELLOR  AUDLEY.  625 

publicly  la  his  chapel  returned  solemn  thanks  to  Heaven  for    CHAP. 

...  XXXIV 

the  felicity  which  the  conjugal  state  now  afforded  him ;  and  ' 

he  directed  the  Bishop  of  Lincoln  to  compose  a  form  of  ^„.  1541. 
prayer  to  the  like  effect,  to  be  used  in  all  churches  and 
*  chapels  throughout  the  kingdom.  But  before  this  general  Her  incon- 
thanksgiving  took  place.  Archbishop  Cranmer  came  one 
morning  to  the  Chancellor,  and  announced  that  information 
had  been  laid  before  him,  which  he  could  not  doubt,  that  the 
Queen,  both  before  and  since  her  marriage,  could  be  proved 
to  have  been  and  to  be  one  of  the  most  dissolute  of  her  sex. 
By  Audley's  advice  a  written  statement  upon  the  subject  was 
put  into  the  hands  of  the  astonished  husband.  He  was  par- 
ticularly mortified  at  the  thought  that  the  world  would  now 
question  that  upon  which  he  so  much  piqued  himself  in  the 
case  of  Anne  of  Cleves  —  his  skill  in  discovering:  a  true 
maid ;  but  when  he  had  recovered  from  the  shock,  he  di- 
rected the  necessary  steps  to  be  taken  for  the  Queen's  con- 
viction and  punishment. 

In  consequence,  the  Chancellor  assembled  the  Judges  and  Opinion  of 
Councillors  in  the  Star  Chamber,  and  laid  before  them  the  u'!fon"he1-^* 
evidence  which  had  been  obtained.  With  respect  to  Cathe-  case, 
rine's  incontinence  before  marriage  no  difficulty  arose,  for 
this  she  did  not  deny,  although  she  tried  to  mitigate  her  mis- 
conduct, by  asserting  that  "  al  that  Derame  did  unto  her  was 
of  his  importune  forcement,  and  in  a  manner  violence,  rather 
than  of  her  fre  consent  and  wil ;  "  *  but  this  did  not  amount 
to  an  offence  for  which  she  could  be  punished  by  any  known 
law,  and  she  maintained  her  entire  innocence  since  the  time 
when  a  departure  from  chastity  amounted  to  treason.  How- 
ever, it  appeared  that  since  her  marriage  she  had  employed 
Dereham  as  her  secretary,  and  that  she  had  allowed  Cul- 
pepper, a  maternal  relation  and  gentleman  of  the  Privy  Cham- 
ber, who  had  likewise  formerly  been  her  lover,  to  remain  in 
company  with  her  and  Lady  Rochford  from  eleven  at  night 
till  two  in  the  morning.  The  Judges  being  asked  their 
opinion,  replied  that,  considering  the  persons  implicated,  these 

*  Archbishop  Cranmer's  letter  to  the  King.  —  Stat.  Pap.  Off. 
VOL.  I.  S  8 


626 


REIGN   OF   HENRY   VIII. 


CHAP. 
XXXIV. 

A.D.    1541. 


A  parlia- 
ment. 


The  Chan- 

cellor's 

speech. 


facts,  if  proved,  formed  a  satisfactory  presumption  that  adul- 
tery had  been  committed. 

Fortified  with  this  extra-judicial  opinion,  Audley  imme- 
diately caused  these  two  unfortunate  gentlemen  to  be  brought 
to  trial  before  a  jury,  and,  without  any  additional  evidence,  • 
they  were  both  convicted  and  executed. 

But  it  was  impossible  to  deal  with  the  Queen  herself  and 
the  other  parties  accused,  without  that  commodious  instru- 
ment of  tyranny,  a  bill  of  attainder,  which  obviated  the 
inconvenient  requirements  of  proofs  and  judicial  forms. 
Accordingly,  a  new  parliament  was  summoned  to  meet  at 
Westminster,  on  the  16th  of  January,  1542. 

The  Lord  Chancellor's  speech  on  the  first  day  of  the  session, 
is  commemorated  in  a  most  extraordinary  entry  on  the  Jour- 
nals by  the  clerks  of  the  House  of  Lords,  the  only  reporters 
of  those  days,  —  stating  that  "  Thomas  Lord  Audley,  the  Lord 
Chancellor,  opened  the  cause  of  the  summons  in  a  grave  and 
eloquent  speech,  but  of  such  uncommon  and  immoderate  length, 
that  the  clerks,  being  busy  on  different  affairs  could  not  attend 
even  to  take  the  heads  of  the  whole  speech,  which  would  take 
three  hours  to  write  down  and  one  to  read,  and  therefore  they 
give  an  imperfect  compendium  orationis.  First,  the  Chancellor 
declared  in  what  manner  David  began  his  reign  over  the  peo- 
ple of  God,  the  Israelites ;  he  did  not  pray  that  honours  and 
riches  might  be  heaped  upon  him,  but  only  that  his  under- 
standing and  wisdom  might  be  enlarged.  Give  me  understand- 
ing that  I  may  search  thy  law,  as  it  is  in  the  Psalms.  This 
understanding  he  asked  for,  that  he  might  the  better  learn 
for  things  equally  necessary  for  both  prince  and  people.  Such 
was  the  case  also  in  our  Sovereign  Lord  the  King,  who,  when 
he  first  came  to  the  Crown,  wished  for  nothing  more  ardently 
or  fervently  than  that  God  would  bestow  on  him  wisdom  and 
understanding.  The  Almighty  anointed  him  with  the  oil  of 
sapience  above  his  fellows,  '  above  the  rest  of  the  Kings  in  the 
earth,  and  above  all  his  progenitors,  so  that  no  King  of  whom 
history  makes  mention  could  be  compared  to  him.'  At  which 
words,  all  the  Peers,  as  well  as  Commons,  stood  up  and  bowed 
to  the  throne  with  that  reverence  as  plainly  showed  with 
what  wilUng  minds  they  owned  his  empire  over  them,  and 


LIFE  OF  LOKD  CHANCELLOR  AUDLEY.  627 

what  they  owed  to  God  who  had  committed  the  government  chap. 
of  the  kingdom  to  such  a  Prince."  But  the  entry  breaks  off 
abruptly  just  as  the  orator  was  coming  to  the  pith  of  his  ^.d.  1542. 
oration,  —  the  cause  of  parliament  being  then  called.  Some 
have  ingeniously  conjectured  that  this  was  done  by  design, 
that  the  Queen's  shame  and  the  King's  misfortune  might  not 
be  blazoned  on  the  Journals.* 

A  bill  was  forthwith  brought  in  by  the  Lord  Chancellor  to  Bill  of 
attaint  of  high  treason  the  Queen,  and  Lady  Rochford  as  her  agdnstThe 
accomplice,  and  to  subject  to  forfeiture  and  perpetual  impri-   Queen, 
sonment  the  Duchess  of  Norfolk,  her  daughter  the  Countess 
of  Bridgewater,  Lord  William  Howard  and  his  wife,   and 
several  others  of  inferior  rank,  on  the  ground  that  they  had 
been  aware  of  Catherine's  antenuptial  errors,  and  still  had 
allowed  the  King  to  marry  her. 

For  once  in  his  life  Audley  was  now  guilty  of  an  indis- 
cretion, by  yielding  to  the  dictates  of  humanity  and  justice, 
and  declaring  after  the  first  reading  of  the  bill,  "  how  much 
it  concerned  all  their  Honours  not  to  proceed  to  give  too  hasty 
a  judgment ;  they  were  to  remember  that  a  Queen  was  no 
mean  or  private  person,  but  an  illustrious  and  public  one ; 
therefore  her  cause  was  to  be  judged  with  that  sincerity  that 
there  should  be  neither  room  for  suspicion  of  some  latent 
quarrel,  or  that  she  should  not  have  liberty  to  clear  herself  if 
perchance,  by  reason  or  counsel,  she  was  able  to  do  it,  from  the 
crime  laid  to  her  charge.  For  this  purpose,  he  thought  it 
but  reasonable  that  some  principal  persons,  as  well  of  the 
Lords  as  Commons,  should  be  deputed  to  go  to  the  Queen, 
partly  to  tell  her  the  cause  of  their  coming,  and  partly  in 
order  to  help  her  womanish  fears,  by  advising  and  admonishing 
her  to  have  presence  of  mind  enough  to  say  any  thing  to  make 
her  cause  better.  He  knew  for  certain  it  was  but  just  that 
a  Princess  should  be  judged  by  equal  laws  with  themselves, 
and  he  was  sure  that  the  clearing  herself  in  this  manner  would 
be  highly  acceptable  to  her  most  loving  husband."  A  com- 
mittee was  accordingly  appointed  to  wait  upon  the  Queen, 

*    1  Pari.  Hist.  550. 
s  s  2 


628 


REIGN   OF   HENRY   VIII. 


CHAP. 
XXXIV. 

A.D.  1542. 


Execution 
of  the 
Queen. 


and  a  resolution  passed  to  suspend  further  proceedings  on  tlie 
bill  till  they  had  made  the  report.* 

But  Henry  seems  to  have  considered  this  proceeding  very 
presumptuous ;  for  two  days  afterwards  the  Chancellor  was 
obliged  to  declare  to  the  Lords  openly,  that  the  Privy 
Council,  on  mature  deliberation,  disliked  the  message  to  be 
sent  to  the  Queen,  and  that  the  parliament  might  have  leave 
to  proceed  to  give  judgment,  and  to  finish  the  Queen's  cause, 
that  the  event  might  be  no  longer  in  doubt,  and  that  the  King 
would  give  his  assent  to  the  bill  by  letters  patent  under  the 
Great  Seal. 

The  bill  was  accordingly  rapidly  run  through  both  Houses, 
and  the  Commons  attending  in  the  House  of  Lords,  the  Lord 
Chancellor  produced  it  signed  with  the  King's  own  hand, 
with  his  assent  to  it  signified  under  the  Great  Seal,  —  and 
holding  it  forth  in  both  hands  that  all  the  Lords  and  Com- 
mons might  see  it,  he  declared  that  from  thenceforth  it  had 
the  full  force  and  authority  of  law.  Then,  upon  the  true 
principle  of  "  Castigatque  auditque  dolos  subigitque  fateri," 
the  Duke  of  Suffolk  stated  that  the  Queen  had  openly  con- 
fessed and  acknowledged  the  great  crime  she  had  been  guilty 
of  against  the  most  high  God  and  a  kind  Prince,  and,  lastly, 
against  the  whole  English  nation,  f 

On  the  third  day  after  this  ceremony  the  unhappy 
Catherine  and  her  companion,  Lady  Rochford,  were  led 
to  execution,  —  bidding  the  spectators  take  notice  that  they 
suffered  justly  for  "  their  offences  against  God  from  their 
youth  upward,  and  also  against  the  King's  royal  Majesty 
very  dangerously."  It  must  be  observed  that,  according  to 
the  ideas  of  the  age,  —  for  the  sake  of  surviving  relatives,  it 
was  not  customary  or  reckoned  becoming  for  persons,  how- 
ever unjustly  condemned,  to  say  any  thing  at  their  exe- 
cution which  should  be  offensive  to  the  King,  and  we 
cannot  fairly  take  these  words  as  a  confession  of  more  than  the 
irregularities  imputed  to  Catherine  before  she  had  mounted  a 
throne. 

To  obviate  the  difficulties  now  experienced  if  a  similar  case 


*  1  Pari.  Hist  550. 


t  Ibid.  553. 


shame. 

Terror  of 
young 


"       LIFE  OF  LORD  CHANCELLOR  AUDLEY.  629 

should  again  occur,  the  Chancellor,  by  the  King's  special     CHAP. 

orders,  wound  up  the  whole  affair  by  bringing  in  a  bill,  which   ' 

quickly  passed  both  Houses,  and  received  the  royal  assent  j^^  1542. 
from  the  King  in  person, — whereby  it  was  enacted,  that  every   Act  re- 

11  •     1  1       T7"  p  1  •  quiring 

woman  about  to  be  married  to  the  King,  or  any  01  his  succes-   spinster 

sors,  not  being  a  true  maid,  should  disclose  her  disgrace  to  him  yho"" 

'  in  I^»"g  asks 

under  the  penalty  of  treason ;  and  that  all  other  persons  know-  in  mar- 

ing  the  fact,  and  not  disclosing  it,  should  be  subject  to  the  ^^fj'f"°' 

lesser  penalty  of  misprision  of  treason.*  disclose  her 

This  law,  which  was  afterwards  repealed,  as  "  trespassing 
too  strongly  as  well  on  natural  justice  as  female  modesty,"  f 
remained  in  force  during  the  remainder  of  this  reign,  and  so  ladies  at 
much  frightened  all  the  spinsters   at    Henry's  Court,  that, 
instead  of  trying  to  attract  his  notice,    like  Anne  Boleyn, 
Jane  Seymour,  and  Catherine  Howard,  in  the  hope  of  wear- 
ing a  crown,  they  shunned  his  approach  as  if  he  had  been 
himself   the    executioner;    and  they  left  the  field  open  for 
widows,  who  could  not,  by  any  subtlety  of  Crown  lawyers, 
be  brought  within  its  operation.^     When  the  act  passed,  it  King  mar- 
had  been  foretold  that  the  King,  notwithstanding  his  passion  ^^j^^^ 
for  maids,  would  be  obliged  by  it  to  marry  a  widow,  and  ac-  a.d.  1.543. 
cordingly,  on  the  12th  of  July,  1543,  he  did  marry,  for  his 
sixth  and  last  wife,  Catherine  Par,  who  had  been  twice  be- 
fore  led  to   the  hymeneal   altar,  —  first   by  Edward  Lord 
Borough  of  Gainsborough,  and,  secondly,  by  Neville  Lord 
Latimer. 

She  was  inclined  to  the  new  doctrines,  and  the  marriage  Queen 
gave  great  satisfaction  to  Audley,  Cranmer,  and  others  of  the   p^*  ^""^ 
same  way  of  thinking  :  while  it  alarmed  the  Duke  of  Norfolk, 
Gardyner,  and  Wriothesley,  now  considered  champions  of  the 
ancient  faith. 

The  standard  of  orthodoxy,  however,  for  the  rest  of  this 
reign,  was  "  The  King's  Book,"  which,  with  the  exception  of 

*  Statutes  of  Realm,  iv.  859.  f   1  Bl.  Com.  222. 

X  See  Lodge,  vol.  i.  Cath.  Par.  —  "  In  concluding  another  match  he  found  a 
difficulty ;  for  as  it  had  been  declared  death  for  any  whom  the  King  should 
marry  to  conceal  her  incontinency  in  former  time,  so  few  durst  hazard  to  ven- 
ture into  those  bonds  with  a  King  who  had,  as  they  thought,  so  much  facility  in 
dissolving  them.  Therefore  they  stood  off  as  knowing  in  what  a  slippery  estate 
they  were,  if  the  King,  after  his  receiving  them  to  bed,  should  through  any  mis- 
take declare  them  no  maids. " —  Lord  Herbert. 

s  s  3 


REIGN   OF    HENRY   VIII. 


CHAP. 
XXXIV. 


Succession 
to  Crown. 


the  Pope's  supremacy,  rigidly  inculcated  all  tlie  doctrines  of 
the  Church  of  Rome,  and  it  would  have  been  most  dangerous 
for  Queen  or  Chancellor  to  question  any  thing  which  it 
contained. 

On  the  14th  of  January,  1544,  began  the  last  session  of 
parliament  which  Audley  ever  saw  ;  for,  though  not  advanced 
in  years,  he  was  now  pressed  with  infirmities,  and  he  was 
threatened  by  an  inexorable  King  bearing  a  dart  for  his  sceptre, 
whom  no  prayers  or  artifice  or  subserviency  could  appease. 

The  Chancellor's  opening  speech  is  no  where  to  be  found, 
so  that  we  have  lost  his  felicitations  to  the  King  on  this  occa- 
sion, and  we  know  not  to  what  Saint  or  Hero  he  compared 
him  for  the  extraordinary  proof  his  Majesty  had  given  of  his 
love  for  his  people  in  marrying  a  sixth  time. 

After  a  bill  had  passed  ordaining  that  the  royal  style  should 
be  "  King  of  England,  France,  and  Ireland,  Defender  of  the 
Faith,  and  of  the  Church  of  England  and  Ireland  in  earth 
the  Supreme  Head,"  the  Chancellor,  by  the  King's  orders, 
introduced  a  measure  of  very  great  importance  to  regulate 
the  succession  to  the  Crown.  As  the  law  stood,  the  Princesses 
Mary  and  Elizabeth  were  both  excluded  as  illegitimate,  and 
it  was  highly  penal  to  say  that  the  mother  of  either  of  them 
had  ever  been  lawfully  married  to  the  King.  In  default  of 
his  exercising  his  power  of  appointing  a  successor  by  deed  or 
will,  —  after  Prince  Edward  the  right  would  have  been  in  the 
issue  of  the  King's  eldest  sister,  Margaret,  married  to  the 
King  of  Scots,  and  then  in  the  issue  of  Mary,  his  younger 
sister,  married  to  the  Duke  of  Suffolk.  The  bill  now  intro- 
duced, without  saying  any  thing  expressly  of  the  King's  first 
two  marriages,  enacted,  that  in  default  of  Prince  Edward  and 
the  heirs  of  his  body,  and  of  heirs  by  the  King's  present 
marriage,  the  Crown  should  go  to  the  Lady  Mary,  the  King's 
eldest  daughter,  and  the  heirs  of  her  body ;  and  then  to  the 
Lady  Elizabeth,  the  King's  younger  daughter,  and  the  heirs 
of  her  body,  the  power  of  appointment  by  deed  or  will  being 
still  reserved  to  the  King;  —  with  a  proviso  that  an  oath 
should  be  required  to  maintain  the  King's  supremacy  and  the 
succession  according  to  this  act  under  the  penalties  of  treason, 
and  that  whoever  should  say  or  write  anything  contrary  to 


LIFE  OF  LORD  CHANCELLOR  AUDLEY.  631 

this  act,  or  to  the  peril  or  slander  of  the  King's  heirs  limited  CHAP. 

.             .  XXXIV 

in  the  act,  should  be  adjudged  a  traitor.*     It  immediately  ' 


passed  both  houses,  and  was  a  suitable  conclusion  to  Lord  ^  p_  1544 
Chancellor  Audley's  performances  in  the  legislative  line,  as 
in  one  moment  he  made  it  high  treason  to  deny  that  which 
the  moment  before  it  was  high  treason  to  assert,  respecting 
the  legitimacy  of  the  King's  children  and  their  right  to  suc- 
ceed to  the  Crown,  —  he  himself  having  brought  in  the  bill 
which  bastardised  Mary,  and  settled  the  Crown  on  Elizabeth, 
and  the  bill  which  bastardised  Elizabeth  as  well  as  Mary,  and 
made  it  treason  to  assert  the  legitimacy  of  either. 

On  the  20th  of  March,  the  day  when  the  session  was  Audley's 
closed  t,  Audley  was  on  his  death-bed,  and  the  closing  speech 
was  made  by  the  Duke  of  Norfolk,  who  referred  to  the  Lord 
Chancellor's  illness,  and  regretted  the  necessity  imposed  upon 
himself  of  dissolving  the  parliament  in  the  King's  name. 

Audley's  disease  gaining  upon  him,  and  the  business  of  Resigns  the 
Easter  term  in  the  Court  of  Chancery  requiring  despatch, 
on  Monday  the  21st  of  April,  1544,  he  (if  we  may  believe 
all  that  is  said  in  the  entry  in  the  Close  Roll)  spontaneously 
sent  the  Great  Seal  to  the  King  by  Sir  Edward  North  and 
Sir  Thomas  Pope,  —  humbly  praying  that  his  Majesty  would 
deign  to  accept  the  resignation  of  it,  as,  from  bodily  infirmity, 
he  was  no  longer  able  to  perform  the  duties  of  the  office 
which,  by  his  Majesty's  bounty,  he  had  so  long  held.  His  re- 
signation was  graciously  accepted,  but  out  of  delicacy  to  him, 
and  holding  out  a  hope  that  he  might, recover  and  be  rein- 
stated in  his  office,  the  Great  Seal  was  delivered  to  Sir  Thomas 
Wriothesley  merely  as  Lord  Keeper  and  to  be  held  by  him 
as  Lord  Keeper  only  during  the  illness  of  Lord  Chancellor 
Audley.  X 

*  35  Hen^8.  c.  L  f  1  Pari.  Hist,  559.  _ 

J  Mem.  qd  vicisemo  primo  die  Aprilis,  &c.  Thomas  Audley  Miles  Dns 
Audley  de  Walden  tunc  Cancellarius  Anglie  infirmitate  corporis  debilitatus  et 
considerans  se  ipm  ex  occone  non  valere  excere  et  facre  ea  que  ad  officium  suum 
tarn  in  ministrando  leges  dei  Dmni  Regis  justiceam  qm  in  supervidendo 
pcessum  per  magnum  sigillum  dcti  Dni  Regis  sigillandum  dcum  sigillum  in 
manibus  ipsius  Thome,  Dmni  Cancellarii  adtunc  existens  prfto  Dno  Regi  per 
Edwardum  North  Militem  et  Thomam  Pope  Miiitem  misit.  Qui  quidem 
Edwardus  et  Thomas  Pope  sigillum  illud  in  quadam  baga  de  albo  corio 
inclusum  et  sigillo  dci  Dni  Cancellarii  munitum  regie  Majestati  apud  novum 

s  s  4 


632  EEIGN   OF   HENRY   VIII. 

CHAP.         The  followino;  letter,  which  was  lately  discovered  in  the 
XXXIV.  .  ..  .". 

'_  Augmentation  Office,  exliibits  a  curious  picture  of  the  dying 

A.D.  1544.  Chancellor's  plans  and  anxieties.  It  is  written  by  his  secre- 
Letter  pro-  taries,  who  afterwards  were  his  executors,  to  Sir  Anthony 

posinj;  ,  .  ^  '' 

marriage  Denny,  —  who  did,  as  proposed,  obtain  the  wardship  of  the 
Hs  dau"h-  ^^^7  Margaret  after  her  father's  decease,  —  although  the  pro- 
ter  and  the  jected  match  did  not  take  place,  and  she  formed  much  higher 

son  of  Sir      „]i:„„p„^  . 

Anthony      aiuanccs . 
^"ny-  "After  owre  righte  hartie  commendacions  we  shall  like  yow 

tunderstande  the  phisicions  dispaire  very  mouche  in  o*"  goode 
Lorde  Chauncello^  his  helthe ;  and  suerly  for  o''  parts  we  thinke 
his  Lordship  to  be  in  greate  danger,  and  that  there  is  small  hoope 
of  his  recoverye.  Wherfore,  forasmouche  as  before  this  tyme  we 
knowing  his  Lordship's  ernest  disposition  and  hartie  good  wille  to 
joyne  withe  yow  in  mariage  betwixte  your  sonne  and  his  eldest 
doughter  wherin  yt  hathe  pleased  hym  oftentymes  to  use  oure 
poore  advise, — we  have  therfore  thought  goode  to  signifie  his  state 
to  yowe  to  thentente  yow  may  further  declare  the  same  unto  the 
Kings  ma*^® ;  and  therupon  to  be  an  humble  suter  unto  his  highnes 
for  the  prefermente  of  his  saide  eldest  doughter,  whome  we  beleve 
he  coulde  be  contente  right  hartilye  amongest  other  his  legasies  to 
bequethe  unto  yowe,  so  he  mighte  dispose  her  as  he  maye  other  his 
possessions  and  moveables.  And  thus  mooste  hartily  fare  yow 
well.  From  Crechurche,  this  Wedynsdaye. 
"  Your  own,  most  assuredlye, 

"  Edward  Nobth, 
«  Tho.  Pope." 

palacium  suum  Westtn.  in  camera  sua  privata  circa  horam  terciam  post  meridiem 
in  presentia  Thome  Heneage,  &c.,  presentarunt  et  obtulerunt  humiliter  sup- 
pllantes  ex  parte  dci  Thome  Dni  Cancellarii  eandem  regiam  majestatem  quatenus 
idem  Dns  Rex  sigillum  suum  prdm  recre  et  acceptare  dignr  Qui  Dns  Rex 
sjgillura  illud  per  manus  ipsorum  Edwardi  et  Thome  Pope  recepit  et  acceptavit 
et  penes  se  retinuit  usque  in  diem  proxm.  videlt,  &c.  Quo  die  circa  horam 
terciam  post  meridiem  prftus  Dns  Rex  sigillum  suum  prdm  apud  palacium 
suum  prdm  in  cama  prta  in  presentia  Antonii  Denny,  &c.  Thome  Wriothesley 
militi,  Dno  Wriothesley  custodiendum  et  exercendum  durante  infirmitate  dci 
Thome  Dni  Audley  Dni  Cancellarii  comisit  ipsumque  Thomam  Dn  Wriothesley 
magni  sigilli  regii  durante  infirmitate  dci  Dni  Cancellarii  ibidem  constituit  et 
ordinavit  cum  auctoritate  excendi  et  facdi  omnia  et  singula  que  Dns  Cancellarius 
Angle  prtextu  officii  sui  prdci  facre  et  exre  potuisset  et  valeret,  &c.  The  cir- 
cumstantiality of  the  Close  Roll  historiographer  of  the  Great  Seal  is  very  amus- 
ing, as  he  not  only  tells  us  the  day,  the  hour,  the  house,  the  room  in  the  house, 
and  in  whose  presence  the  transfer  was  made,  but  the  colour  of  the  leathern  bag 
in  which  the  Great  Seal  was  contained. 


LIFE  OF  LORD  CHANCELLOR  AUDLEY.  633 

On  the  30th  of  April  following,  Audley  expired  in  the    CHAP. 
56th  year  of  his  age. 


He  is  a  singular  instance  of  a  statesman,  in  the  reign  of  ^  j,  1544^ 
Henry  VIII.,  remaining  long  in  favour  and  in  office,  and  His  death, 
dying  a  natural  death.     Reckoning  from  the  time  when  he  ^'^  career, 
was  made  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Commons,  he  had  been 
employed  by  Henry  constantly  since  the  fall  of  Wolsey,  — 
under  six   Queens,  —  avoiding  the  peril   of  acknowledging 
the  Pope  on  the  one   hand,  or  offending    against    the    Six 
Articles  on  the  other.      He  enjoyed  great  power,  amassed 
immense  wealth,  was  raised  to  the  highest  honours  and  dig- 
nities, and  reaped  what  he  considered  a  full  recompense  for 
his  "infamy." 

Such  a  sordid  slave  does  not  deserve  that  we  should  say  His  cha- 
more  of  his  vices  or  demerits.  It  has  been  observed,  that  the  '''**''^'' 
best  apology  for  Wolsey  was  the  contrast  between  the  early 
and  the  latter  part  of  Henry's  reign ;  and  Audley's  severest 
condemnation  must  be  a  review  of  the  crimes  which,  if  he 
did  not  prompt,  he  abetted.  He  might  have  been  reproached 
by  his  master,  in  the  language  of  a  former  tyrannical  sove- 
reign of  England, 

"  Hadst  thou  but  shook  thy  head,  or  made  a  pause, 
Or  turn'd  an  eye  of  doubt  upon  my  face, 
Deep  shame  had  struck  me  dumb." 

But  no  eunuch  in  a  seraglio  was  ever  a  more  submissive 
tool  of  the  caprice  and  vengeance  of  a  passionate  and  re- 
morseless master  than  was  Lord  Chancellor  Audley. 

According  to  a  desire  expressed  in  his  will  he  was  buried 
at  Saffron  Walden,  in  the  chancel  of  the  parish  church  which 
he  had  erected.  There  an  altar  tomb  of  black  marble  was 
raised  to  him  with  the  following  inscription,  which  some  sup- 
pose that,  in  imitation  of  his  immediate  predecessor,  he  had 
himself  composed ;  and  which  Fuller  quaintly  enough  calls 
"  a  lamentable  epitaph." 

"  The  stroke  of  Deathe's  inevitable  Dart  .  Hath  now  alas  of  lyfe  berafi  the    His  epi- 
hart  .  Of  Syr  Thomas  Audeley  of  the   Garter  Knight  .  Late    Chanceliour   of    taph. 
England    under  owr  Prince  of  Might  .  Henry  Tlieight  wyrthy  high  renowne  . 
And   made  by   Him  Lord  Audeley  of  this  Town.      Obiit  ultimo  die   Aprilis, 
Anno  Domini  1544,  Regni  Regis  Henrici  8,  36.      Cancellariatus  sui  13,  et  suas 
iEtatis  56." 

The  Chancellor  espoused  Lady  Mary  Grey,  one   of  the 


REIGN   OF   HENRY   VIII. 


CHAP. 
XXXIV. 

A.D.  1544. 


daughters  of  Thomas,  second  Marquis  of  Dorset.  Any  one 
might  have  supposed  that  he  would  have  been  sufficiently 
proud  of  such  a  noble  alliance,  whereas  he  actually  sued  the 
King  for  further  recompense,  as  he  expresses  himself,  "for 
reparation  of  my  pour  marriage^  wherein  his  Majeste  was  the 
principall  doer."  * 

Lady  Audley,  who  survived  her  husband  many  years,  bore 
to  him  two  daughters ;  Mary,  who  died  in  childhood,  and 
Margaret,  who  became  sole  heir  to  her  father's  vast  pos- 
sessions. She  married,  first,  Lord  Henry  Dudley,  who  fell 
at  the  battle  of  St.  Quintin's ;  and,  secondly,  Thomas,  fourth 
Duke  of  Norfolk,  by  whom,  amongst  other  issue,  she  had 
Thomas  afterwards  created  Earl  of  Suffolk,  who  built  Audley 
End,  in  honour  of  his  maternal  grandfather  f,  and  from  whom 
are  descended  the  Earls  of  SuiFolk  and  Berkshire,  and  Carlisle, 
the  Earls  and  Marquises  of  Bristol,  and  the  Lords  Howard 
de  Walden,  besides  the  Earls  of  Bindon  and  Lords  Howard 
of  Escrich,  whose  titles  are  extinct. 

Lord  Audley  has  been  always  considered  as  the  founder 
of  Magdalene  College,  Cambridge,  which  he  endowed  with 
large  estates.  He  also  authorised  the  society  to  use  his  arms ; 
and  appointed  "  his  heirs,  the  possessors  of  the  late  monastery 
of  Walden,  visitors  of  the  College  in  perpetuum,  with  the 
right  of  nominating  the  masters ;  "  which  privileges  are  still 
exercised  by  Lord  Braybrooke,  the  present  owner  of  Audley 
End.t 


*  Cottonian  MSS. 

f  "  A  stately  palace,"  says  Dugdale,  "  not  to  be  equalled,  excepting  Hampton 
Court,  by  any  in  this  realm. "  —  Bar.  tit.  "  Audley. " 

^  I  am  exceedingly  indebted  to  this  descendant  of  the  illustrious  House  of 
Neville  (several  members  of  which  held  the  office  of  Lord  Chancellor),  for  in- 
formation enabling  me  considerably  to  improve  my  memoir  of  Lord  Audley.  — 
Note  to  2d  Edition. 


LORD   CHANCELLOR   WRIOTHESLEY.  635 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 


LIFE   OP   LORD   CHANCELLOR  WRIOTHESLEY    FROM  HIS   BIRTH   TILL 
THE   DEATH   OF   HENRY   VIU. 

The  new  Chancellor  displayed  very  different  qualities  from     CHAP. 

•       •  •  "XXXV 

his  predecessor,  being  a  man  of  principle ;  but  he  was,  if  pos- 


descent. 


sible,  a  worse  minister ;  for,  when  invested  with  power,  he  character 
proved  narrow-minded,  bigoted,  and  cruel.     Fortunately,  he  of  new 
was  likewise  rash  and  headstrong,  so  that  his  objects  were 
generally  defeated,  and  his  political  career  was  short. 

Thomas  Wriothesley  was  sprung  from  a  family  long  dis-  His 
tinguished  in  "  Arms,"  for  they  were  Heralds.  John,  his 
grandfather,  was  Garter  King  at  Arms  to  Edward  IV. 
Thomas,  his  uncle,  filled  the  same  office  under  Henry  VII. 
William,  his  father,  was  Norroy  King  at  Arms  to  that 
Sovereign. 

Thomas,  the  future  Peer  and  Chancellor,  early  initiated  in  Renounces 
heraldic  lore,  was  not  contented  with  the  prospect  of  wearing  a    ^^    ^' 
tabard,  making  visitations,  examining  pedigrees,  and  marshal- 
ling processions.     He  therefore  abjured  the  Herald's  College, 
took  to  the  study  of  the  common  law,  and  was  called  to  the   is  called  to 
bar.     He  was  a  diligent  student,  and  made  considerable  pro-  *^^  '^^'"* 
ficiency  in  his  legal  studies,  but  he  does  not  seem  ever  to  have 
risen  into  much  practice  as  an  advocate ;  and  he  showed  a 
preference  of  politics  to  law.     In  1535,  having  recommended  Obtains 
himself  to  Lord  Chancellor  Audley, — through  his  interest  an  ^^"^  '" 
office  of  considerable  emolument  was  conferred  upon  him  in  Pleas 
the  Court  of  Common  Pleas.     Three  years  after  he  was  made   Made  Se- 
Sccretary  of  State,  a  post  beginning  to  be  important,  but  still  cret^ry  of 
very  inferior  to  its  present  rank,  as  then  the  Lord  Chancellor 
conducted  foreign  negotiations,  and  attended  to  the  internal 
administration  of  the  country.     He  was  a  warm  adherent  of 
the  old  faith,  to  which  Henry  himself  was  sincerely  attached. 


636 


REIGN   OF    HENRY   VIII. 


CHAP. 
XXXV. 

Opposed  to 
Reforma- 
tion. 

A.ii.  1538. 
Ambas- 
sador to 
negotiate 
the  King's 
marriage. 


Succeeds 
Cromwell 
as  chief 
minister 


His  dismay 
on  the  de- 
tection of 
the  Catho- 
lic Queen, 
Catherine 
Howard ; 


except  in  as  far  as  the  "  supremacy "  was  concerned ;  and 
with  the  Duke  of  Norfolk  and  Gardyner,  he  formed  the  party 
actually  opposed  to  the  Reformation,  who  procured  the  pass- 
ing of  "  the  Six  Articles." 

He  was  now  in  such  high  favour,  that  he  was  employed  in 
the  embassy  sent  by  Henry  during  his  widowhood,  after  the 
death  of  Jane  Seymour,  to  negotiate  a  marriage  for  him  with 
Christiana,  the  Duchess  Dowager  of  Milan,  then  in  Flanders, 
at  the  Viceregal  Court.  This  negotiation  failed,  and  so  did 
another  of  the  same  kind,  in  which  Wriothesley  was  engaged 
for  an  alliance  with  Mary  of  Guise,  who  preferred  the  youth- 
ful King  of  Scotland,  James  V.,  Henry's  nephew.  The 
negotiator,  in  consequence,  was  some  time  in  disgrace :  but 
luckily  for  him  he  had  strenuously  opposed  a  match  with  a 
German  Princess,  from  the  dread  of  the  introduction  of 
Lutheranism ;  and  the  sight  of  Anne  of  Cleves  obtained  for 
him  warm  thanks  for  the  advice  he  had  given. 

After  the  fall  of  Cromwell,  Wriothesley  might  be  con- 
sidered prime  minister;  for  Audley  did  not  aspire  higher  than 
to  remain  in  office  to  execute  the  measures  of  others.  As 
the  chief  in  the  King's  confidence,  he  went  abroad  to  nego- 
tiate in  person  the  treaty  with  the  Emperor  Charles  V., 
which,  to  his  great  delight,  led  to  the  restoration  of  the 
Princess  Mary  to  her  place  in  the  line  of  the  royal  succession, 
and  opened  the  prospect  of  the  suppression  of  Lutheranism. 

The  bounties  of  the  Crown  were  now  lavished  upon  him. 
On  the  death  of  Robert  Earl  of  Sussex,  he  was  made  Cham- 
berlain of  the  Exchequer,  and  Constable  of  Southampton  and 
Porchester  castles ;  the  possessions  of  the  dissolved  abbey  of 
Tichfield  were  granted  to  him,  and  he  was  raised  to  the 
peerage  by  the  title  of  Baron  Wriothesley  of  Tichfield,  in  the 
County  of  Hants. 

The  disgrace  of  Queen  Catherine  Howard  had  been  a 
heavy  affliction  to  him  and  to  all  true  Roman  Catholics,  as 
she  was  an  avowed  protectress  of  the  old  faith ;  and  very 
anxious  to  have  seen  another  of  the  same  ecclesiastical  opinions 
succeed  her  as  consort  to  the  sovereign,  he  from  time  to 
time  recommended  alliances  with  reigning  houses  in  Europe 
who  remained  true  to  Rome.     He  was  exceedingly  surprised 


LORD   CHANCELLOR   WRIOTHESLEY.  637 

and  shocked,  therefore,  when  he  was  told  one  morninff  by  the  CHAP. 

•  XX  XV 

King  that  he  had  resolved  to  marry  the  Lady  Catherine  Par, 


a  widow  of  unimpeached  private  character  ;  but,  in  religion,  ^^j  ^^le 

regarded  as   little   better   than  a  Lutheran.     He  was  very  King's 

much  alarmed  by  apprehension  of  the  influence  she  might  ^ith  the 

acquire,  and  the  advantage  she  might  give  to  the  cause  of  the  Protestant 

•  ...  o       <:j  ^  Queen 

Reformation,  which  in  spite  of  frequent  executions  for  heresy,  Catherine 
was  daily  gaining  ground  in  England.  He  did  not  venture  ^^^ 
upon  the  idle  task  of  combating  the  King's  inclination ;  and 
he  passively  saw  the  ceremony  of  the  marriage  performed  by 
Gardyner,  Bishop  of  Winchester,  in  the  Queen's  Privy  Closet 
at  Hampton  Court,  although  Cranmer,  actuated  by  contrary 
feelings,  —  to  hasten  and  secure  the  match,  had  granted  a 
special  licence,  dispensing  with  the  publication  of  banns  and 
all  contrary  ordinances. 

Wriothesley,  nevertheless,  under  the  influence  of  misguided  His  plans 
zeal,  resolved,  for  the  good  of  the  Church,  to  take  the  earliest  nf  w  qLeen 
opportunity  of  making  the  new  Queen  share  the  fate  of  her 
predecessors ;  —  sanguine  in  the  hope  that  she  would  be  in- 
discreet, and  that  the  King  would  be  relentless. 

The  declining  health  of  Lord  Audley  showed  that  a  vacancy 
in  the  office  of  Chancellor  was  at  hand,  and  Wriothesley, 
without  hesitation,  agreed  to  accept  it ;  for  its  duties  were 
not  considered  at  all  incompatible  with  those  of  prime 
minister;  and  the  patronage  and  emoluments  peculiarly  be- 
longing to  it,  made  it  always  an  object  of  the  highest  am- 
bition. 

Audley's  resignation  taking  place   on  the  22d  of  April,   He  is  made 
1544,  we  have  seen  that  on  the  same  day  the  Great  Seal  was  ^^^^ 

•  •  Keeper, 

delivered  to  Wriothesley,  with  the  modest  title  of  "  Lord 
Keeper  during  the  illness  of  the  Chancellor."  Having  grate- 
fully received  it  from  the  King  at  Whitehall,  he  carried  it  to 
his  house  in  Cannon  Kow,  and  there,  the  following  day,  "  he 
held  a  Seal."* 

On  Friday,  the  30th  of  April,  the  first  day  of  Easter  term, 
while  Audley  was  breathing  his  last,  the  Lord  Keeper 
publicly  took  the  oaths  in  the  Court  of  Chancery  in  West- 

*   Rot.  Cl.  36  Hep.  8. 


638  REIGN   OF   HENRY   VIII. 

CHAP,     minster  Hall.     His  abjuration  of  the  Pope  was  very  ample, 
'     and  must  have  cost  him  a  severe  pang,  unless  he  had  a  dis- 


tion  of  the 
Pope, 


A.i).  1544.     pensation  for  taking  it :  — 

Hisabjura-       "I,  Thomas  Wriothcsley,  Knyght,  Lorde  Wriothesley,  Lorde 
Keeper  of  the  Brode  Seale,  havynge  now  the  vaile  of  darkness  of 
the  usurped  power,  auctoritie,  and  jurisdiccion  of  the  See  and 
Bishoppes  of  Rome  clearly  taken  away  from  myne  eyes,  do  utterly 
testifie  and  declare  in  my  conscience,  that  neyther  the  See,  nor  the 
Bishop  of  Rome,  nor  any  foraine  potestate,  hath  nor  ought  to  have 
any  jurisdiccion,  power,  or  auctoritie  within  this  realme,  neither 
by.Godd's  lawe,  nor  by  any  other  juste  lawe   or  meanes ;  and 
though  by  sufferance  and  abusions  in  tymes  passed,  they  aforesaide 
have  usurped  and  vendicated  a  fayned  and  unlawful  power  and 
jurisdiccion  within  this  realme,  whiche  hath  ben  supported  tyll 
fewe  yeres  passed,  therefore,  by  cause  it  myght  be  denied,  and 
thought  thereby  that  I  toke  or  take  it  for  just  and  good,  I  there- 
fore nowe  do  clerely  and  frankeley  renounce,  refuse,  relinquishe, 
and  forsake  the  pretended  auctoritie,  power,  and  jurisdiccion  both 
of  the  See  and  Bishop  of  Rome,  and  of  all  other  foraine  powers  ; 
and  that  I  shall  never  consent  nor  agre  that  the  foresaid  See  or 
Bishop  of  Rome,  or  any  of  their  successours,  shall  practise,  ex- 
ercise, or  have  any  manner  of  auctoritie,  jurisdiccion,  or  power 
within  this  realme,  or  any  other  the  Kynge's  realmes  or  domynions, 
nor  any   foraine  potestate,  of  what  estate,  degree,  or  condiccion 
soever  he  be,  but  that  I  shall  resiste  the  same  at  all  tymes  to  the 
uttermost  of  my  power,  and  that  I  shall  accepte,  repute,  and  take 
the  Kynge's  majestic,  his  heyres,  and  successors,  when  they  or  any 
of  them  shall  enjoy  his  place,  to  be  the  only  supreme  Head  in 
earth,  under  God,  of  the  Churche  of  England  and  Ireland,  and  of 
all  other  his  Hignesse's  dominions  ;  and  in  case  any  other  hathe 
ben  made  by  me  to  any  person  or  persons  in  maintenance,  defence, 
or  favour  of  the  See  and  Bishop  of  Rome,  or  his  auctoritie,  juris- 
diccion, or  power,  I  reporte  the  same  as  vague  and  adnihilate,  and 
shall  holly  and  trewely  observe  and  kepe  this  othe.     So  helpe  me 
God,  all  Sainctes,  and  the  Holy  Evangelists."  * 

The  old  Duke  of  Norfolk  who  had  so  often  officiated  on 
such  occasions,  attended  this  installation,  but  we  have  no  ac- 
count of  any  orations  delivered,  and  probably  the  ceremony 
was  made  as  short  and  simple  as  possible,  out  of  delicacy  to 
the  dying  Audley. 

•   Rot.  CI.  36  Hen.  8. 


LORD   CHANCELLOR   WRIOTHESLEY.  639 

On  the  third  day  after  his  death  the  Lord  Keeper  brought     chap. 
the  Great  Seal  to  the  King  at  Whitehall,  and  resigned  it  into 


his  hands.    His  Majesty,  sitting  on  his  throne,  having  accepted   ^j^   g 
it,  re-delivered  it  to  him,  with  the  title  of  "  Lord  Chancellor,"   1544. 
making  a  speech  very  complimentary  both  to  the  deceased  chancellor, 
and  the  living  Chancellor.* 

There  was  then  a  grand  procession  from  the  Palace  to   iiis  instal- 
"Westminster  Hall ;  and  in  the  Court  of  Chancery  the  Duke  ''*^"'"' 
of  Norfolk,  by  the  King's  command,  again  administered  the 
oaths  to  the  new  Chancellor,  and  installed  him  in  his  office. 

Although  bred  to  the  law,  he  had  never  been  thoroughly  His  de- 
imbued  with  its  principles  nor  versed  in  its  forms ;  and  his  ja'^^!"*'^  ^" 
scanty  legal  learning  had  been  almost  entirely  forgotten  by 
him  since  he  had  abandoned  professional  for  political  pursuits. 

He  accordingly  found  himself  very  inadequate  to  the  dis-   ^  very  in- 
charge  of  the  judicial  duties  of  his  office,  and  the  public  com-  jud^e. 
plained  loudly  of  his  delays  and  mistakes.     He  continued  to 
sit  during  Easter  and  Trinity  terms,  pelted  by  motions  which 
he  knew  not  how  to  dispose  of,  and  puzzled  by  causes  the 
bearings  of  which  he  could  hardly  be  made  to  understand ; 
—  perplexed  by  the  conflicting  assertions  of  the  opposite  coun- 
sel as  to  the  doctrine  and  practice  of  the  Court ;  —  his  chief 
solicitude  being  to  conceal  his  ignorance  from  the  bar  and 
the  by-standers ; —  desirous  to  do  what  was  right  both  for  his 
own  conscience  and  his  credit, — but  with  constant  apprehen-  His  unhap- 
sions  that  his   decisions   were   erroneous,  and  that   he  was  P^"^^^- 
ridiculed  in  private,  even  by  those  who  flattered  him  in  his 
presence.     At  last  the  long  vacation  came  to  his  relief,  during 
which,  in  those  times,  the  tranquillity  of  the  Chancellor  was 
little  disturbed  by  motions  for  injunctions  or  summary  appli- 
cations of  any  sort. 

*  "  Dms  Rex  in  solio  siio  regali  sedens  et  sigillum  prdiim  in  baga  predicta 
inclusum  manu  sua  tenens  yost  verba  ad  prftum  Thomam  Wriothesley  et  alios 
ibidem  prestes  habita,  sigillum  illud  prefto  Tliome  Dno  Wriothesley  tanqm  Dno 
Cancellario  Anglie  tradidit  et  redeliberavit  ipsumque  Thomam  Dmm  Wriothesley 
Cancellarium  suum  Anglie  constituit."  The  entry  then  goes  on  to  specify  the 
names  of  the  Master  of  the  Rolls,  and  a  large  assemblage  present,  and  to  state  that 
the  Chancellor  having  opened  the  bag  and  taken  out  the  seal,  sealed  a  writ  with 
it  and  restored  it  to  the  bag,  carried  it  off  with  him,  and  describes  the  ceremony 
of  his  swearing  in  ;  but  instead  of  again  setting  out  the  oath  of  supremacy, 
merely  says,  "  I,  Thomas  Wriothesley,  Knight,  Lorde  W^riothesley,  Lorde  Chan- 
cellor of  England,  havynge  now  tlie  vaile  of  darkness,"  &c.,  ut  supra. 


640 


REIGN   OF   HENRY    VIII. 


CHAP. 
XXXV. 


A.D.  1544. 
He  tries  to 
study 
£quity. 


Commis- 
sion to 
assist  him 
in  hearing 
(pauses. 


His  re- 
lentless 
bigotry. 


Anne 
Ascue  tor- 
tured and 
burnt  by 
the  Lord 
Chancellor. 


He  now  applied  himself  to  the  study  of  the  few  cases  in 
the  recent  Year  Books  as  to  where  "  a  subpoena  lies,"  and 
tried  to  gain  information  from  the  officers  of  the  Court  to 
qualify  him  for  a  more  satisfactory  performance  of  his  part  in 
"  the  marble  chair ; "  but  as  Michaelmas  term  approached,  his 
heart  failed  him,  and  he  resolved  not  again  to  expose  himself 
to  the  anxieties  and  indignities  he  had  before  suffered. 
Nevertheless,  he  by  no  means  intended  to  resign  the  Great 
Seal,  and  with  the  King's  consent,  on  the  9th  of  October, 
1544*,  he  issued  a  commission  to  Sir  Robert  Southwell, 
Master  of  the  Rolls,  and  several  others,  to  hear  causes  in  the 
Court  of  Chancery  during  his  absence.  He  afterwards  took 
his  seat  in  court  occasionally,  as  a  matter  of  form  ;  but  on 
these  Commissioners  he,  in  reality,  devolved  all  the  judicial 
business  of  his  office  during  the  remainder  of  the  reign  of 
Henry  VIII.,  and  he  devoted  himself  entirely  to  matters  of 
state  and  religion. 

There  was  now  profound  peace  with  France  and  the  Em- 
peror, and  the  public  attention  was  absorbed  by  the  struggle 
between  the  favourers  and  opposers  of  the  new  doctrines.  The 
Chancellor  was  at  the  head  of  the  latter  party,  and  showed 
the  qualities  of  a  Grand  Inquisitor,  rather  than  of  an  en- 
lightened minister  to  a  constitutional  King. 

Henry,  his  pride  and  peevishness  increasing  as  his  health 
declined,  was  disposed  to  punish  with  fresh  severity  all  who 
presumed  to  entertain  a  different  speculative  notion  from  him- 
self respecting  religion,  particularly  on  any  point  embraced  by 
the  "  Six  Articles "  framed  against  Lutheranism :  and  the 
Chancellor,  instead  of  restraining  and  soothing,  urged  on  and 
inflamed  his  persecuting  spirit. 

In  spite  of  all  these  efforts  the  reformed  doctrines  gained 
ground,  and  were  even  becoming  fashionable  at  Court  under 
the  secret  countenance  of  the  Queen.  The  alarm  was  given 
by  the  indiscretion  of  Anne  Ascue,  one  of  her  maids,  a  young 
lady  of  great  beauty,  of  gentle  manners,  and  warm  imagination, 
who  had  had  the  temerity  to  declare  in  a  large  company, 
"  that  in  her  opinion,  after  the  consecration  of  the  elements 


•    Rot.  Cl.  36  Hen.  8. 


LORD   CHANCELLOR   WRIOTHESLEY.  641 

in  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  supper,  the  substance  of  bread     CHAP. 

.  ••  XXXV 

and  Avine  still  remains  in  them."  This  conversation  being 
reported  to  the  King  and  the  Chancellor,  she  was  summoned  ^  ^^  j^^^ 
and  examined  before  the  Council.  Being  menaced  by  Bonner, 
who  was  beginning  to  show  that  disposition  which  proved  so 
formidable  in  a  succeeding  reign,  she  recanted  to  a  certain 
degree,  but  still  under  qualifications  which  were  not  satis- 
factory, and  she  was  committed  to  prison  on  a  charge  of 
heresy.  This  severity  only  heightened  her  enthusiasm :  she 
now  saw  the  crown  of  martyrdom  within  her  reach,  and  she 
resolved  to  court  it  by  boldly  asserting  her  religious  principles. 
A  letter  which  she  wrote  to  the  King,  saying,  "  as  to  the 
Lord's  Supper,  she  believed  as  much  as  Christ  himself  had 
taught  or  the  Catholic  Church  required,  but  that  she  could 
not  assent  to  his  Majesty's  explication  of  the  doctrine,"  was 
considered  a  fresh  insult,  and  as  it  was  suspected  that 
she  was  countenanced  by  the  leaders  of  the  Lutheran  party 
at  Court,  the  Loi'd  Chancellor  went  himself  in  person  to 
interrogate  her  in  the  hope  of  obtaining  some  evidence  against 
Cranmer,  or  against  the  Queen  herself.  Anne  freely  an- 
swered all  the  Chancellor's  questions  respecting  her  own  faith, 
but  she  maintained  an  inviolable  fidelity  to  her  friends,  and 
would  give  no  information  as  to  her  instructors  or  participators 
in  the  heretical  opinions  she  expressed.  According  to  a  cus- 
tom then  common,  defended  by  high  authority  as  necessary 
to  religion  and  good  government,  and  not  entirely  abolished 
in  England  for  near  a  century  afterwards,  she  was  thereupon 
ordered  to  be  put  to  the  torture.  This  being  applied  with 
great  barbarity  without  extorting  any  confession,  the  Chan- 
cellor ordered  the  Lieutenant  of  the  Tower  to  stretch  the 
rack  still  further.  The  refractory  officer  refused  compliance, 
though  repeatedly  ordered  by  the  highest  Judge  in  the  land, 
and  menaced  with  the  King's  displeasure  and  the  utmost  ven- 
geance of  the  law.  Thereupon  (such  are  the  enormities  which 
may  be  prom[)tcd  by  superstitious  zeal !)  Wriothesley,  —  on 
ordinary  occasions  a  humane  man,  —  now  excited  by  resistance 
and  persuading  himself  that  discoveries  might  be  obtained 
which  would  do  service  to  God, — put  his  own  hand  to  the  rack 
and  drew  it  so  violently,  that  he  almost  tore  asunder  the 
VOL.  L  T  T 


642 


REIGN   OF   HENRY   VIII. 


CHAP. 
XXXV. 

A.D.  1545. 


The  Chan- 
cellor's 
offer  of 
pardon  to 
Anne 
Ascue. 


His  at- 
tempt 
against  the 
Queen. 


tender  limbs  of  his  youthful  and  delicately  formed  victim. 
Her  constancy  still  surpassed  the  barbarity  of  her  persecutor, 
and  he  was  obliged  to  withdraw,  baffled  and  discomfited,  lest 
she  should  die  under  his  hands  without  the  form  of  trial.* 

When  he  made  complaint,  as  he  had  threatened,  of  the 
clemency  of  the  Lieutenant  of  the  Tower,  it  should  be  re- 
corded that  Henry  approved  of  the  conduct  of  this  officer, 
and  refused  to  dismiss  him.  It  was  resolved,  however,  to  pro- 
ceed against  Anne  Ascue,  according  to  the  existing  statutes ; 
and  she  was  brought  to  trial,  with  several  others,  for  denying 
the  real  presence.  A  clear  case  was  proved  against  them; 
and,  under  the  law  of  the  Six  Articles,  they  were  duly  sen- 
tenced to  be  burnt.  Anne  was  still  so  much  dislocated  by 
the  rack,  that  she  was  carried  in  a  chair  to  the  place  of 
execution. 

The  Chancellor,  in  the  hope  of  saving  the  criminals,  or  of 
aggravating  their  guilt,  made  out  a  conditional  pardon  to 
them,  to  which,  with  the  King's  consent,  he  affixed  the  Great 
Seal ;  and  when  they  had  been  tied  to  the  stake,  —  before  the 
torch  was  applied  to  the  fagots  which  were  to  consume  them, 
he  communicated  to  them  that  the  pardon  which  was  shown 
them  should  be  instantly  handed  to  them  if  they  would  de- 
serve it  by  a  recantation.  Anne  and  her  companions  only 
considered  this  oifer  a  fresh  garland  to  their  crown  of  martyr- 
dom ;  and  continuing  their  devotions,  calmly  saw  the  devour- 
ing flames  rise  around  them,  f 

Wriothesley  soon  after  thought  that  he  had  got  into  his 
power  a  nobler  victim,  and  that  he  might  offer  up  a  still 
more  acceptable  sacrifice.  It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that, 
during  this  reign,  the  situation  of  Queen  was  considered  an 
office  at  Court  to  be  struggled  for  by  contending  factions. 
The  Catholics  were  most  active  in  the  prosecution  of  Anne 
Boleyn,  and  the  divorce  of  Anne  of  Cleves ;  the  Reformers 
had  been  equally  active  in  the  divorce  of  Catherine  of  Aragon, 


*  I  am  sorry  for  the  honour  of  the  law  to  say  that  Griffin,  the  Solicitor 
General,  was  present  at  this  scene,  and,  instead  of  interceding  for  Anne,  recom- 
mended himself  to  the  Chancellor  by  tightening  the  rope  with  his  own  hand  to 
add  to  her  torture.  This  is  said  to  be  the  only  instance  of  a  woman  being  put 
to  the  torture  in  England.  —  See  Jardine's  Reading  on  Torture,  p.  65. 

f   Fox,  vol.  ii.  p.  578.      Speed,  p.  780.     Baker,  p.  299. 


LORD   CHANCELLOR   WRIOTHESLEY.  643 

and  the  prosecution  of  Catherine  Howard.     Now  the  Ca-  CHAP. 

.  .  •  XXXV. 

tholics  were  eager  to  pull  down  Catherine  Par,  in  the  hope 


that  a  true  Catholic  might  take  her   place  on  the  throne.   ^  j,,  1545. 
What  no  saint  would  promise  to  the  supplicating  Wriothesley, 
and  what  the  rack  would  not  accomplish  for  him,  he  thought 
that  chance,  or  rather  the  good  providence  of  God,  had  un- 
expectedly brought  to  pass. 

Gardyner  came  to  him  one  morning  to  announce  that  the 
King  had  been  gravely  complaining  to  him  of  the  Queen,  for 
abetting  Lutheran  doctrines  in  their  tete-a-tete  conversations, 
and  for  secretly  sinning  against  the  Six  Articles ;  and  that 
his  Majesty  had  favourably  listened  to  the  remarks  he  had 
hazarded  to  make  to  him,  "  that  such  misconduct  could  not  be 
winked  at  by  a  King  anxious  for  preserving  the  orthodoxy  of 
his  subjects."  The  Chancellor  flew  into  the  royal  presence 
to  take  proper  advantage  of  this  disposition,  and  eagerly 
represented,  "  that  the  more  elevated  the  individual  was  who 
"was  made  amenable  to  the  law,  and  the  nearer  to  his  person, 
the  greater  terror  would  the  example  strike  into  every  one, 
and  the  more  glorious  would  the  sacrifice  appear  to  posterity." 
Henry  was  so  much  touched  by  these  topics,  that  he  directed  Prosecu- 
articles  of  impeachment  to  be  drawn  up  against  his  consort,  dgred"^' 
so  that  she  might  forthwith  be  brought  to  trial  and  arraigned;  against  the 
and  ordered  that  the  following  day  she  should  be  arrested  by  ^"^^"• 
the  Chancellor  himself,  and  carried  to  the  Tower  of  London. 
Wriothesley  joyfully  drew  the  articles,  and  brought  them  to 
the  King  for  his  royal  signature ;  without  which,  it  was  not 
deemed  regular  or  safe  to  take  any  further  step  in  the  prosecu- 
tion. Henry  signed  the  paper  without  hesitation,  and  the 
execution  of  another  Queen  seemed  inevitable. 

By  some  means,  the  contents  of  this  paper  became  known  Her  terror, 
to  a  friend  of  Catherine,  who  instantly  warned  her  of  her 
danger.  She  fainted  away  at  the  intelligence.  On  recovering 
her  senses,  she  uttered  frightful  shrieks,  and  she  well  might 
have  anticipated,  after  a  mock  trial,  a  speedy  death  on  Tower 
Hill ;  for  hitherto  the  King  had  never  relented  in  any  capital 
prosecution  once  commenced  against  wife  or  minister.  She 
was  told  that  her  only  chance  of  escape  was  to  seem  ignorant 
of  his  intentions,   and  to  try  to  soothe  and  to  disarm  him 


644 


REIGN   OF   HENRY   VIII. 


CHAP. 
XXXV. 

AD.  1545. 
Her  dis- 
cretion. 


Kiiijj  re- 
conciled to 
her. 


before  there  should  publicly  be  taken  against  her  any  step, 
from  which  he  could  not  recede  without  risking  his  reputation 
for  firmness  and  courage.  She  showed  much  presence  of 
mind,  and  went  to  pay  the  King  her  usual  visit  with  a 
tranquil  and  cheerful  air.  He  began,  as  he  had  lately  done, 
to  challenge  her  to  an  argument  on  divinity,  thinking  he 
should  obtain  a  still  plainer  avowal  of  her  heterodoxy.  But 
she  said,  "  she  humbly  hoped  she  might  be  permitted  to  de- 
cline the  conversation,  as  such  profound  speculations  were 
ill-suited  to  the  natural  imbecility  of  women,  who,  by  their 
first  creation,  were  made  subject  to  men,  the  male  being 
created  after  the  image  of  God,  the  female  after  the  image  of 
the  male ;  it  belonged,  therefore,  to  the  husband  to  choose 
principles  for  his  wife,  the  wife's  duty  being,  in  all  cases,  to 
adopt  implicitly  the  sentiments  of  her  husband.  As  for  her- 
self, it  was  doubly  her  duty,  being  blest  with  a  husband  who 
was  qualified  by  his  learning  and  judgment,  not  only  to  pre- 
scribe articles  of  faith  for  his  own  family,  but  for  the  most 
wise  and  knowing  of  every  nation."  This  speech,  so  artfully 
adapted  to  his  peculiar  notions  of  female  submission  and  his 
own  fancied  superiority,  delivered  with  such  apparent  sin- 
cerity, —  for  he  did  not  suspect  that  she  was  at  all  aware  of 
the  pending  prosecution,  —  so  pleased  him,  that  he  exclaimed, 
"  Not  so  !  by  St.  Mary  ;  you  are  now  become  a  doctor,  Kate, 
and  better  fitted  to  give,  than  to  receive  instruction." 

She  followed  up  her  success  by  meekly  observing,  that  she 
was  little  entitled  to  such  praise  on  the  present  occasion,  as 
the  sentiments  she  now  expressed  she  had  ever  entertained ; 
that,  though  she  had  been  in  the  habit  of  joining  in  any  con- 
versation proposed  by  his  Majesty,  she  well  knew  her  concep- 
tions on  any  topics  beyond  domestic  aflPairs  could  only  give 
him  a  little  momentary  amusement ;  that,  finding  their  col- 
loquy sometimes  apt  to  languish  when  not  quickened  by  some 
opposition,  she  had  ventured  to  feign  a  difference  of  opinion, 
in  order  to  give  him  the  pleasure  of  refuting  her,  and  that  all 
she  purposed  by  this  artifice,  which  she  trusted  he  would 
deem  innocent,  was  to  engage  him  in  discussions,  whence 
she  had  herself  derived  profit  and  instruction,     "  And  is  it 


LORD   CHANCELLOK   WEIOTHESLEY.  645 

indeed  so,  sweetheart?"   replied  the  King;    "then  are  we     chap. 
perfect  friends."  ^^^^- 

Luckily  for  her,  there  was  no  fair  maid  of  hers  on  whom  ^  ^  ^^^^ 
he  had  cast  an  eye  of  affection,  and  whom  he  had  destined  for 
Queen,  —  or  all  Catherine's  eloquence  would  not  have  saved 
her  from  the  penalties  of  heresy  and  treason  ;  —  but  having 
no  other  inclination,  and  having  been  pleased  with  her  as  a 
companion  and  a  nurse,  he  sent  her  away  with  assurances  of 
his  kindness  and  protection. 

Next  day  Henry  and  Catherine  were  conversing  amicably   Chancellor 
in  the  garden  when  the  Lord  Chancellor,  ignorant  of  the  ar™stf,er, 
King's  change  of  intention,  appeared  with  forty  poursuivants  is  repri- 
to  arrest  her,  and  carry  her  to  the  Tower.      She  withdrew  to 
some   distance,    saying   that    she    supposed   the    Chancellor 
wished  to  speak  witli  his  Highness  on  public  business.    From 
where  she  stood  she  could  hear  the  appellations  of  "  Fool, 
knave,  and  beast,^^  bestowed  with  great  emphasis  upon  the 
Chancellor,  and  an  order  at  last  given  to  him  by  the  King, 
in  a  resentful  tone,  to  depart  his  presence.     When  Wriothes- 
ley  was  gone,  Catherine  ran  up  to  the  King,  and  tried  to 
soothe  him  by  putting  in  a  good  word  for  the  object  of  his 
anger.     "  Poor  soul,"  cried  he,  "  you  little  know  how  ill  en- 
titled this  man  is  to  your  kind  offices." 

The  orthodox  Chancellor  was  still  on  the  watch  to  find  an 
occasion  to  do  an  ill  turn  to  her  whom  he  justly  suspected  of 
being  in  her  heart  Lutheran ;  but  Catherine,  cautious  after 
narrowly  escaping  so  great  a  peril,  never  more  offended 
Plenry's  humour  by  any  contradiction,  and  remained  in  his 
good  graces  to  the  end  of  his  life. 

Wriothesley  was  now  employed  as  a  Commissioner  to  con-   Chancellor 
elude  a  treaty  with  Scotland,  and  conducted  the  neo;otiation  ™*'?*^, 

1  TT  ,  ■   /      •  ,  ,  .  11     1  Knight  of 

so  much  to    Henry  s    satisiaction,  that   he    was  mstalled  a  the  Garter. 
Knight  of  the  Garter,  being  the  second  Chancellor  who  had 
reached  this  dignity. 

On  the  23d  of  November,  1546,  met  the  only  parliament   A  parlia- 
callcd  while  Wriothesley  was  Chancellor.     We  do  not  find  '"^"'^' 
any  where  his  speech  at  the  opening  of  the  session ;  but  if 
we    may  judge    from   what  took  place  at  the  prorogation, 

T  T    3 


646  REIGN   OF    HENRY   VIII. 

CHAP,     it  had  not  been  much  applauded;  and  certainly  it  had  not 
flattered  the  King  to  his  liking. 
^P  J54g  The  first  act  of  the  session  was  to  take  away  from  the 

Appoint-  Chancellor  a  patronage  which,  the  preamble  recites,  had  been 
Custos  Ro-  greatly  abused,  of  appointing  the  Gustos  Rotulorum  in  every 
tulorum  county,  and  to  provide  that  the  appointment  thereafter  shall 
the  Great  be  directly  by  the  King.*  But  the  great  object  of  the  King 
Seal.  yfOQ  to  have  made  over  to  him  by  parliament  certain  colleges, 

chantries,  and  hospitals,  with  very  extensive  possessions,  which 
were  supposed  to  be  connected  with  the  Pope  as  their  re- 
ligious head,  and  were  now  dissolved. f  The  plunder  of  the 
monasteries  was  all  dissipated,  and,  notwithstanding  large 
subsidies,  the  Exchequer  was  empty.  But  this  new  fund, 
managed  by  the  Court  of  Augmentations  under  the  Chan- 
cellor's superintendence,  brought  in  a  tolerably  sufficient 
revenue  during  the  remainder  of  Henry's  reign. 
King's  At  the  close  of  the  session,  after  the  Speaker  of  the  House 

Chancel- ^'^  of  Commous  had  delivered  his  oration,  the  King  himself  made 
lor's.  the  reply,  beginning  in  a  manner  not  quite  complimentary  to 

Lord  Chancellor  Wriothesley.  "  Although  my  Chancellor 
for  the  time  being  hath  before  this  time  used  very  eloquently 
and  substantially  to  make  answer  to  such  orations,  yet  is  he 
not  able  to  open  and  set  forth  my  mind  and  meaning,  and 
the  secrets  of  my  heart,  in  so  plain  and  ample  a  manner  as  I 
myself  am  and  can  do."  His  Majesty  then,  with  modest 
vanity,  disclaims  the  praises  bestowed  upon  him ;  but  in  such 
language  as  shows  that  he  conceived  they  were  well  merited. 
*'  But  of  such  small  qualities  as  God  hath  endued  me  withal, 
I  render  to  his  goodness  my  most  humble  thanks,  intending, 
with  all  my  art  and  diligence,  to  get  and  acquire  to  me  such 
notable  virtues  and  princely  qualities  as  you  have  alleged  to 
be  incorporate  in  my  person."  X 
King's  This  was  the  last  time  that  Henry  ever  appeared  upon  the 

1  ness.  throne  before  Parliament.  He  had  now  grown  immensely 
corpulent ;  he  was  soon  after  unable  to  stir  abroad,  and  in 
his  palace  he  could  only  be  moved  from  one  room  to  another 
by  machinery.     All  began  to  look  forward  to  a  new  reign, 

*  37  Hen.  8.  c.  I.  f  37  Hen.  8.  c.  4.  |   1  Pari.  Hist.  562. 


LORD   CHANCELLOR   WRIOTHESLEY. 


647 


and  there  was  intense  anxiety  as  to  the  manner  in  which 
Henry  would  exercise  the  power  conferred  upon  him  by 
parhament  to  provide  for  the  government  of  the  country 
during  the  minority  of  Prince  Edward,  and  to  direct  the 
succession  to  the  Crown ^on  the  death  of  his  own  children 
without  issue. 

Wriothesley,  the  Chancellor,  had  the  most  constant  access 
to  him,  and  was  eager  that  a  settlement  should  be  made  the 
most  favourable  to  the  Catholic  faith ;  but  he  was  thwarted 
by  the  Seymours,  the  young  Prince's  uncles,  who  were  strong 
favourers  of  the  Reformation,  and  determined,  upon  the 
accession  of  their  nephew,  to  engross  the  whole  royal  authority 
into  their  own  hands.  The  King's  will,  drawn  by  Wriothesley, 
was  at  last  executed,  but  whether  with  the  forms  required  by 
law  is  still  a  matter  of  controversy.*  By  this  will  Wriothesley 
himself  was  appointed  one  of  the  sixteen  Executors,  to  whom 
was  entrusted  the  government  of  the  realm  till  the  Prince, 
then  a  boy  nine  years  old,  should  complete  his  eighteenth 
year,  and  he  counted,  with  absolute  certainty,  upon  the 
Great  Seal  remaining  in  his  hands  during  the  whole  of  that 
interval. 

Through  the  agency  of  the  Chancellor,  Henry's  reign 
had  a  suitable  termination  in  the  unjust  prosecution  of  the 
Duke  of  Norfolk  and  the  Earl  of  Surrey,  the  greatest 
subjects  in  the  kingdom,  the  father  deserving  respect  for 
his  devoted  services  to  the  Crown,  not  less  than  for  his 
illustrious  birth ;  and  the  son,  distinguished  by  every  ac- 
complishment which  became  a  scholar,  a  courtier,  and  a 
soldier,  refining  the  language  and  softening  the  manners  of 
the  age,  —  uniting  the  brilliant  qualities  of  chivalry  with  the 
taste   and   cultivation   of  modern   times,  —  celebrating   the 


CHAP. 
XXXV, 


A.n.  1546. 


Chancellor 
makes  the 
Kind's  will. 


Prosecu- 
tion of 
Duke  of 
Norfolk 
and  Lord 
Surrey. 


*  On  the  question,  whether  the  power  given  to  Henry  to  appoint  to  the  suc- 
cession was  duly  executed,  depended  in  strictness  the  right  of  the  Stuarts  to  the 
throne  ;  for  he  excluded  them,  preferring  the  issue  of  his  younger  sister,  married 
to  the  Duke  of  Suffolk,  whose  descendants  still  exist.  The  better  opinion  seems 
to  be  that  the  signature  by  the  stamp,  though  affixed  by  the  King's  command, 
was  defective.  Wriothesley  was  not  by  any  means  an  accurate  lawyer,  and  in  the 
hurry  in  which  the  instrument  was  executed,  there  is  no  improbability  in  sup- 
posing that  the  conditions  of  the  power  were  not  strictly  fulfilled.  At  all  events, 
after  a  lapse  of  300  years,  and  the  subsequent  acts  of  settlement,  our  allegiance 
cannot  much  depend  on  this  nicety.  —  See  HaU.  Const.  Hiit.  vol.  i.  p.  393. 

T  T  4 


REIGN   OF    HENRY   VIII. 


CHAP. 
XXXV. 


praises  of  his  mistress  in  the  tournament,  as  well  as  in  the 
sonnet  and  the  masque.  It  can  hardly  be  supposed  that 
"VVriothesley  planned  their  downfall,  for  they  were  of  the 
same  religious  faith  with  himself,  unless  it  may  be  conjectured 
that  he  himself  wished  to  be  the  head  of  the  party,  and  to 
guide  all  its  measures  in  the  succeeding  reign.  But  admitting, 
what  is  more  probable,  that  the  Seymours,  dreading  the 
influence  of  the  House  of  Howard,  were  the  original  instiga- 
tors of  this  prosecution,  Wriothesley,  instead  of  resisting  it, 
sanctioned  and  promoted  it, — making  himself  accessory  to  the 
murder  of  the  son, — and  not  having  likewise  to  answer  for  that 
of  the  father,  only  by  being  suddenly  freed  from  the  inhuman 
master  whose  commands  he  was  afraid  to  disobey  or  to  ques- 
tion. He  concurred  in  the  commitment  of  both  of  them  to  the 
Tower  on  the  same  day.  Surrey  being  a  commoner,  a  com- 
mission under  the  Great  Seal  was  issued  for  his  trial  before  a 
jury ;  and  this  hope  of  his  country,  a  man  of  undoubted 
loyalty  and  unsullied  honour,  being  convicted  of  high  treason 
on  no  better  evidence  than  that  he  had  quartered  the  arms  of 
Edward  the  Confessor  on  his  scutcheon,  —  by  authority  of  a 
warrant  signed  by  the  Chancellor,  was  immediately  executed.* 
It  was  necessary  to  deal  with  the  Duke  of  Norfolk  as  a 
Peer.  A  session  of  parliament  being  called  on  the  14th  of 
January,  1547,  on  the  18th  a  bill  was  brought  into  the 
House  of  Lords  for  his  attainder,  and  passed  that  House  on 
the  20th.  The  overt  act  of  treason  was,  that  he  had  said 
that  "  the  King  was  sickly  and  could  not  hold  out  long,  and 
the  kingdom  was  likely  to  fall  into  disorders  through  the 
diversity  of  religious  opinions."  The  bill  being  returned 
passed  by  the  House  of  Commons  on  the  24th,  the  Lord 
Chancellor  on  the  27th  having  ordered  all  the  Peers  to  put 
on  their  robes,  and  the  Commons,  with  their  Speaker,  to  at- 
tend at  the  bar,  declared  to  both  Houses  that  his  Majesty 
wishing  the  bill  for  the  attainder  of  the  Duke  of  Norfolk  to 
be  expedited,  that  his  office  of  Earl  Marshal  might  be  filled 
up  by  another,  and  being  hindered  by  sickness  from  coming 
to  give  his  royal  assent  to  it  in  person,  he  had  directed  a 


*  1  St.  Tr.  453. 


LORD   CHANCELLOR   WRIOTHESLEY.  649 

commission  to  pass  the  Great  Seal,  authorising  him  and  other  CHAP. 

•     •  •  XXXV 

Peers  to  give  the  royal  assent  to  it  in  the  King's  name.     The 


commission  being  read,  the  Lord  Chancellor  commanded  the  ^  ^  1547 
clerk  of  parliament  to  pronoimce  the  words,  Soitfait  come  il 
est  desire ;  and  so  it  being  passed  into  a  law,  a  warrant  was 
issued  for  the  execution  of  Norfolk  on  the  29th  of  January.* 
But  early  in  the  morning  of  that  day  news  was  brought  to   Death  of 
the  Tower  that  Henry  had  expired  in  the  night,  and  the   yjjj^ 
lieutenant  gladly  suspended  the  execution  of  a  sentence  so 
unjust  and  tyrannical. 

In  the  reign  of  Mary  the  attainder  was  reversed,  on  the 
ground  that  the  offence  of  which  he  was  accused  was  not 
treason,  and  that  Henry  had  not  signed  the  commission,  in 
virtue  of  which  his  pretended  assent  had  been  given  to  the 
act  of  parliament. 

On  the  31st  of  January  the    Lord    Chancellor   formally   Tears  of 
announced  the  King's  death  to  both  Houses :  and,  says  the  *^^,  C^*"- 

^  ^  ^  ,  1       Inti  cellor. 

Journal,  "  the  mournful  news  was  so  affectmg  to  the  Chan- 
cellor and  all  present  that  they  could  not  refrain  from  tears !  "f 
It  is  impossible  that  there  should  not  have  been  a  general  joy 
at  the  deliverance  of  the  country  from  the  rule  of  such  a 
heartless  tyrant.  % 

A  few  sentences  will  be  sufficient  to  notice  the  state  of  the  .Juridical 
equitable  jurisdiction  of  the  Court  of  Chancery,  and   the  rg^^^^of 

chano;es  in  the  law  during  this   reign.     By  the  Statute  of  Henry 
.  VIII 

Uses,  27  H.  8.  c.  10.,  it  was  proposed  to  confine  all  contro- 

*   1  St.  Tr.  457.     1  Pari.  Hist.  .561. 

f  Several  of  the  successors  of  St.  Swithin  have  been  much  given  to  crying,  and 
-ive  shall  hereafter  see  one  of  them  weeping  so  as  to  recall  "  the  iron  tears  which 
rolled  down  the  cheeks  of  Pluto." 

J  I  must  express  my  astonishment  and  regret  to  find  the  character  and  con- 
duct of  Henry  defended  by  such  an  able  writer  and  excellent  man  as  Mr.  Sharon 
Turner,  who  thus  apologises  for  his  worst  acts: — "  None  of  these  severities  were 
inflicted  without  the  due  legal  authority.  The  verdict  of  juries,  tlie  solemn 
judgment  of  the  Peers,  or  attainders  by  both  Houses  of  parliament  on  offences 
proved  to  its  satisfaction,  pronounced  all  the  convictions,  and  produced  the  fatal 
sentence.  Every  one  was  approved  and  sanctioned  by  the  cabinet  council  of  the 
government.  The  King  is  responsible  only  for  adopting  the  harsh  system,  for 
not  interposing  his  prerogative  of  mercy,  and  for  signing  the  death  warrants 
which  ordered  the  legal  sentences  to  be  put  in  force.  He  punished  no  one 
tyrannically  without  trial  or  legal  condemnation." —  Turner's  Hist.  Engl.  vol.  x, 
p.  532.  What  difference  is  there  between  procuring  a  liouse  of  parliament 
or  a  jury  to  convict  an  innocent  man  of  a  capital  charge,  and  hiring  an  assassin 
to  take  away  his  life  ?  The  most  dangerous  sj)ecics  of  murder  is  that  which  is 
committed  under  the  forms  of  law. 


650  STATE   OF    THE   LAW. 

CHAP,     versies  respecting  land    to  the  Courts  of  common  law,  by 

preventing  a   severance    between   the   legal    and   beneficial 

Statutes       estate;  but  the  conveyancers  and  the  Judges  repealed  the 

act  of  parliament  by  the  addition  of  three  words  to  a  deed ; 

and  "  uses  "  being  revived  under  the  name  of  "  trusts,"  the 

jurisdiction  of  the  Court  of  Chancery  over  land  was  confirmed 

and  extended.     The  Statute  of  Wills,  32  H.  8.  c.  1.,  for  the 

first  time  gave  a  general  power  of  devising  real  property ; 

and  the  Statute  of  Limitations,  32  H.  8.  c.  2.,  conferred  an 

indefeasible  right  to  it  after  an  adverse  possession  of  sixty 

years. 

Commis-  The  first  Special  Commission  for  hearing  causes  in  Chan- 

sion  to  hear  ^^^    ^^^^  granted  in  this  reign,  while  Cardinal  Wolsey  was 

causes.  jo  o    ^  j 

sitting  on  the  trial  of  Catherine's  divorce.  It  was  directed 
to  the  Master  of  the  Rolls,  four  Judges,  six  Masters,  and 
ten  others,  and  authorised  them,  or  any  four  of  them,  two 
being  the  Masters  of  the  Rolls,  Judges,  or  Masters,  to  hear, 
examine,  and  finally  determine  all  causes  in  Chancery  com- 
mitted to  them  by  the  Chancellor,  and  to  order  execution 
thereon.* 
Reports.  Although  there  are  some  valuable  reports  of  common-law 

cases  in  this  reign,  there  is  no  trace  of  any  of  the  decisions 
of  Chancellors  Warham,  Wolsey,  More,  Audley,  or  Wrio- 
thesley ;  and  the  rules  by  which  they  guided  their  discretion 
still  remained  vague  or  unknown. 

In  this  reign  there  were  several  instances  of  the  Court  of 
Chancery  pronouncing  decrees  for  divorces  ;  and  there  seemed 
a  probability  that  it  would  assume  a  jurisdiction  to  decree 
the  specific  performance  of  a  contract  to  marry,  and  a  restitu- 
tion of  conjugal  rights ;  but  it  was  afterwards  held,  that  the 
Ecclesiastical  Court  alone  has  cognisance  of  marriage  and 
divorce. f 

*  Rym.  xiv.  299.  This  commission  has  since  been  followed  as  a  precedent 
for  delegations  of  the  judicial  authority  of  the  Chancellor. 

t  See  Tothill,  124.  De  Manniville  v.  De  Mannivilie,  10  Ves.  60.  In  America 
the  Court  of  Chancery  still  decides  in  matrimonial  suits. 


LOED   CHANCELLOR   WRIOTHESLEY. 


651 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 


CONCLUSION   OF   THE   LIFE   OF   LOKD   CHANCELLOR  "WRIOTHESLET. 


On  the  same  day  that  Henry  died  the  young  King  was 
proclaimed ;  and  the  sixteen  Executors  assembled  in  the 
Tower  to  commence  their  government  in  his  name. 

Wriothesley  thought  he  had  so  arranged  matters  that  the 
chief  power  would  be  in  his  own  hands.  Archbishop  Cran- 
mer  was  the  first  on  the  list ;  but  he  was  not  expected  to  mix 
much  with  secular  affairs.  Next  came  the  Chancellor,  who 
would  naturally  be  looked  up  to  as  the  real  head,  and  would 
be  enabled  to  guide  the  deliberations  of  the  body.  He  there- 
fore was  most  anxious  that  the  King's  will  should  be  strictly 
observed ;  and  as  soon  as  they  had  taken  their  places  at  the 
board,  and  the  will  had  been  read,  he  moved  "  that  it  be  re- 
solved not  only  to  stand  to  and  maintain  the  testament  of 
their  master  the  late  King,  and  every  part  and  article  of  the 
same  to  the  uttermost  of  their  power,  wits,  and  cunning,  but 
also  that  every  one  of  them  present  should  take  a  corporal 
oath  for  the  more  assured  and  effectual  accomplishment  of 
the  same."  This  resolution  could  not  be  decently  objected 
to ;  the  oath  was  taken,  and  the  Chancellor  thought  himself 
secure. 

But  the  ceremony  of  swearing  had  hardly  been  concluded, 
when  the  Earl  of  Hertford,  the  King's  uncle,  who,  as  Lord 
Chamberlain,  was  only  fourth  in  precedence  in  the  Council, 
but  who  was  determined  to  get  all  power  into  his  own  hands, 
suggested  that,  for  the  despatch  of  business,  for  the  facility 
of  communicating  with  foreign  ambassadors,  and  for  the  pur- 
pose of  representing  on  other  occasions  the  person  of  the 
young  Sovereign,  it  would  be  necessary  to  elect  one  of  the 
Council  to  preside,  with  such  title  as  might  be  agreed  upon  ; 
and  that  he  himself  would  willingly  submit  to  any  one  whom 


CHAP. 
XXXVL 

Jan.  28. 
1547, 
Edward 
VI.  pro- 
claimed. 
Wriothes- 
ley expects 
to  retain 
Great  Seal 
and  to  have 
the  chief 
power 
during 
King's 
minority. 


Somerset 
Protector. 


A.D.  1547. 


652  REIGN   OF   EDWARD   VI. 

CHAP.-  a  majority  mi<yht  prefer.  Thereupon,  accorcHn<T  to  a  con- 
certed  plan,  a  creature  of  Hertford's  moved  that  he,  as 
nearest  in  blood  to  the  King,  and  not  in  the  line  of  succession 
to  the  throne,  and  eminent  for  his  abilities  and  virtues,  should 
be  appointed  governor  of  the  King's  person,  and  Protector  of 
the  realm. 

Wriothesley  rose,  and  with  fury  opposed  a  measure  which 
he  saw  would  reduce  himself  to  insignificance.  He  insisted 
that  it  would  be  a  direct  infringement  of  the  late  King's  will, 
which,  being  made  under  a  statute,  had  all  the  force  of  an 
act  of  the  legislature,  and  could  not  be  altered  but  by  the 
same  authority  which  had  established  it.  By  the  words  and 
the  spirit  of  the  instrument  under  which  they  were  there 
assembled,  all  the  executors  were  equal,  and  were  intended 
to  remain  so  during  the  King's  minority ;  and  it  would  be 
monstrous  to  place  one  of  them  over  the  rest  as  Protector,  — • 
an  undefined  and  ill-omened  title,  which  the  chronicles  showed 
was  always  the  forerunner  of  broils  and  civil  war. 

To  his  astonishment  and  consternation,  however,  he  found 
that  he  made  no  impression  upon  his  audience,  and  that  a 
majority  had  been  secured  by  his  rival,  who  had  been  lavish 
in  his  promises  in  case  he  should  be  elected.  Wriothesley 
was  likewise  personally  unpopular,  and  his  adherence  to  the 
old  religion  was  strongly  against  him,  —  the  current  now 
running  very  strong  in  favour  of  the  Reformation.  Seeing 
that  opposition  would  be  vain,  he  abstained  from  calling  for 
a  division ;  and  he  pretended  to  be  contented  with  an  assur- 
ance, which  he  knew  would  prove  fallacious,  that  the  new 
officer  should  in  no  case  act  without  the  assent  of  a  majority 
of  the  Council. 
Young  All  the  Lords,  spiritual  and  temporal,  were  now  assembled 

appe^rancf  '^^  *^^®  Chamber  of  Presence,  into  which  the  Executors  con- 
in  public,  ducted  the  young  Edward.  Each  in  succession  having  kissed 
his  hand  kneeling,  and  uttered  the  words  "  God  save  your 
Grace  ! "  the  Chancellor  explained  to  the  assembly  the  dis- 
positions in  the  will  of  their  late  Sovereign,  and  the  resolu- 
tion of  the  executors  to  put  the  Earl  of  Hertford  at  their 
head,  —  without  hinting  at  his  own  disapproval  of  this  step. 
All  present  unanimously  signified  their  assent ;  the  new  Pro- 


LORD   CHANCELLOR   WRIOTHESLEY.  653 

tector  expressed  his  gratitude  for  "  the  honour  which  had  CHAP 

.  XXXVI 

been  so   unexpectedly  conferred   upon   him ; "  and   Edward, 


pulling  off  his  cap,  said,  "  We  heartily  thank  you,  my  Lords  ^  j,  5547^ 
all ;  and  hereafter,  in  all  that  ye  shall  have  to  do  with  us  for 
any  suit  or  causes,  ye  shall  be  heartily  welcome." 

In  the  next  measure  of  the  new  government,  there  was  the   Honours 
greatest  respect  professed  for  the  late  King,  and  it  had  the  f°"f^'^'^ 
unanimous  support  of  all  the  executors.     There  was  a  clause  ecutors  on 
in  Henry's  will,  requiring  them  "  to  see  that  all  the  promises  *  '^'"^'^  '^^ 
he  had  made  in  his  lifetime  should  be  fulfilled  after  his  death," 

—  without  any  statement  in  writing  what  those  promises 
were.  According  to  the  precedent  of  Anthony,  acting  as 
executor  under  the  will  of  Cajsar,  —  they  asserted  that  what 
was  convenient  to  themselves  had  been  promised  by  the  tes- 
tator. Three  gentlemen  of  his  privy  chamber,  with  whom 
he  had  been  most  familiar,  and  who  knew  that  their  assertion 
would  not  be  questioned,  being  called  before  the  Board  of 
Regency,  declared  they  had  heard  Henry  say,  shortly  before 
his  death,  that  he  intended  to  make  Hertford  Duke  of 
Somerset,  Wriothesley  Earl  of  Southampton, —  and  so  to  con- 
fer on  all  of  them  the  titles  in  the  peerage  which  they  coveted 

—  down  to  Sir  Richard  Rich,  who  was  to  be  made  Baron 
Rich ;  —  with  suitable  grants  to  all  of  them  to  support  their 

new  dignities.     It  should  be  recorded,  to  the  honour  of  two  Wriothes- 

of  the  Council,  St.  Leger  and  Danby,  that  they  declined  the   ^a^l^^f^^ 

proposed  elevation ;    but  all  the  rest  accepted  it,  and   our  Southamp- 

Chancellor  became  the  Earl  of  Southampton.* 

Though  he  gained  his  title,  he  speedily  lost   his  office,    intrigues 

Notwithstandino;  a  seeming  reconciliation,  as  often  as  he  and  '"  *''^., 
.  .      .  .  Council. 

the  Protector  met  in  council,  it  was  evident  that  there  was  a 
bitter  enmity  between  them.  Wriothesley,  under  pretence 
that  nothing  was  to  be  done  by  the  Protector  without  the 
authority  of  a  majority  of  the  executors,  tried  to  form  a  party 
against  him,  and  thwarted  him  in  all  his  measures.  Somerset, 
feeling  that  he  then  had  a  decided  majority  in  the  Council, 
but  doubtful  how  long  with  such  intrigues  it  might  last,  was 


*   However,  he  is  not  known  in  history  by  this  title,  and  I  shall  continue  to 
call  him  by  his  family  name. 


654  REIGN   OF   EDWARD   VI. 

CHAP,     resolved,  as  soon  as  possible,  to  get  rid  of  so  dangerous  a 
XXXVI.    competitor^ 

^  ^  ,  5^^  The  Chancellor  soon  furnished  him  with  a  pretence.     We 

Charge        havc  sccn  how,  in  the  time  of  Henry  VIII.,  disliking  judicial 

Wriothes-     busincss,  and  feeling  himself  incompetent  to  it,  he  issued, 

ley  for         ^yitli  thc  King's  consent,  a  commission  to  the  Master  of  the 

iliegarcom-  HoUs  and  Others  to  sit  for  him  in  the  Court  of  Chancery.* 

mission.        Now,  that  he  might  enjoy  ease,  and  devote  himself  to  his 

ambitious  projects,  he  of  his  own  mere  motion,  without  royal 

warrant,  or  the  authority  of  the  Board  of  Regency,  issued  a 

similar  commission  to  four  lawyers,  empowering  them  to  hear 

all  manner  of  causes  in  his  absence ;  and  giving  to  their 

decrees  the  same  force  as  if  they  had  been  pronounced  by 

himself,  provided  that,  before  enrolment,  they  were  ratified 

by  his  signature. 

Upon  the  Commissioners  taking  their  seats  in  the  Court 
of  Chancery,  there  were  murmurs  among  the  barristers  ;  and 
these  coming  to  the  ears  of  the  delighted  Somerset,  he  secretly 
suggested  that  a  petition  upon  the  subject  should  be  presented 
to  the  Council.  This  being  received  as  the  spontaneous 
complaint  of  "  the  undersigned,  actuated  by  a  great  respect 
for  the  constitution,  and  the  due  administration  of  justice," 
a  reference  was  made  to  the  Judges  to  pronounce  upon  the 
validity  of  the  commission,  and  the  nature  of  the  offence 
committed  by  issuing  it,  if  it  were  illegal.  The  Chancellor 
did  not  resist  this  proceeding,  being  in  hopes  that  the  Judges 
would  take  part  with  the  head  of  the  profession ;  but  they, 
anticipating  his  .downfall,  returned  for  answer,  that  "  the 
Chancellor  having  affixed  the  Great  Seal  without  sufficient 
warrant  to  the  commission,  the  commission  was  void,  and 
that  he  had  been  guilty  of  an  offence  against  the  King, 
which,  at  common  law,  was  punishable  with  loss  of  office, 
and  fine  and  imprisonment,  at  the  King's  pleasure."  He 
called  for  a  second  reference  to  them,  on  the  ground  that 
they  had  not  properly  considered  the  question,  thinking  that 
he  might  procure  some  of  them  to  retract.  They  counted 
on  the  firmness  of  the  Protector,  and  all  adhered  to  their 

•    Ante,  p.  640. 


LORD   CHANCELLOR   WRIOTHESLEY.  655 

former  opinion.     A  motion  was  now  made  in  council  to  pro-     chap. 
•  •  •        •  •  XXXVI 

nounce  judgment  against  him,  of  deprivation  of  his  office  of 

Chancellor,  and  to  sentence  him  to  fine  and  imprisonment.  ^  „  ^^^j^ 
He  spoke  boldly  and  ably  in  his  defence,  treating  the  opinion  His  de- 
of  the  Judges  with  great  contempt ;  and  arguing  that  the 
commission  was  fully  justified  by  former  precedents.  But  if 
it  were  illegal  for  want  of  any  form,  he  contended  that  the 
Council  could  only  revoke  it ;  and  to  avoid  dispute,  he  was 
willing  that  it  should  at  once  be  cancelled.  He  added,  that 
if  they  hesitated  to  allow  him  the  assistance  enjoyed  by 
former  Chancellors,  he  was  himself  ready  to  do  all  the  duties 
of  the  office  in  person ;  but  that,  holding  the  office  by  patent, 
—  and  the  late  King's  will,  made  under  an  act  of  parliament, 
having  confirmed  the  grant,  he  could  not  be  deprived  of  it 
during  the  minority  of  Edward.  If  there  were  any  charge 
against  him,  he  appealed  to  parliament,  which  alone  could 
deal  with  his  case. 

He  found,  however,  a  most  determined  resolution  against  He  sub- 
him  in  a  majority  of  the  Council,  and  he  knew  not  to  what  "^^  ^' 
extremities  they  might  resort  if  he  continued  to  defy  them. 
To  avoid  going  to  the  Tower,  he  said  he  should  submit  to 
their  pleasure,  and  begged  permission  (which  was  granted) 
that  he  might  return  to  his  house  in  Ely  Place,  Holborn, 
while  they  deliberated  upon  his  fate. 

It  was  instantly  resolved  that  he  should  be  removed  from   March  6. 
the  office  of  Chancellor  and  his  seat  in  the  Council.     The   proved  of 
same  evening  the  sentence  was  communicated  to  liim,  with  the  Great 
an  intimation  that  he  must  remain   a  prisoner  in  his  house  expelled 
till,  upon  further  deliberation,  the  amount  of  his  fine  should  ^^i"  ^^}^ 
be  ascertained.     Lord  Seymour  of  Sudeley,  the  Protector's 
brother,  Sir  Anthony  Brown,  and  Sir  Edward  North,  were 
immediately  sent  to  demand  the  Great  Seal  from  him.     He 
quietly  surrendered  it  to  them,  and  they  carried  it  to  Somer- 
set, who,  on  receiving  it  into  his  hands,  said  to  himself,  "I 
am  at  last  Lord  Protector."*     But,  freed  for  a  time  from 

*  The  entry  of  this  transaction  in  the  Close  Roll  is  very  curious.  "  Mem. 
qd  Die  Diiica  videlt,  &c.  Magnum  Sigillum  ipsius  Dni  Regis  in  custodia 
Thome  Comitis  .Southampton  tunc  Cancellar.  Anglie  existens  per  mandatum 
cjusdem  Dni  Regis  de  avisamento  Dni  Ducis  Somerset  psone  regie  Guberna- 


656 


REIGN   OF   EDWARD   VI. 


CHAP. 
XXXVI. 


A.D.  1547. 
New 

powers  to 
Protector. 


Wriothes- 
ley  two 
years  in 
retirement.' 


Sept.  1549. 
Unpopu- 
larity of 
Protector. 

VTriothes- 
ley  restored 
to  the 
Council. 


all  rivalry,  he  played  such  fantastic  tricks  that  he  raised  up 
fresh  enemies,  disgusted  the  nation,  and,  before  long,  was 
himself  brought  to  the  block. 

No  sooner  was  Wriothesley  removed  than  the  Protector 
caused  the  Great  Seal  to  be  affixed  to  letters  patent,  formally 
setting  aside  the  King's  will,  and  conferring  on  himself  the 
whole  authority  of  the  Crown.  A  new  Council  Avas  ap- 
pointed, from  which  Wriothesley  was  excluded,  with  power 
to  the  Protector  to  add  to  their  number,  and  to  select  from 
the  whole  body  such  individuals  as  he  should  think  fit  to 
form  the  Cabinet ;  but  he  was  not  bound  to  follow  their  ad- 
vice, and  he  was  empowered  in  every  case  to  decide  accord- 
ing to  his  own  judgment  till  the  King  should  have  completed 
his  eighteenth  year. 

Wriothesley  was  not  further  molested,  and  remained  quiet 
for  two  years,  till  the  Protector,  by  the  execution  of  his  bro- 
ther Lord  Seymour,  and  the  contempt  with  which  he  treated 
all  who  approached  him,  and  the  imbecility  and  rashness  of 
his  measures  of  government,  had  rendered  himself  universally 
odious,  and  was  tottering  to  his  fall. 

The  Ex-chancellor  now  contrived  to  get  himself  reinstated 
in  the  Council,  and  he  associated  himself  with  Dudley  Earl 
of  Warwick,  a  man,  from  his  energy  and  want  of  principle, 
rising  into  consequence,  and  destined  soon  to  fill  a  great 
space  in  the  eyes  of  mankind.  They  formed  a  party,  to 
which  they  drew  in  the  Earl  of  Arundel,  Lord  St.  John,  and 


toris  ac  Regn.  Protectorls  necnon  aliorum  de  consilio  suo  in  manus  ejusdem 
Dni  Regis  resumptum  est  idemque  Comes  adtunc  de  officio  Cancellarii  Angl. 
ob  offens.  et  transgress,  pr  ipsum  perpetrat.  et  alias  justas  et  ronabiles  causas 
exonatus  et  amotus  fuit.  Sup.  quo  idem  Mag.  Sigill.  in  quadam  baga  de  corio 
inclusum  et  coopt.  alia  baga  de  velveto  rubeo'  insigniis  regiis  ornat.  per  eumdem 
Comitem  prtextu  mandati  prdci  apud  Hospit.  ejusdem  Comitis  in  Holbourn 
London  vocat.  Ely  Place  in  quadam  interiori  Camera  ibidem  circa  horam 
septimam  post  meridiem  ejusdem  diei  nobil.  viris  Thome  Seymour  sacri  ordinis 
garteri  militi  Dno.  Seymour  de  Sudley,  &c.  libaium  fuit  Rusquidem  Thomas 
Dns.  Seymour,  &c.  Sigillum  prdm.  in  baga  predicta  inclusum  et  sigillo  ips. 
Comitis  munitum  de  manibus  ips  Comitis  recipiet  illud  circa  horam  nonam 
post  meridiem  prci  diei  in  prsencia  WoUi  Paulet,  &c.  prnobili  viro  Edwardo 
Duci  Somerset  Dno  Protectori  prdco  in  Camera  sua  infra  nov.  Palac.  West, 
prfto  Dno  Regi  prstand.  libaverunt." 


'   This  is  the  first  mention  I  find  of  the  red  velvet  lag,  with  the  royal  arms,  in 
which  the  Great  Seal  is  now  inclosed. 


LORD   CHANCELLOR  WRIOTHESLEY.  657 

several  other  members   of  the  Council,  and,  holding  their     CHAP: 
meetings  at  Ely  House,   prepared   measures  for   depriving 
Somerset  of  all  his  authority. 

At  last  the  crisis  arrived.     The  Councillors  assembled  in  October, 
Holborn,  assumed  to  themselves  the  functions  of  government,  ^  ^'^^^ 
and  professed  to  act  under  the  powers  conferred  upon  them 
as  executors  under  the  late  King's  will. 

The  Protector  carried  off  the  King  from  Hampton  Court  Proceed- 
to  Windsor  Castle,  under  an  escort  of  500  men,  and  issued  thrpfo-"** 
orders  to  the  adjoining  counties  to  come  in  for  the  guard  of  tector. 
the  royal  person.    A  manifesto  was  issued,  prepared  by  Wrio- 
thesley,  forbidding  obedience  to  these  orders,  detailing  the 
misconduct  of  the  Protector,  and  accusing  him  of  a  design, 
after  the  destruction  of  the  nobility,  to  substitute  himself  in 
the  place  of  the  young  Sovereign.     The  Lord  Mayor  and 
citizens  of  London  took  part  with  the  Council ;  most  of  the 
executors  joined  them  ;  the  Protector  found  himself  deserted 
at  Windsor ;  and  Secretary  Petre,  whom  he  had  despatched 
with  a  threatening  message  to  Ely  House,  instead  of  return- 
ing, sent  him  word  that  he  adhered  to  the  lawful  govern- 
ment. 

Somerset  was  as  abject  in  his  adverse  fortune  as  he  had  been   He  is  com- 
insolent  in  prosperity.     He  submitted  unconditionally  to  all  ^ o"*^  r  *" 
the  demands  of  his  adversaries,  abdicated  the  Protectorship, 
allowed  himself  to  be  quietly  committed  to  the  Tower,  and 
there  signed  a  confession  of  the  articles  of  charge  which  his 
enemies  had  drawn  up  against  him. 

These  proceedings  had  been  chiefly  conducted  by  the  ad-   Wriothes- 
vice  of  Wriothesley,  who  was  now  at  the  height  of  exult-  \^^  '^"P'^* 

.  .  .  ,       ^'^  enjoy 

ation,  not  only  from  the  prospect  of  being  reinstated  in  his  supreme 
oflice  of  Chancellor,  but  (what  he  really  valued  more,  though  P"^^'"'"- 
a  man  of  great  personal  ambition)  of  being  now  able  to  check 
the  Keformation,  which  Somerset  had  so  much  favoured,  and 
of  bringing  back  the  nation  to  the  true  faith.  Warwick  had 
hitherto  pretended  to  be  of  the  same  religious  principles,  and 
he  reckoned,  without  any  misgiving,  on  his  co-operation,  — 
resolved  to  retain  his  own  ascendancy.  But  he  suddenly 
found  that  he  had  been  made  the  tool  of  a  man  of  deeper 
intrigue,  who  was  not  embarrassed  by  any  regard  to  principle 
VOL.  I.  u  u 


658  REIGN   OF    EDWARD   VI. 

CHAP,      or  consistency.     He  saw  himself  at  once  drop   into  insig- 
■    nificance,  and  the  Reformation  received  a  new  impulse.  War- 
Superseded  wick  had  the  great  advantage  of  being  a  man  of  the  sword, 
by  Earl  of    and  he  had  acquired  considerable  reputation  by  his  military 
exploits.     He  was,  besides,  of  captivating  address,  while  the 
manners  of  the  Ex-chancellor  were  cold  and  repulsive.     The 
councillors,  the  nobility,  and  the  common  people,  therefore, 
did  not  hesitate,  at  this  juncture,  to  hail  him  as  leader,  and  his 
power  was  absolute.     He  is  believed  really  to  have  been  in 
favour  of  the  Romish  religion ;  but  finding  that  the  young 
King  was  deeply  imbued  with  the  new  doctrines,  and  that 
they  were  becoming  more  and  more  popular,  he   suddenly 
turned  round,  and  professed  a  determination  steadily  to  sup- 
port all  the  ecclesiastical  reforms  introduced  since  the  com- 
mencement of  the  present  reign. 
Feb.  1550.        Wriothesley,  in  anguish,  made  several  bold  attempts  at 
from  public  resistance ;  but  meeting  with  no  support,  and  Warwick,  who 
''^®-  thought  he  might  become  a  dangerous  rival,  taking  every  op- 

portunity to  affront  him,  he  withdrew  from  the  Council,  and 
through  disappointment  and  vexation  he  fell  into  a  dangerous 
His  death,  illness,  from  which  he  did  not  recover.  Never  again  taking 
any  part  in  public  affairs,  he  languished  till  the  end  of  the 
year  1550,  and  then  died  of  a  broken  heart. 

Shortly  before  his  death  he  made  his  will,  by  which  he  left 
his  rich  collar  of  the  garter  to  the  King,  all  his  garters  and 
Georges  to  the  Earl  of  Pembroke,  and  his  large  landed 
estates  to  his  sons. 

Expiring  in  his  town  house,  where  Southampton  Buildings 
now  stand,  he   was    buried  in  the  church   of  St.  Andrew, 
Holborn ;  but  there  is  no  monument  or  inscription  to  mark 
the  spot  where  his  dust  reposes. 
His  ch^-  In  estimating  his  character,  it  would  be  most  unjust  to 

racter.  apply   to   it   the   standard   of  modem   times.     In   his   age 

toleration  was  as  little  sanctioned  by  the  followers  of  the 
Reformation  as  by  the  adherents  to  the  Papal  supremacy  ;  and 
though  we  deplore  the  extremes  to  which  he  was  carried  by 
his  mistaken  zeal,  we  must  honour  the  sincerity  and  con- 
stancy by  which  he  was  distinguished  from  the  great  body  of 
the  courtiers  of  Henry  VIII.,  and  the  leaders  of  faction  in 


LORD   CHANCELLOR   WRIOTHESLEY.  659 

the  relarn  of  Edward  VI.,  who  were  at  all  times  disposed  to     chap. 
....  •  •  xxxvr 

accommodate  their  religious  faith  to  their  personal  interest. 

Even  Burnet  says,  that  "  although  he  was  fiercely  zealous  for 
the  old  superstition,  yet  was  he  otherwise  a  great  person."  * 

His  descendants  continued  to  flourish  in  the  male  line  for  His  de^ 
three  generations,  and  were  men  of  note  both  under  the 
Tudors  and  Stuarts.  His  great-grandson,  the  Earl  of  South- 
ampton, the  personal  friend  of  Charles  I.,  and  Lord  Treasurer 
to  Charles  II.,  having  no  male  issue,  the  heiress  of  the  family 
was  married  to  the  unfortunate  Lord  Russell,  and  was  the 
famous  Rachel  Lady  Russell  who  behaved  so  heroically  on 
the  trial  of  her  husband,  and  whose  virtues,  extolled  by 
Burnet,  are  best  illustrated  by  her  own  simple,  sweet,  and 
touching  letters.  The  present  Bedford  family  thus  represent 
Lord  Chancellor  Wriothesley,  resembling  him  in  sincerity 
and  steadiness  of  purpose,  but  happily  distinguished  for  mild- 
ness and  liberality  instead  of  sternness  and  bigotry.f 

*  Reform,  i,  342. 

t  Dugd.   Barn.   tit.  «  Southampton."     Wiffin's  «  History  of  the  House  of 
Russell." 


END    OF    THE   FIRST   VOLUME. 


London : 

Spottiswoode  and  Shaw, 

New-street-  Square. 


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